Attention Cheapos! 2019 is getting off to a good start with the latest fare announcement from Wow Air. Starting today, you can book a flight to Europe for only $49.

If you’ve been waiting for a good deal on a trip to Iceland, Ireland, London, Germany, or Belgium, now is the time to go.

These flights are sure to sell out fast, so we’ve put together the details on how to get this amazing deal before they’re gone.

How to score a $49 flight

To find this rock bottom fare, you need to book from certain cities.

From the US:
Boston (BOS)
Washington, DC (BWI)
New York (EWR)
Detroit (DTW)

Into Europe:
Reykjavik (REK)
Dublin (DUB)
Brussels (BRU)
Frankfurt (FRA)
London (LGW)

The deal is for available for travel between the dates of January 21 and March 11, 2019.

For example, we found a flight from Boston to Reykjavik on January 22nd for $49 that leaves at 6:20 pm and New York to Dublin (via REK) on January 21st at 6:05 pm.

Of course, you need to be wary of any add-ons from seat reservations fees to checked baggage charges. They can add up quickly and double or triple the price of your flight in no time. But for those looking for the cheapest price possible, it will be hard to top this Wow Air deal.

Search for the latest fares on Wow Air. 

Before you book your flight, read our tips for flying Wow Air to get all the inside information on how to keep your cost down.

Most Wow Air flights fly through Reykjavik, so you’ll have to factor in a stop in this Icelandic city. If you want to make Reykjavik your vacation stop, read through our budget guide to Iceland. It’s not the cheapest destination, but with a little bit of planning, you can save on your trip with the right hotel and tour. And in January, you might be able to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights!

Note: Even though Wow Air is no longer operating, you can still book direct flights on Icelandair to Reykjavik.

The post Wow Air launches $49 fares, their cheapest flights ever to Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Do you have plans to take off to Europe this year? You might after learning about Wow Air’s latest deal. Known for super cheap flights with frequent sales (like the $55 flights to Europe last year and $69 flights from California), Wow Air is at it again.

The deal

For a limited time, this budget airline is offering $69 one-way flights to Europe. Based in Iceland, Wow Air’s $69 fares go directly to Reykjavik from 13 cities in the US.

Even better, a lot of the dates are in the early or late summer (June or September) and early fall (October), making this an excellent deal for that time of year.

For a little bit more than $69, you can go through Reykjavik and connect to London, Paris, Copenhagen, Berlin and several other European destinations. For example, with a $149 one-way flight, you can fly from Boston to Berlin, Chicago to London, or Detroit to Dublin. For more information where they fly, you can check their online route map.

This flexibility gives you the option to either enjoy a holiday to Iceland, one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world right now, or continue on to Europe to your favorite cities.

Iceland Tips: A Budget guide to Iceland | Cheap hotels in Reykjavik | Renting a car in Iceland | Saving on dining out in Reykjavik | Best bus tours in Iceland

As with any deal like this, if you really want the cheapest price, act fast. Once the seats are booked on each flight, the $69 fares will disappear.

Wow Air destinations in Europe

As we mentioned, these flights are not just leaving from big hubs like New York and Los Angeles. Here are the 13 departure cities for this deal:

• Baltimore/Washington, D.C. (BWI)
• Chicago (ORD)
• Cleveland (CLE)
• Cincinnati (CVG)
• Detroit (DTW)
• New York (JFK)
• Newark (EWR)
• Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
• St. Louis (STL)
• Pittsburgh (PIT)
• Boston (BOS)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Los Angeles (LAX)

Deals we found

Searching on Wow Air, we found several $69 flights still available. For example, we found cheap fares from Dallas to Reykjavik on June 9th, New York (JFK) to Reykjavik on June 20th, Boston to Reykjavik on September 25th, Chicago to Reykjavik on September 3rd, Washington, DC to Reykjavik on September 8th, and Cleveland to Reykjavik on September 23rd.

Tips for flying Wow Air

Before you book that cheap ticket, read through our tips for flying Wow Air and our guide to flying the Cheapo skies on Wow. Like most budget airlines, Wow Air doesn’t include any perks with the basic fare, so you’ll have to pony up extra for everything from checked baggage to a seat reservation.

