Bankrupt - WOW Air

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  • čas přidán 16. 05. 2019
  • Go to www.audible.com/bsf or text BSF to 500-500 to get a free audiobook, 2 free Audible Originals, and a 30 day free trial.
    New on the budget airline scene was a young company, flying competitive routes from Europe and The United States to Iceland. Their crazy pricing structure won over many new customers, yet came at a cost... one that eventually took down the entire company, stranding thousands of passengers in just mere minutes. This is WOW Air.
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    Awful Passenger Experiences - • WOW! air: DO NOT FLY
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    BrightSunFilms 2019
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Komentáře • 2,5K

  • @hexagonist23
    @hexagonist23 Před 4 lety +3534

    How to become a millionaire:
    1. Start with being a billionaire.
    2. Start an airline.

    • @Everymations-has-a-url
      @Everymations-has-a-url Před 4 lety +44

      ApertureChromaKey then go bacc to poor

    • @user-mr6jq4qm6g
      @user-mr6jq4qm6g Před 4 lety +13

      gay

    • @SEAL341
      @SEAL341 Před 4 lety +145

      @@user-mr6jq4qm6g are you indeed? Thank you for sharing with the group.

    • @ChineseKiwi
      @ChineseKiwi Před 4 lety +24

      *Except if you are in the Asian market because of consistent demand throughout the year ;)

    • @markjones4704
      @markjones4704 Před 4 lety +7

      trump

  • @pickeljarsforhillary102
    @pickeljarsforhillary102 Před 4 lety +2287

    At least they didnt kick the passengers out at 25,000 feet.

    • @Kim-zf5dp
      @Kim-zf5dp Před 4 lety +20

      Can you imagine?

    • @thursdayplurbonym-boyporri8921
      @thursdayplurbonym-boyporri8921 Před 4 lety +8

      @xXAlex AnderXx ... I do

    • @AnhNgo-qd9ug
      @AnhNgo-qd9ug Před 4 lety +41

      Sorry but its 35000 ft lol

    • @simonm1447
      @simonm1447 Před 4 lety +41

      This only happened in Argentina over the Rio de la Plata, to state enemies.

    • @johhhnsen
      @johhhnsen Před 4 lety +10

      PickelJars ForHillary - Insert Harrison Ford meme here...
      Get of my plane!!!

  • @l.a.i2571
    @l.a.i2571 Před 4 lety +685

    2:30 - There's a tiny smile on the plane. xD It's kinda cute.

  • @takeoffaviation7461
    @takeoffaviation7461 Před 4 lety +570

    Fun fact, the ex airline “WOW Air” has now rebranded and named itself as “PLAY” and the new PLAY Air has a similar structure to the Ex- WOW Air and this is the rise of WOW Air again but under a different name.

    • @kbs1212
      @kbs1212 Před 4 lety +6

      Takeoff Aviation I thought it was now a cargo airline?

    • @beggidanmusic
      @beggidanmusic Před 4 lety +10

      You are wrong. It's a new company and has nothing to do with WOW air.

    • @takeoffaviation7461
      @takeoffaviation7461 Před 4 lety +29

      Beggi Dan Well technically you’re correct but it was started by 2 WOW Air Executives

    • @beggidanmusic
      @beggidanmusic Před 4 lety +32

      @@takeoffaviation7461True. But actually WOW air is being resurrected by an investor called Michele Roosevelt Edwards. Play has nothing to do with WOW except they share some of the same resources. WOW is not being rebranded and by the looks of things, Play will probably never take off due to lack of interest from investors.

    • @aslamnurfikri7640
      @aslamnurfikri7640 Před 4 lety +1

      Also one of their A330neo ended up operated by Citilink (even it was delivered in WOW livery)

  • @joshuaayres121
    @joshuaayres121 Před 5 lety +3513

    Imagine the horror. Being on holiday and your airline goes belly up as you're about to go home.

