By Travelling to Iceland, North America and Europe is going to become cheaper for Indians with the launch of WOW air. The airline, founded by serial entrepreneur Skuli Mogensen, announced its official entry into the Indian market on Tuesday and is offering lucrative flight rates starting at Rs 13,499.
There will be four fare options – WOW basic, WOW plus, WOW comfy & WOW premium, the airline will introduce never-before seen fares to their transatlantic destinations for Indian travellers. A one-way ticket to Iceland, US, Canada and London in economy category called WOW basic will start from INR 13,499/- (including taxes) while the business class fares termed as WOW premium will be priced from INR 46,599/- onwards (including taxes).
WOW air will be the first carrier to introduce direct flight to Iceland from India.
“We’ve already covered North America and Europe pretty well. We almost fly daily to all the major cities in US and Europe. Having established that network and using Iceland as a hub to connect Europe and North America, I have been figuring for sometime how to expand. After studying India and Indian market, I’m absolutely convinced there’s a great opportunity seeing the aviation industry here has been growing rapidly. People here are very familiar with the low-cost model and international travel scene is also booming”, Skuli Mogensen, Founder & CEO, WOW Air, told GW.
Speaking to GW at the launch reception at his New Delhi residence, Thorir Ibsen, Ambassador of Icelenad to India, said, “The accessibility of Iceland for Indians is going to change. The direct flight come to Iceland in 10 hours now. Earlier, they either have to transit via Paris or Germany or Copenhagen. It’s a major shift! Secondly, the price factor will be a big differentiator in an Indian traveler’s decision-making. People-to-people relations of India and Iceland are going to increase.”
The first flight will take off on December 7, 2018 from New Delhi to Iceland and then to North America/Europe thereon.
Mogensen believes WOW air’s unique price point is its strength. “Sam Walton, Founder, Walmart, says “My marketing strategy is my price” and I totally believe in that! The price will drive people to us but I understand that we have to deliver a great product and service.”
Not just in India, WOW air’s positioning in its active markets has been that of a low-cost airline.
“We have the same low-cost proposition in North America and Europe as well. What I have learnt is that people are smart everywhere. It doesn’t matter if it is big fancy cities like New York or New Delhi or Beijing or Paris, people are still looking for value for money”, Mogensen shared.
But, would that hurt the airline’s image? Mogensen doesn’t think so. “When you experience WOW and its incredible crew, you’ll be proven differently. In my experience, legacy carriers often take things for granted. They don’t have to try as hard. Sometimes it’s good to be an underdog and work harder.”
On being asked the preferred marketing communication for the newly-launched airline in Indian market, Mogensen said that the company has never done traditional advertising. “We are starting airfares at Rs 13,4999 in India and when we launched in the US, we priced US-Europe flights at $99. We prefer social media as news travels faster here. We don’t do traditional advertising. We are very aggressive on social media. We do SEO optimization and smart marketing”, he informed.
WOW air is kick-starting its operations with five flights a week in the first year and also working to introduce daily flights. It is also exploring interesting Indian cities to announce more destinations in the coming years.
Featured pic courtesy: siasat.com
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