Remember, the devil — or in this case, the cheap fare — is always in the details!

Now, it’s time for the fun part to find a good deal! Check wowair.us to search for fares.

The post Flash Sale: $69 Flights to Europe on Wow Air appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Scheduled to launch on April 26, 2018, WOW new flights from JFK will take off for Rejkyavik, Iceland and 22 other destinations across Europe.

WOW will also be adding an additional 13 flights per week out of Newark, where they already fly, beginning in May 2018.

$99 one-way tickets to Europe on WOW air

In conjunction with the announcement, WOW also kicked off a big sale with super cheap airfare. Starting today, you can score $99 one-way tickets from JFK  to travel to the following destinations:

Paris, Amsterdam, London (Stansted Airport), Frankfurt, Dublin, Copenhagen, and Berlin. When you combine a Wow flight with one of our cheapo hotels, you could score a truly affordable vacation!

Although this is a Cheapo’s dream come true, tickets will go fast. Check the WOW air website and start planning your trip to Europe for next spring! The price includes all taxes, fees and carrier charges and dates of travel are from April to June and September to October of 2018.

Of course, $99 flights always come with a catch. Before you click “purchase”, you might want to read our tips for flying to Europe on WOW and “WOW air: Our Guide to flying the cheapo skies“. The devil is always in the details!

The post Flash Sale: $99 Tickets to Europe on WOW with new flights from JFK appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

In celebration of Wow Air’s fifth anniversary, the ultra-budget airline today announced $55 one-way tickets from three US departures (Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami) to several European cities.

The tickets go on sale today, but there’s a catch: In order to score the cheap seats, you must fly this month — between June 11, 2017 and June 27, 2017.

Furthermore, sale tickets have limited availability and you must book a return journey, making it more difficult to find $55 seats both ways.

Book directly through Wow Air’s website.

Our tests

In our tests this morning, we easily found a $55 seat from Miami to Brussels (as with all Wow flights, via Reykjavik), but the cheapest return we could find for the journey was $249. Still, this brought the base fare up to $304, which is a great deal for summer travel to Europe.

Keep in mind, however, that prices can climb substantially when you add in additional charges, like checked luggage and reserved seats. (Read more about Wow’s extra charges and our guide to flying Wow Air.)

More details from Wow

From Wow Air’s press release today.

For a limited time, $55 tickets will be available from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Amsterdam (AMS), Copenhagen (CPH), Dublin (DUB), London (LGW) and Berlin (SXF).

From Miami, $55 tickets will be available to Bristol (BRS), Brussels (BRU), Dublin (DUB), Edinburgh (EDI), Dusseldorf (DUS), Copenhagen (CPH), Frankfurt (FRA) and Cork (ORK).

WOW air’s California routes are serviced by three new Airbus A330 aircrafts, the first wide-body jets in the WOW air fleet. The airline operates the youngest fleet in Iceland with the lowest emission.

Launched in November 2011, WOW air now connects 32 destinations across the U.S. and Europe with the Icelandic capital. In 2016 WOW air flew with 1,668,773 passengers in total, which is an increase of 130% from 2015.

Fares go on sale today and will be offered for flights between June 11, 2017 and June 28, 2017.

*San Francisco (SFO) to AMS, CPH, DUB, LGW, SXF via Iceland. Based on lowest one-way WOW Basic fare booked on www.wowair.us. Includes all taxes, fees and carrier charges. Available for travel June 11th to June 28th. The offer applies for 200 seats on selected flights, only when booked on a return trip.

*Los Angeles (LAX) to AMS, CPH, DUB, LGW, SXF via Iceland. Based on lowest one-way WOW Basic fare booked on www.wowair.us. Includes all taxes, fees and carrier charges. Available for travel June 19th to June 28th. The offer applies for 150 seats on selected flights, only when booked on a return trip.