    • @fliegenzug759
      @fliegenzug759 Před 5 lety +333

      Joshua Ayres I flew WOW and literally two days later they closed down. My family and I got really lucky

    • @mychemicalbromance97
      @mychemicalbromance97 Před 5 lety +183

      Especially if you now have to choose Iceland Air and pay $300 to replace the $100 flight that was cancelled.

    • @factzilla3071
      @factzilla3071 Před 5 lety +85

      It's happened to me before. Sabena Airlines in 2001, I was stranded in Europe but luckily was able to book another return flight home.

    • @lewisyang91
      @lewisyang91 Před 5 lety +46

      @@mychemicalbromance97 I had to pay 1300 to replace a 750 flight...

    • @Ty4ons
      @Ty4ons Před 5 lety +112

      Icelandair offered reduced prices to stranded passengers who could prove a wow air ticket

  • @guyincognito3253
    @guyincognito3253 Před 5 lety +2510

    If that CEO wants to avoid the bad PR of the stranded passengers, he should just have all the planes fly upside down and rebrand as MOM air.

    • @zhangjeffery1326
      @zhangjeffery1326 Před 5 lety +32

      The Darksider best comment I’ve seen today XD

    • @grincsimon5667
      @grincsimon5667 Před 5 lety +95

      MOM came to pick me up

    • @hayes2232
      @hayes2232 Před 5 lety +29

      Futurama rebranding

    • @AEMoreira81
      @AEMoreira81 Před 5 lety +16

      One of the planes was TF-MOM, but the Russian lessor sold the frame and 3 others to Air Canada before WOW went bankrupt.

    • @jakobkosmo2718
      @jakobkosmo2718 Před 5 lety +5

      Yeah, and land them upside down...

  • @BenMauser
    @BenMauser Před 4 lety +2122

    Still: one of the best paint jobs of all airlines!

    • @neeleshchithru6558
      @neeleshchithru6558 Před 4 lety +11

      It kioks whoreable!

    • @j__ck7562
      @j__ck7562 Před 4 lety +191

      Elitedevil Gay?
      *_It’s a fucking airline livery_*

    • @desitterspace2127
      @desitterspace2127 Před 4 lety +30

      Looks like a big Prilosec pill

    • @kristof1230
      @kristof1230 Před 4 lety +35

      @Elitedevil I mean they had a plane with the license: TF-GAY

    • @pedroSilesia
      @pedroSilesia Před 4 lety +22

      And by paint only you can tell how stupid this business was. It is much more costly to paint other than white on planes.

  • @gregorykrajeski6255
    @gregorykrajeski6255 Před 4 lety +405

    ~500 MM in revenue and ~30 MM in losses?
    That's pretty good for a startup.
    A 10% increase in price would make them profitable.
    Rather than cutting operations costs they should have raised prices.

    • @IbangedYaMama
      @IbangedYaMama Před 4 lety +70

      Especially when most of your competition (Icelandair) flights were like double the price, they had room to increase price.

    • @benjbk
      @benjbk Před 4 lety +15

      Depends on how much of the overall revenue was made from the non-Iceland flights at the end of WOW's lifetime. Other markets are way more competitive. Raising prices there could have made a huge impact on the number of sold tickets.

  • @AmusementLabs
    @AmusementLabs Před 5 lety +628

    Imagine being ready to board your flight home and you hear "Attention passengers of WOW Air Flight 123 to Boston, WOW Air has just now declared bankruptcy. You're on your own. Have a great day!"
    All you'd think to say is:
    WOW.
    They've come full circle.

    • @lauri4950
      @lauri4950 Před 5 lety +40

      Bankruptcy while on air *plane proceeds to decent and land in the sea*

    • @skippya1234
      @skippya1234 Před 5 lety +4

      As the pilot and copilot leave the plane

    • @AEMoreira81
      @AEMoreira81 Před 4 lety +3

      Icelandair ended up flying the crews back home. As for the cabin crew...they returned to their prior fields.

