Iceland blew up on the travel radar last year, becoming the new “it” place to travel, whether you’re looking for a great spot to climb some icebergs, or if you’d just like to laze around in the Blue Lagoon. Whatever your fancy, you can now afford it, thanks to a bevy of low cost airlines who jumped on the Iceland bandwagon, and began offering ultra-reduced fares to this hot spot.
So, who should you consider if you’re planning an Iceland getaway this year (or next)? There are two main airlines most seasoned travelers will name:
WOW Air
This airline has more recently come onto the scene, founded in 2011. They first flew only within Europe, but then expanded their reach to travelers departing the United States. Now, they have more than 30 destinations over North America, Europe and Asia, and they’ve approximated they’ll carry 3 million passengers this year. As far as their fleet, its all Airbus, with three A320s, 11 A321s and three A330s. If you’re flying to or from North American destinations, you’ll be on the A321 (except for the routes to California, which monopolizes all three of the A330s). They boast that they have the youngest fleet in Iceland with the lowest emissions.
Their fares are low, low, low, like $100 from the United States to Iceland, if you can catch a special deal (something that’s almost unheard of on a domestic flight, let alone an international one). However, remember that, with low prices come little perks. While the cheap tickets are enough to please some passengers, others have been filling the forums with tales of dirty and damaged aircraft and poor service.
WOW Air offers three different types of fares: basic, plus and biz.
Icelandair
Icelandair is more of a staple, and they’re not as budget as WOW Air, but they still offer very lucrative deals. Their history stretches back to 1937, and the name Icelandair has absorbed several other Icelandic airlines during its long existence. Today, they currently have 40 destinations across North America and Europe.