*Miami (MIA) to BRS, BRU, CPH, DUB, DUS, EDI, FRA, ORK via Iceland. Based on lowest one-way WOW Basic fare booked on www.wowair.us. Includes all taxes, fees and carrier charges. Available for travel June 18th to June 28th. The offer applies for 100 seats on selected flights, only when booked on a return trip.

The post Flash Sale: Wow Air announces $55 flights from LA, SFO, Miami to Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Wow! Literally.

WOW Air announced today that they are offering $69 one-way flights from California to Europe for a limited time. These mega-cheap flights are from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Bristol, and Edinburgh (with more European destinations available at slightly higher rates).

The Wow Air sale also includes:

• $99 seats from Miami and Boston to Iceland
• $129 – $149 seats from Miami and Boston to Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Frankfurt

Sale fares are for travel between January 15, 2017 and April 5, 2017.

Wow Air Sale: Our tests

So how do you find this deal? We did a quick search and found flights in February, March and April on select Tuesdays from both California cities to Stockholm and Copenhagen at the $69 rate. Flying on the weekend will dramatically increase the fare, from $219 and up (each way).

As always, the early bird gets the cheap seats. Snag these sale fares now before they’re all gone, Cheapos! Visit the airline’s official website to check prices.

Search from Los Angeles to Copenhagen on Tuesday, January 10, 2017.

The fine print

So what do you get for $69? This special fare is a bare-bones ticket. It will get you to Europe, but if you want an assigned seat, checked baggage, meals, or anything else, you’ll have to pony up some cash. Even with these extra charges, however, you can fly to Europe for a shockingly low ticket price.

For much more on the airline, check out:

• Our guide to the flying the cheapo skies on WOW Airlines and

• WOW, $99 to Europe? Yes, but the devil is in the details

The post Flash Sale: WOW Air offers $69 flights from California to Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Thinking about taking a flight with Iceland’s Wow Air? Well then, halló from the other side!

This year, I’ve taken multiple flights along the budget airline’s Paris (CDG) – Baltimore (BWI) route, always with a brief layover at the Keflavík International Airport (KEF). My airfare has hovered around $400 to $600 round-trip, or roughly half the cost the other airlines are currently charging.

Like all global expeditions, there have been highs and lows, because, well, turbulence happens. Based on my experience, here are tips on how to make the most of a Wow flight.

Related: $99 to Europe? Yes, but… | 8 tips for finding cheap flights to Europe

On a Wow flight, only the airline’s sassy wit, the view, and the air you breathe are free. Photo by T. Brack

Here’s the deal

Founded by Skúli Mogensen in 2011, Wow’s small fleet of planes cruises between Europe and North America (Baltimore, Boston, Montreal and Toronto). In 2016, Wow will begin to offer flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles, too. Fees typically start at $300 if you chart your plans (and book your seats) far enough in advance.

The planes are purple. The carpeting is purple. The flight attendants sport “Mad Men”-era uniforms in purple. Cheeky wordplay also reigns here, from the “Vomit-Meter” motion sickness bags and the “Rolling, Rolling, Rolling” food cart, to the “Honk if you’re hungry” service buzzer, and the “Sip it, Sip it good!” beverage cups.

Cheeky wordplay always flies on Wow. Photo by T. Brack

That said…

On a Wow flight, only the airline’s sassy wit, the view, and the air you breathe are free. Food, luggage, and extra legroom are additional. The list of additional charges includes the H2O, BTW, and I am not JKG.

Divas need not fly here. Still, even with the added charges, it’s a lot cheaper than any other flight deals out there.

Related: Creative and cheap ways to fly to Europe

On the flip side…

Just because it’s a low cost carrier doesn’t mean you have to lower expectations (said not in a Polly Anna sort of way!). Instead, change your approach. Try to leave behind your preconceptions of what makes a great flight great. In this new world of bare-bones budget flights, you are actually the master of your Airbus destiny.

Cheapo tip: Go with the flow, and embrace the opportunity to customize your flight.