    • @astralclub5964
      @astralclub5964 Před rokem +2

      Love the “Soul Plane” look! Maybe Snoop should’ve been their pilot.

  • @konnerdent4835
    @konnerdent4835 Před 5 lety +1273

    This was the Michael Scott Paper Company of Icelandic airline companies.

    • @Amnistar
      @Amnistar Před 5 lety +6

      yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • @Dell-ol6hb
      @Dell-ol6hb Před 5 lety +68

      Konner Dent well at least the Michael Scott Paper Company knew when to quit and sold it before everything completely collapsed

    • @cloudlie3338
      @cloudlie3338 Před 5 lety

      Omg I was just watching that episode and I thought so too

    • @quinnschmidgall7902
      @quinnschmidgall7902 Před 5 lety +1

      Dude I thought I was the only one thinking that

    • @DE-xu3rq
      @DE-xu3rq Před 5 lety +9

      LoL that's what I was thinking at the end... "Maybe the Michael Scott Paper Company was a huge mistake. I should leave. I should go, and start my own paper company. That'll show 'em."

  • @TheSecondVersion
    @TheSecondVersion Před 4 lety +326

    "I only need 40 million dollars"
    That's like the budget of medium-scale hollywood blockbuster. We could have actually done away with a few of those in exchange for saving a good airline

    • @bishopworks3203
      @bishopworks3203 Před 4 lety +11

      I recently heard they are re-launching under the name PLAY airlines.

    • @MrArcher7
      @MrArcher7 Před 4 lety +1

      That can easily be crowdsourced. Give every donor who donates over a certain amount a membership card good for perks.

    • @BornDead61
      @BornDead61 Před 4 lety

      That dude could have made a very successful airline if he wouldn't have tried so hard to expand. If he would have just kept 1 plane he would have been fine

    • @FIXTREME
      @FIXTREME Před 4 lety +6

      We could have saved WOW, and avoided that Doolittle movie

    • @sponge920
      @sponge920 Před 4 lety +6

      One word. Cats. Why the hell anyone gave that a dime I will never know.

  • @AgentDialUp
    @AgentDialUp Před 3 lety +17

    I seriously miss the connection from St. Louis to Reykjavik. Seeing a bright purple plane servicing an international route was a thing of beauty when you consider the rest of the terminal was domestic Southwest flights.

  • @walmart3024
    @walmart3024 Před 5 lety +568

    Company: Goes Bankrupt
    BSF: its show time

  • @SupremeLeaderKimJong-un
    @SupremeLeaderKimJong-un Před 5 lety +1102

    3:42 What’s cooler than being cool? ICE COLD

  • @justyouraveragedoughboy9146

    The purple WOW Airbus A321 just looks stunning, I wish I got to ride in one of those.

  • @Octordoctor
    @Octordoctor Před 4 lety +89

    10:19 they even owned a plane called "TF-MOM" xD

    • @RetroAdz
      @RetroAdz Před 3 lety +13

      I was looking at those! TF-MOM, TF-BRO, TF-SON, TF-KID and TF-WOW were ones I spotted in this video

    • @gr8cescale
      @gr8cescale Před 3 lety +2

      @@RetroAdz I'm speechless. Wow.

  • @josephtafur
    @josephtafur Před 5 lety +232

    "Think Small, Act Small, You'll get bigger." "Think Big, Act Big, You'll get smaller."- Here Kelleher, Founder and Former CEO, Southwest Airlines.
    WOW Thought Big
    WOW Acted Big
    And look what happened.

    • @colgatetoothpaste4865
      @colgatetoothpaste4865 Před 5 lety +6

      That is also a mexican saying u dont need a lot of brain to realize that

  • @SWAGCOWVIDEO
    @SWAGCOWVIDEO Před 5 lety +1418

    I guess you could say it's MOM airlines now that the company has gone belly up

  • @viktorhrafngudmundsson2361
    @viktorhrafngudmundsson2361 Před 4 lety +76

    You forgot to mention transit flights through Iceland, that was a big part of their business model.

