Wow! It's The End!

Started with hype and fanfare, Skuli Mogensen’s WOW Air – the low-cost long haul carrier – has flown into the sunset. What are the reasons?

When Iceland based Wow Air made its India launch in December 2018 with the lowest-ever return fares to the USA at `127,000, it seemed almost too good to be true. Indeed, the fears did come true. Barely a week after its launch, it pulled out of the Delhi route.

This, despite the youthful CEO of the airline, Skuli Mogensen, claiming in a conversation with Cruising Heights in June 2018 that the airline’s growth would come from Asia. He said that he had exploited the North American and European markets and did not want to grow fast and add capacity without a real network. He was ambitious about aircraft expansion, a issue that would eventually be instrumental in grounding the popular airline. “By the end of this year out of the 24 aircraft, seven will be A330s, 15 will be A321s and three A320s,” Mogensen had then said.

Signs of trouble in the airline came sometime late in 2018. Around October of that year, the carrier cancelled three of its routes. What was surprising was that the routes were all in the same region: Mid-west United States. Usually, carriers reduce services on the route if there is low demand by reducing frequency or using a small plane.

To add to that, WOW slowed down on its expansion plans because of rising fuel prices. At the same time, word was out that WOW Air was planning a public offering. This meant that Mogensen was selling a part of his company to raise capital. “To continue our growth we will have to look at various opportunities to find a strategic partner, go public, et cetera. We haven’t really selected which path to take,” Mogensen was quoted saying. He also said that he would not be selling the airline. And, when the abrupt shutdown of the airline happened on March 28, it came as a shock to many.