• Mad shopper? Pay for a larger luggage allowance.
• Long gams? Buy extra legroom.
• Fancy brews or wines from afar? Supplement the snacks you brought from home with a glass of the house white. I did! Rocking a cat on its label, I couldn’t resist. Iceland’s own Gulle beer is often discounted, the perfect gift for one of your row mates.

As Bob Dylan once strummed, “For the times, they are a-changing.”

After selecting travel dates, you’ll be asked to purchase a seat. (Photo by T. Brack)

Booking your flight

After selecting travel dates, you’ll be asked to purchase a seat. Depending on the size of the plane, here’s the lay of the land:

Upper right section: XXL (35 to 40 inches of legroom), $57 to $67
Upper left section: XL (32 inches), $38 to $48
Middle section: (30 to 31 inches), $10 to $15
Back of the plane: (30 to 31 inches), $6

Tip: Like the theater, everyone has a sweet spot. I recommend following designer Elsa Schiaparelli’s mantra on this one: “Buy only the best or the cheapest.” I’d either splurge on a roomy XXL for $67, or book one in the back for a lean $6. Doing the math, it doesn’t make sense to pay extra for an upper left XL seat unless you’re going after location.

Here’s something else to consider: Restrooms. They’re located in the front and the back of the plane. So if you’re the kind that needs to skip to the loo often, pick your seat accordingly. Or if you’re fond of stretching the legs during the flight, perhaps a seat in the middle has your name on it.

You’re permitted one free carry-on item up to 11 pounds—and this includes your personal item. Image: Courtesy Wow Airlines

Luggage

You’re permitted one free carry-on item up to 11 pounds—and this includes your personal item (i.e., stylish handbag or backpack).

But don’t panic: You have options. For an additional $48, it’s possible to add 15 more pounds to your carry-on bag. Or do like I do: just pay the piper, and check one bag (maximum weight of 44 pounds) for $67.

Tip: Skirting around Wow’s one free little carry-on bag policy, I also wear a wafer-thin nylon cross-body bag in black, and because it matches my customary manteau noir, it rarely raises an eyebrow or a scale, for that matter.

Related: A Guide to airline baggage fees for US carriers to Europe

Don’t forget to pack a small blanket or wearing a large sweater and an eye mask. (Image by T. Brack’s archives, 1953)

Packing List

I recommend packing a small blanket (or wearing a large sweater) and an eye mask because Wow keeps the lights on throughout the entire flight.

Reading material should also be on your list, because Wow offers no in-flight entertainment, and they’ve stopping renting iPads. There are outlets for recharging your own electronic devices, but they’re not always in working order, but books and magazines are the good old green alternative.

Related: Packing for a two-week trip to Europe

Tip: On a recent flight I devoured Amy Poehler’s “Yes, Amy”. Heads-up: The book weighs a whopping 1.8 pounds, so consider purchasing it after checking in, in case they decide to weigh your carry-on. Or else pack Tina Fey’s relatively slim 12.8 ounce “Bossy Pants”. Time flew during both reads.

If you’re hungry, don’t hesitate to honk at anytime during the flight. (Image: Courtesy Wow Airlines)

The Flight

“Bon Appétit!” is what I always say whenever I hear the rumble of the meal cart in the distance, shortly after takeoff. Making no bones about it, dining is one of my favorite flight rituals. On Wow, there’s a meal truck, but everything comes at a price. Coffee, tea and chips cost about $2.65; juice, soda, candy bars, and Skyr cost $2.27; beer and soup cost about $5.30; and sandwiches and wine cost $7.57.

Tip: I usually pack beaucoup bags of trail mix in my pockets, and then score some soda pops at the airport. I’ve splurged on the wine, the soup, and the coffee, of course. Because fueled with caffeine is how I like to roll upon arrival.

Waiting for takeoff at the Keflavík International Airport (Photo by T. Brack)

The layover

Wow now prints out tickets for both legs of your trip at the start of your journey, so the layover at the Keflavík International Airport is easier and breezier. Need more reading material? Make a beeline to the Penninn Eymundsson bookshop, not far from the Wow gates. The other shops at KEF airport don’t stock books and magazines.