    • @VinceTaglia
      @VinceTaglia Před 4 lety +4

      And it's awesome on the consumer side too! If you are going to Europe and don't travel often, for just a small amount more spent on your overall trip, you can spend a few days in Iceland before going to Europe. If I remember correctly you save money on the plane tickets overall. Either way, that's what I'm planning on doing if/when I go to Europe. Hopefully the new company Play airlines is nearly as cheap and otherwise relatively the same. It's already kinda worse with the name and color. I like WOW in pink over PLAY in red.

  • @hustle_simmons
    @hustle_simmons Před 3 lety +6

    I use to work on their planes as cabin service , cleaning them between flights. Absolutely wonderful pilots and staff. They were so kind and friendly.

  • @charlesmattingly6472
    @charlesmattingly6472 Před 5 lety +619

    $250 round trip from Dallas to Iceland. Best trip I've ever took. Totally worth it.

    • @chrisj197438
      @chrisj197438 Před 4 lety +2

      Charles Mattingly
      I had a very good experience myself with them.

    • @kauvik7019
      @kauvik7019 Před 4 lety +11

      I took the same trip. The flights weren’t that great but what can you expect for 250. Other than that it was amazing

    • @kevinquisition
      @kevinquisition Před 4 lety +2

      Used Wow to get from Detroit to India, round trip for $750 during Christmas time. Shitty flights but less than half the cost of any other economy-class trip. No wonder they went bankrupt.

    • @harrisn3693
      @harrisn3693 Před 3 lety

      UrbanFLiNCH 2 Well, if you flown on Cubana on their IL-96 for the same price you get IFE and a full meal.... But of course, most westerners think anything that doesn’t have a US flag slapped on its side is the closest to fornicating with satan himself.....

    • @Docstantinople
      @Docstantinople Před 3 lety +1

      Totally worth it for you but not for the airline, I don’t know how they thought they were gonna be able to sustain a business with stupid low prices. The ticket prices could’ve been higher and still be competitive with other airlines.

  • @goobworx
    @goobworx Před 5 lety +161

    I took a WOW flight from Iceland to Denmark, I was seated at an emergency exit and had the opportunity to talk to a flight-attendant that was stationed at the door. He was a nice guy, talked about how he was a native to Iceland and was happy to have the opportunity to leave his home soil. Goes to show that you meet the greatest people in the most unexpected places.

  • @torytrae1974
    @torytrae1974 Před 4 lety +63

    I was flying with them a dozen times or more. Always my favorite airline. Actually stranded in Iceland the week they went bankrupt and had to cancel my flight over to the U.S. Took Icelandair to get back to Europe. Shame they are out of business. They should have raised the ticket prizes by 10-20% though.

  • @Mark-po5rp
    @Mark-po5rp Před 4 lety +136

    This airline had the most beautiful flight attendants I have ever seen. The only way to describe them would be WOW.

    • @ladylowman6403
      @ladylowman6403 Před 4 lety +8

      Mark my husband said the same thing lol

    • @ornjonasson8873
      @ornjonasson8873 Před 4 lety +13

      My daughter and my son´s ex-girlfriend were one of those.

    • @Itried20takennames
      @Itried20takennames Před 4 lety +9

      It comes at a price. When my mom first started as flight attendant, she could not wear her glasses, and would be forced out at 30. The rules changed, and I am glad for her and my family that she flew to retirement age and loved it. This was a new airline, but as time went on those hotties would either be forced out, or not be as hot.

    • @AvoidTheCadaver
      @AvoidTheCadaver Před 3 lety +1

      The same cannot be said for international flights on a US carrier

    • @lct8954
      @lct8954 Před 3 lety

      A guy that was on my flight said guys from NYC would come there twice a month b/c it was so cheap just to Tinder swipe their way thru women. He said he went on 16 date while there one wknd.

