WOW air, the Icelandic LCC, will add seven new Airbus aircraft to its rapidly growing fleet by the end of 2018, bringing the total number to 24, and will link Miami, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. Wow air has a fleet of 17 Airbus aircraft deployed in all of its 32 international routes throughout Europe and North America by the middle of 2017.
“The seven Airbus – said Skuli Mogensen, CEO of WOW air – will help us to grow even more and fly greater lengths than before. A larger and younger fleet will undoubtedly benefit us in the growing, competitive air transport market as all-new planes are much cheaper. ” Of the seven Airbus aircraft WOW will add four new A330-900 via a 12-year lease from CIT Aerospace International. The A330-900neo is powered by the new Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 which offers a 14% fuel consumption improvement per seat. The aircraft will be a single class with 365 seats, including 42 that are wider and offer more legroom. The A330-900 lists at $291m and has a range of 9,750km (5,264NM), which means it can fly non-stop to Hong Kong or Honolulu from Icelandic’s KeflavÃk International Airport base.  Also among the seven fleet additions will A321ceo, one purchased directly from Airbus and the other leased from Air Lease Corporation (ALC).
The WOW deployment of the A330-900 is limited when compared to Norwegian’s 787 fleet growth. However, WOW has a strategic advantage because of its base.  Even the A321neo can reach a large number of North American cities. The A330-900 and A321neo will become disruptive to traditional airline networks in the North Atlantic market. We expect to see US cities court the airline because of the by now well understood economic impact of international air service.
Fabio Gigante
