Since I was a kid I have been fascinated with Iceland, I can’t quite say what specifically it was that interested me but the curiosity to visit has been there for some time. I’m very excited to say I finally ticked this item off the Mamma Fairy bucket list. Getting to Iceland is remarkably easy with WOW air offering 2 flights a day from Dublin during peak times and with prices starting from €49.99 each….as I told the Dada Fairy “sure we would be mad not too!!”.
WOW air – History
Pic Credit: The Mamma Fairy Blog Location: Keflavik Airport
Most people have heard of WOW air and know their striking purple livery but who are they?!! They seem to have exploded on to the aviation scene as a solid budget airline. Curious to know more myself I did a little digging…..WOW air is an Icelandic airline who operate out of Keflavik airport. They were founded in 2011 and the airline made its inaugural flight in 2012. Flights commenced from Dublin in June 2015 when WOW began expanding into North American and Canada connecting parts of Europe via Iceland.
The man behind the airline is a well known Icelandic businessman and financier called Skúli Mogensen.
I understand that as of 2018 WOW air operates to 36 destinations from Europe, North American to the Middle East. Quite remarkable for an airline which is still really in its infancy having only commenced in 2012. According to media report, they have a fleet of 20 and carry over a million passengers a year.
Our WOW air flight
Pic Credit: The Mamma Fairy Blog Location: Dublin Airport
We departed Dublin on the 11.45 flight on a cool crisp Friday morning. Timing wise this flight is perfect. My pair love their sleep and the earlier option while it would have provided us with more time in Iceland in reality would probably have just meant id have a grumpy pair on my hands by 3pm. Boarding was efficient, we departed on time and the services on board couldn’t be faulted.
I do have to give a specific mention to the pilot on our outbound flight as my kids are still talking about him. Before the cabin crew ran through the safety demonstration he urged the passengers to watch and pay attention or else he would be out to ask questions!! Now my 6 year thought this was just the funniest thing ever! Throughout the flight he was engaging, witty and set a great tone for the holiday. Similarly the cabin crew were friendly and efficient and seemed to genuinely wanted to make the flight as pleasant as possible for those on board.
Coming home again we opted for the 12 o’clock afternoon flight which again is perfect timing. No crazy early starts! Similarly we left on time despite Keflavik airport being incredibly busy that morning.
On board
We had the xl leg room seats on both flights and I wouldn’t hesitate to pay for this. I’m not tall, the Dada Fairy is and he was very impressed with the comfort of the extra leg room. Our flight over didn’t have the USB chargers however our flight home did. The certainly was not an issue for a short flight perhaps if you were en route to the US you might need to charge your devices particularly if you were travelling with kids. We didn’t sample the food offering on either leg but there looked to be the useful fare at usual airline prices. Again for a short flight we usually don’t bother.
On board the aircraft the purple theme remains with the seats and floor covering. The aircraft on the flight home to Dublin had some hilarious slogans for the call bells which when you are six years old is pretty funny.
Child friendly
Pic Credit: The Mamma Fairy Blog Location: Dublin Airport
My kids are very used to travelling despite their young age therefore an airline who are child friendly is something that would be very important to us. No matter how used to flying kids are they still could be prone to tantrums, sore ears, being upset etc. I have to say from start to finish the cabin crew and ground staff were fantastic, helped with buggy, getting them settled and getting on the aircraft early to get them settled with little or no queuing. Sometimes I feel there is a perception that budget airlines may be less child friendly or even welcoming of kids. Hand on heart I can’t say this wasn’t the case with WOW air.
In fact we were so impressed not just with WOW air but also with Iceland (yes I have left a piece of my heart there – lots of posts on our adventures there in progress) that we are intending to use them for our long haul trip to Chicago in April.
Our next Adventure – Chicago
We have been fortunate enough to have been invited to experience Chicago as a family friendly destination and what better way of doing it that combining it with a long lay over in Iceland. I hope on that trip to completely dispel the myth of taking kids on budget flights. Funny enough my pair were the only kids on the aircraft both ways.
WOW air offer flights to some US and Canadian cities from €99 so that’s some serious value combining that with a trip to the land of fire and ice what more could you want. I also read recently that WOW will commence flights to Orlando in December this year, making the elusive trip to Disney that little bit more affordable.
The ability to add the layover to the US flight tickets is an impressive add on. Having spent time in Iceland I can highly recommend making a stop over. I am currently drafting posts on our adventures there. We spent a day driving the Golden Circle which was in a word….breathtaking. Sneak peak below but do check back for full post which ill link below when it completed.
Pic Credit: The Mamma Fairy Blog Location: Thingvellir Park
Pic Credit: The Mamma Fairy Blog Location: Gullfoss – Golden Circle
Pic Credit: The Mamma Fairy Blog Location: Geysir – Golden Circle
Note: Thanks to WOW air for the support on this trip, all words my own and I retain full editorial control over the content above as all opinions and views are mine or the boys where appropriate.
But you see for me for many and I mean many years I thought that this wasn’t the case. I never smiled in photos, actually I deliberately avoided photos on nights out at events etc. On the rare occasion I did end up in a photo, I preferred to hide in the back and certainly never smiled showing my teeth. I always promised myself I would do something about it. They weren’t terrible. I just wasn’t happy with them and it didn’t matter what my friends and family said that was my opinion and that was that.
