WOW Air is an Icelandic-based airline with a modern fleet. They headline with super-cheap $99 USD transatlantic economy tickets, but these are truly basic. You get little beyond the seat, which enables them to achieve the headline low rates.
It is worth noting that WOW Air flights tend to route through Reykjavik, which adds to your flight time and is worth considering when booking your flight.
What do you get in WOW Air Business Class or WOW Biz?
In January 2017, WOW Air announced a new cabin with larger seats and improved legroom for its lengthiest routes, connecting San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami to Reykjavik, Iceland. These Big Seats have been in circulation since 1st June 2017.
The larger chairs, or “Big Seats,” are more Premium Economy than Business Class and offer a leg rest with 37 inches of guaranteed legroom (compared to the 31 inches in Economy).
The seat price includes:
- Priority boarding
- 1 personal item up to a maximum of 42x32x25 cm/17x13x10in (10kg/22lbs)
- 1 carry-on bag up to a maximum of 56x45x25 cm/22x18x10in (12kg/26lbs)
- 1 checked bag
- Seat reservation XXL (35+?) or BigSeat (37+?), or best available at the time of booking
- Food and drink from the WOW ME menu on board, such as a sandwich & soda, pizza & beer, or a baguette & red wine. Free coffee with meals
Current food offered in the WOW airline Menu includes Chicken risotto, a cheese tray, ham and provolone sandwich, a turkey sandwich, a veggie sandwich, a chicken caesar salad, ham and cheese croissant, and a garlic pesto pasta salad depending on your routing.
There are also Biz options on their smaller, A321, and A320 aircraft with the “XXL” and “XL” seats with legroom from 32 to 35 inches, but these are just extra legroom seats and have the same lack of padding = discomfort as the rest of the economy seats.
The “Big” seats are situated in a separate cabin at the front of the plane behind the pilot in a 2-3-2 arrangement which you can see in this seatmap and this seatmap. Currently, the seat map shows just 16 seats in the front cabin. Economy passengers can choose between XL and Standard seats in the remainder of the plane.
Entertainment on WOW Air in Biz
There are no personal, in-flight entertainment screens, complimentary overhead movie screens, or even Wi-Fi. You can rent an iPad pre-loaded with movies and games for about $17 USD or bring your own devices or a book.
If you are flying to Iceland/Europe at night-time, pick a window seat on the left side of the plane to get a glimpse of the Northern lights. When leaving from Iceland to the US, pick a seat on the right side of the plane.
Should you travel on WOW Air in Business Class or Biz Class?
The low cost transatlantic airline to Europe carrier, Norwegian Airlines, offers an excellent Premium Economy seat that is better than Premium Economy on British Airways but not as good as Business Class on British Airways.
The Norwegian Airlines Premium seats have an incredible 46 inches of pitch, making it the best Premium Economy airline and seating in the world. WOW, Air Biz Class will offer a much less generous 37 inches of pitch in their Big Seat which is one inch less (although admittedly a whole lot cheaper) than British Airways Premium Economy (there is notably less space in the WOW XL seats).
Would I travel on WOW Air in their Biz Class, which is really a very average Premium Economy product? Yes, I would. WOW, air has a modern fleet, and once you remove the worry of having to pack crazily light, the Biz Class Big Seat is likely to come in at a comparable price to the traditional airlines in Economy Class. I would certainly price up WOW as an alternative. However, by choice, I would fly with Norwegian in Premium Economy as the Norwegian Premium seats are much more spacious, and they offer many more direct transatlantic flights between America and the UK (where I live) than WOW air.
You may also be interested in our other WOW air flight reviews along with reviews of United vs. Delta vs. American Airlines: Which Has The Best Business Class and the best airlines to travel to Europe in Business Class.
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