  • @wcsii
    @wcsii Před 5 lety +276

    “WOW...... I can’t believe they just cancelled my flight!”

    • @baconzz
      @baconzz Před 4 lety +5

      Horrible pun

    • @ddarius_b
      @ddarius_b Před 4 lety +1

      50th like!

    • @kbs1212
      @kbs1212 Před 4 lety +1

      WCS II Yoy banano

    • @rockvilleraven
      @rockvilleraven Před 4 lety +1

      @@kbs1212 Wow!, I can't believe they resurrected that airline with an Albatross of a name.

    • @omarbaba9892
      @omarbaba9892 Před 3 lety +1

      Shit joke

  • @SupremeLeaderKimJong-un
    @SupremeLeaderKimJong-un Před 5 lety +182

    Air Koryo is rated one star but reality is we’re actually the best airline in the world. Also, Iceland is beautiful and was the home of Robbie Rotten. He was a great member of Lazy Town, my favorite evil leader

    • @joshuaayres121
      @joshuaayres121 Před 5 lety +20

      He is Number One

    • @ana.alliterative
      @ana.alliterative Před 5 lety +16

      I appreciate your admiration for Iceland, but I feel a bit queasy from this software gore. How did this comment come a week before the video was uploaded?

    • @stirhaven1981
      @stirhaven1981 Před 5 lety +21

      @@ana.alliterative Like in sex, Kim comes early.

    • @AverytheCubanAmerican
      @AverytheCubanAmerican Před 5 lety +9

      @@ana.alliterative One word, Patreon

    • @amymayer43
      @amymayer43 Před 5 lety

      Lacks A Daisickle bro.... I just saw that haha

  • @fartvader84yearsago8
    @fartvader84yearsago8 Před 4 lety +17

    CEO: Guys, we are gonna fill for bankruptcy
    Employees: WOW

  • @nathanpolancos183
    @nathanpolancos183 Před 4 lety +30

    As of now, WOW Air is back! with a route from Iceland to Washington D.C, Welcome back WOW!

  • @naomirhoja6539
    @naomirhoja6539 Před 5 lety +151

    This story really hurts because I really wanted to see WOW Air succeed

    • @mattfahringer148
      @mattfahringer148 Před 5 lety +6

      naomirhoja
      we all did. but the airline industry is a tough market to succeed in even if your a budget airlines

  • @ashs.8418
    @ashs.8418 Před 5 lety +13

    I was in Iceland when WOW went bankrupt during a school trip. There were 3 groups there, us, a group from Chicago, and a group from Canada. We chose Icelandair to fly back, while the other two groups chose WOW airlines. But since where were in Iceland when it happened, the two other groups had to scramble to find a way back home since their budgets allowed for WOW. Luckily Icelandair came with discounts for people originally flying with WOW so they weren't stuck for very long. Still very wild though, since WOW was such a recent memory for us.

  • @bunnyj9779
    @bunnyj9779 Před 3 lety +7

    It was $99 from Toronto to Iceland. One of my best memories that I have. When WOW annouced bankrupt I was on my vacation in Ireland. Luckily, I was able to get refund at that time.

  • @integre23
    @integre23 Před rokem +3

    When I was on a Thai VietJet Air flight some months ago, it had the WOW air livery. They bought it without changing livery, and the text was still Icelandic.

  • @Tannalfurinn
    @Tannalfurinn Před 5 lety +200

    One thing you got wrong there. Though lot of the passengers flying with Iceland/WOW air were tourist coming to Iceland most of the passenger flying them were trans Atlantic passengers. Both Icelandair and WOW use Keflavik as a hub. So passengers come in from the states and Canada in the morning and stop there for couple of hours before continuing to Europe and vice versa.
    Great video though.