However, be quick on your feet because the layover is only an hour and a half, even if “Iceland’s most punctual airline” occasionally runs a bit behind schedule. Granted, I haven’t missed any of my connections yet, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re tacking on another flight at the end of your trip.

Lastly, keep your eyes peeled for Wow’s over-sized inflight magazine. Thanks to one fascinating article, I now no longer have to ponder how the flight attendants manage to fix their flawless topknots prior to a 4 a.m. flight. They don’t wake up that way, but can whip up their signature dos in a matter of seconds. Impressive!

Questions about Wow?

Feel free to ask away below. And if you have any more tips on how to make the most of a Wow flight, do spill.

Bon Voyage!

The post Wow Air: Our guide to flying the Cheapo skies appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Wow! Airlines, the self-proclaimed “ultra low-cost transatlantic carrier”, today announced a new crop of $99 seats beginning in October from two US departure points, Boston and Washington, to Paris and Amsterdam (all with connections in Reykjavik, Iceland).

Although the airline claimed that $99 seats are available starting in October, we weren’t able to find any of these cheap seats for that month in our test searches today.

However, we did turn up some $99 seats available to and from Europe for December, January and February travel. The return ticket, however, was often at least twice as much.

Related:

• $99 to Europe? Yes, but the devil is in the details.
• See all flash deals on European travel

In one of our tests, we found a $99 ticket to Paris, but the return to Boston was $189.

In one test for Boston to Paris in November and December, November was already slim pickings, but we were able to snag a $99 seat for December. With a return two weeks later for $189, the bare-basics ticket came in at $288 (without bags or assigned seats).

Similarly, a test for Baltimore/Washington (BWI) to Paris in January yielded a $99 departure (on January 10), but the cheapest return we could find was $288 two weeks later. (The month was filled with $288 return flights from Paris.) Total flight charge: $387 (without bags or assigned seats).

Extra charge alert: However, note that checking a bag will set you back $67 each way, and reserving a seat will cost a minimum of $7 each way.

Bottom line

As we’ve written before, with a little flexibility, light packing, and good timing, you can find a steal on a round-trip from the US to Europe on Wow! Even if checking a bag bumps your overall ticket up by $134, the final charge could still be far less than you’d pay on a legacy carrier.

Check your dates on the Wow! website. And for Cheapos sake, if you do find a good fare, grab those seats before they’re all gone… and then tell us about it in the comments section!

The details:

• Some $99 one-way tickets available from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Boston Logan Airport (BOS) to Paris and Amsterdam.

• All flights connect through Reykjavik, before continuing on to Paris and Amsterdam.

• Frequency from BWI: Two flights a week to Amsterdam, five flights a week to Paris.

• Frequency from Boston: Three times a week to Amsterdam, six flights a week to Paris.

The post Flash: Wow! Air releases more $99 flights from Boston and DC to Paris and Amsterdam appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

This past fall I was able to nab a fantastic deal on a non-stop flight to London from New York JFK for less than $300. Sound impossible? With a little bit of planning, a few hours of online searching, and a willingness to be flexible with your schedule and traveling habits, you could easily score the same kind of deal.

Related:

Wow! Airlines offers $99 flights to Europe

Norwegian offers $240 flights to Europe

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

Search around

The big players in the flight search industry like Kayak, Expedia and Hipmunk are essential tools to finding good prices on flights. Spending a few minutes on each can’t hurt and is a great way to get the lay of the land. Be sure to check out EuroCheapo’s flight search, too, as it’s powered by Momondo.com and offers some surprising deals through smaller European carriers.

But don’t forget to check out the official airline websites, as well. The rates might be the same that you’ll find on meta-search engines, but they offer cool features to help you find less obvious deals. For example, Norwegian has a helpful fare calendar where you can quickly scan through a few months of schedules to find the cheapest trips. Wow! Air shows a few days at a time, and you can scroll back and forth to see cheap flights around the date you chose.

Spend some time getting to know your low-cost carrier’s online home, and you’ll be well on your way to finding a great deal.