    • @yuotueb
      @yuotueb Před 5 lety +15

      Yeah the fact that he didn't even mention that makes me doubt his competence on any of the other things he said.

    • @DuckOfRubber
      @DuckOfRubber Před 5 lety +8

      True, but they would still have many of the same problems as not many people take trans-Atlantic vacations from late autumn-early spring. Business travelers always prefer direct flights and are much less likely to care about cost as their employer often pays the bill.

    • @Matt-io8cx
      @Matt-io8cx Před 5 lety +1

      the only bad thing about iceland air was they didn’t sell skyr on the plane. well my mom promised me that she would get me some before we left (cause it’s the greatest thing on earth) and instead of buying some at the airport she said they’d have some on the plane. it’s been almost a year and i’m still mad

    • @SkylaSugar
      @SkylaSugar Před 5 lety +3

      Yes, I was going to comment about that. I had to stop in Iceland during a flight from Atlanta to Glasgow

    • @knockeledup
      @knockeledup Před 5 lety +3

      O. Traveler Wow had free stopovers as well. I did one on my way to Paris last September.

  • @urbanpreppie05
    @urbanpreppie05 Před 5 lety +422

    They could have been ok...if they hadn't expanded as fast as they did. Shame, really.

    • @rolland890
      @rolland890 Před 5 lety +13

      I mean, I'd think that they could also expand operations to outside of just Iceland

    • @urbanpreppie05
      @urbanpreppie05 Před 5 lety +39

      @@rolland890 I think that was the plan...but they didnt want to play the waiting game. When WOW came to Pittsburgh, they were the only year-round transatlantic non stop for several hundred miles- and when they came here, they had full planes and pulled people from hundreds of miles away. Instead of building on their strong initial numbers, they started adding more service closer to cities that already had WOW and expanded their number of destinations. Too much, too fast.

    • @AaronShenghao
      @AaronShenghao Před 5 lety +5

      Sounds familiar... PamAm...

    • @felixbaxter352
      @felixbaxter352 Před 5 lety +15

      @bob wach Isn't deregulation somewhat the opposite of communism?

    • @ronidude
      @ronidude Před 5 lety

      i think its indego

  • @simonpotter7534
    @simonpotter7534 Před 5 lety +3

    I was on a Sabena flight mid-Atlantic when it went bust back in 2001. All cabin service ceased, we did not get a drink or food after it had been announced and the cabin crew gathered in knot outside the cockpit talking among themselves. The connecting flight almost did not take off as the Brussels airport was being picketed by the Sabena staff. We were very lucky to make it home on the last Sabena flight to Manchester, UK.

  • @comradedyatlov4143
    @comradedyatlov4143 Před 3 lety +5

    Comparing you now to your Chernobyl video a couple years back
    Back then you stuttered, tripped over your own words and whatnot
    However now you're fluid, smooth, organized, etc...
    Your improvements have not gone unnoticed. Brilliant job, son!

  • @nerv007
    @nerv007 Před 5 lety +327

    Knowing that the company went bankrupt, but the website is still has airfares for October of 2019 is sad and hilarious.

    • @mattfahringer148
      @mattfahringer148 Před 5 lety +5

      nerv007
      its funny their site is still up and running offering fairs through the end of the year

    • @HighestRank
      @HighestRank Před 4 lety +1

      matt fahringer “fairs”? Sad but hilarious.

    • @TylerCritti
      @TylerCritti Před 4 lety +4

      I tried to go to the website and it wont let me. It might have been taken down.

    • @leflores91
      @leflores91 Před 4 lety +1

      nerv007 The airline is coming back. This time it’s called WAB. I’m not kidding.

    • @295g295
      @295g295 Před 4 lety +1

      @@mattfahringer148 wowair.com "End of Operation of WOW AIR Information for WOW AIR passengers WOW AIR has ceased operation and has been declared bankrupt. All WOW AIR flights have been cancelled permanently. How will I reach my destination? Passengers are advised to check available flights with other airlines."