Book early

This might be the most important tip here. Make sure to start your search well in advance of your potential travel times. And we don’t mean a few weeks—try to reserve your tickets at least two or three months out or even earlier.

For example, if you want to fly to London in January or February of 2015, flights are still available on Norwegian for as low as $249 each way. However, if you want to head over in spring when things warm up, you’d be wise not to wait on booking those seats. As of December 8, 2014, you can still find one-way flights to London in May for as little as $248. That’s a fantastic deal for a late spring vacation to Europe, but you can bet that those prices won’t last long. Snag them now.

Be flexible with dates and destinations

Granted, as a freelance writer, I had greater flexibility when planning my trip. However, even a little flexibility can usually go a long way when it comes to hunting down airline deals. Flying mid-week, for example, can almost always save you a $100 or more over weekend ticket prices–so if you can take an extra vacation day, go for it.

This doesn’t just mean that you have to leave midweek. For example, for my recent three-week jaunt around Europe this past fall, my plan was to start in London, and then hit Paris and Amsterdam on the way to a final week in Berlin for the Fall of the Wall 25 celebration. This gave me plenty of options when choosing my flights, as I could shuffle the order of the cities visited to find a deal. With a bit of patience, I was able to find a flight from NYC to London for a great price on Thursday night, getting into Gatwick on a Friday morning—just in time for the weekend!

Cut back on extras

We’ve talked about the stringent policies of these new budget carriers before in our recent article about $99 flights on Wow Air. But we’ll stress it again for any newbies to low-cost flying culture: Checked bags, meals, and even seat reservations can (and usually do) cost extra.

Fortunately, the price you’re shown on screen almost always includes taxes and airport fees. However, in almost all cases, the first fare you see is just the bare-bones flight. If you really need an aisle seat or plan on checking a bag, you’ll have to fork over some extra money.

Sometimes package deals on perks can be found. For example, Norwegian often bundles a seat reservation, meals and a checked bag into one fee. But this can still reach $50 or more, so a true Cheapo will go for the basic fare and pack lightly, bring along a sandwich or two and not mind where they end up sitting on the plane.

My ticket

Here’s how much I paid for my ticket for a non-stop flight from New York JFK to London Gatwick on Norwegian Air. I flew on October 23rd and booked the ticket in late July, approximately three months out. Cost of the ticket (including taxes and fees) was $298 (a great fare for an October direct flight), but I also opted to upgrade for an extra $50 to get two meals (including wine), a seat reservation (I love my window seats) and checked baggage to see if this experience was worth it. In the end, the food was only mediocre and I didn’t really need to check my bag, but I still enjoyed having the peace of mind that I wouldn’t be stuck in a middle seat or go hungry. It was nice to kick off my trip with a few extra perks, and a couple glasses of wine on your way to Europe never hurts!

Airfare: $298

Checked bag, seat reservation and food/drink: $50

Total cost: $348

The post How I scored a $298 one-way ticket to Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Travel blogs have been abuzz in the last few weeks in the wake of Iceland-based WOW Air’s announcement that they will be offering summer 2015 transatlantic flights starting at $99.

How is this possible? Is it really possible? There must be a catch, right?

Before we dive into the analysis of these deals, let’s take a moment to review Iceland’s recent and rather exciting low-cost passenger airline history.

Related: Creative and cheap ways to fly from the US to Europe

A little bit of history

Before there was WOW Air there was Iceland Express (2003-2012), which also flew transatlantic routes. The airline flew from Iceland’s Keflavík Airport (near the capital, Reykjavík, and the country’s main international airport) to Chicago, Boston, Orlando, Newark and Winnipeg.

Iceland Express ran the most irreverent in-house airline blog around and was a generally very appealing airline. The airline encountered serious logistics turbulence in 2011 when its operator abruptly terminated flight operations, and it turned to a Czech Airlines charter flight subsidiary for replacement aircraft. I flew the airline once after this shift occurred, and the experience was very uneven. The safety information on seats was in Czech, and the experience felt drained of any kind of branded Icelandic personality. It sort of felt as if the airline was in freefall; a few months later, Iceland Express was absorbed by WOW Air.

WOW Air was established in 2011. Like Iceland Express, it’s been cheeky from the start, though its brand has been more self-consciously stylish (just check out those flight attendant uniforms) and flashy than the older low-cost airline.

The transatlantic low-cost mini-boom

This year two airlines—Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet and Norway’s Norwegian—began selling inexpensive no-frills flights across the big pond for as low as $240 roundtrip. Let’s take a quick look at what the two airlines offer.

WestJet flew a seasonal route from Toronto via St. John’s, Newfoundland to Dublin this past summer, which it will reintroduce in 2015. This fall, deepening its reach into Europe, WestJet announced a Halifax-Glasgow route for 2015.

Norwegian’s assault was a bit broader from the get-go. The airline launched direct flights between four European gateways (Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm and London Gatwick) and several US destinations: New York, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Oakland and Los Angeles. (Note that Oakland can only be reached from the three Scandinavian hubs as of yet.) As this investigative piece by Patrick Collinson in The Guardian shows, a return journey at the lowest advertised fare is all but impossible to snag.

WestJet and Norwegian’s forays provide a context for understanding WOW Air’s new routes. All three airlines’ lowest fares are incredibly cheap, though they also go quickly. In the established tradition of low-cost airlines, they’re also perk-free.

So what’s the WOW all about?

WOW Air will operate flights between Baltimore and Keflavík (with connections on to Copenhagen and London sold as single fares) from May through October 2015; flights between Boston and Keflavík (and also on to Copenhagen and London) begin in March 2015. Starting outbound single fares are advertised at $99, while fares returning from Europe will start at $125.

Availability is the kicker. I searched about a dozen dates on WOW’s website to find available flights from Baltimore and Boston in the US and Keflavík, London, and Copenhagen. Every April itinerary I looked for was fully booked, and itineraries into the summer and autumn were all well over the lowest $99/$125 per-sector fare advertised.

The best alternative that I came up with: a $327 roundtrip from Boston to Keflavík. This is, it must be said, a very good fare, even with additional charges of $100 or so roundtrip. (It is also plainly over the lowest $224 return fare.) WOW’s lowest fares clearly went very quickly, so the early birds scored the best deals.

Last month, Jaunted published an exhaustively detailed report on nabbing a $99 fare, which came to $164 once additional charges and “perks” were taken into account, and did not include in-flight costs like food and beverages.

Speaking of perks and fees… 

Flying on today’s transcontinental low-cost airlines require a shift in attitude. For many major carriers, from Air France to American Airlines, everything—meals, snacks, water and a seat reservation—is included. So if you don’t consider it acceptable to shell out $4 for a bottle of water, then you might not be ready for the low-cost air experience, where everything extra will cost you.

Want to bring a checked bag? Expect a steep fee. Want to choose your seat so you can grab a window view? Be prepared to have your credit card ready. These fees can quickly add $25, $50 or even $100 to a one-way ticket. On the flip side, if you don’t need many comfort amenities and are just looking for a seat, airlines like WOW and Norwegian could be just up your alley.

Is it worth it?

Yes. Well, probably—with two big caveats. First, research actual (as opposed to advertised) costs. What other add-ons (checked luggage, meals, reserved seats, seats with extra legroom) will be charged on top of your base fare? How heavily will these charges add up? Will they transform an apparent bargain into an average fare?

Secondly, do you want to end up in one of the destinations these airlines serve? If not, price out your connection onwards. Is the resultant fare less expensive than a direct fare on a conventional airline? Do your research and think seriously about your goals and intentions as a traveler.

WOW Air, Norwegian and WestJet’s routes provide new ways to chart out budget-friendly transportation to Europe. For most potential customers, the resultant bargain will be higher than the lowest advertised fare, though it will probably still be less expensive than a legacy carrier fare.

View these fares as tools. They might work swimmingly; they might not quite cut it. But they’re now part of your cost-cutting arsenal, budget warrior.

The post WOW, $99 to Europe? Yes, but the devil is in the details appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.