  • @akfasso
    @akfasso Před 5 lety +75

    We flew to Iceland the same week Wow Air shutdown. Fortunately, we were booked on IcelandAir. It was still eerie to see the vacant Wow Air check-in counters in both New York and Iceland. I feel so bad for all of the employees given the zero notice. I hope you go to Iceland, though... it is an unbelievable country! If you decide to camp there or drive Ring Road, I'm currently putting out a video series about our experience camping around Iceland. Just thought it could help in your planning. :) Another great vid, Jake!

  • @scarlettlasweet
    @scarlettlasweet Před 4 lety +66

    I wonder if theres gonna be a Thomas cook episode.

    • @aslamnurfikri7640
      @aslamnurfikri7640 Před 4 lety +1

      Adam Air episode would be interesting. The airline was infamous for its safety

    • @MattiFromFinland
      @MattiFromFinland Před 3 lety

      Yes that’s should be an episode

    • @evanstanislas898
      @evanstanislas898 Před 3 lety

      @@aslamnurfikri7640 did someone say Adam Air? If you want, look at my video about 7 last Adam Air fleet

  • @DarkZerol
    @DarkZerol Před 4 lety +26

    Audible should start their own airline.

    • @blackopscw7913
      @blackopscw7913 Před 3 lety

      DarkZerol ?

    • @woofplays
      @woofplays Před 3 lety

      Do you mean Amazon?

    • @aquawasnthere
      @aquawasnthere Před 3 lety +1

      @@woofplays yeah it should be named AIR-Azon where you buy a ticket so you can buy stuff using amazon and it gets delivered to your home

    • @kenon6968
      @kenon6968 Před 2 lety +1

      probably a better investment than all their brand deals with every other youtuber.

  • @jlaviation6207
    @jlaviation6207 Před 5 lety +303

    WOW was such a beautiful airline!! It was so sad seeing them go

    • @hashrulsubzero
      @hashrulsubzero Před 5 lety +46

      Right? That purple colour on their livery really stands out from the rest!

    • @jlaviation6207
      @jlaviation6207 Před 5 lety +12

      @@hashrulsubzero Exactly! I almost cried when I heard they were ceasing

    • @calzoneyyy
      @calzoneyyy Před 5 lety

      your spelling, however is not.

    • @jlaviation6207
      @jlaviation6207 Před 5 lety +7

      @@calzoneyyy your reading is not

    • @nitehawk86
      @nitehawk86 Před 5 lety +12

      I guess you didn't fly with them after 2017. Their customer service was atrocious. The sudden bankruptcy explains why.

  • @zuper1133
    @zuper1133 Před 5 lety +14

    Wow's Planes were something else. I always remembered driving past O'hair airport and seeing Wow's plane sitting there, made our family consider a flight to Iceland.

  • @artichawk_2425
    @artichawk_2425 Před 4 lety +5

    Great video and video series!
    I feel like one thing you kind of missed is the fact a lot of Wow Airs growth was fueled by transporting budget travelers from Europe to the USA with a layover in Reykjavik, however that was only sustainable at their extremely low prices and while they focused on expanding routes and passenger intake while operating on a loss they didn’t realize that people would opt out their penny picking service and Iceland layover for anything but those super low prices

  • @Moha-eh9tq
    @Moha-eh9tq Před 4 lety +32

    5:42 Registration lol.
    "TF-BRO"
    and then
    5:51
    "TF-SON"
    8:37
    'TF-WOW"

    • @HillandACD
      @HillandACD Před 4 lety +4

      Also TF-MOM and LY-COS.

    • @tomsmith5584
      @tomsmith5584 Před 4 lety +11

      They had some quirky airplane registrations. When they started flying to San Francisco, one of the Airbus A330s they used was registered TF-GAY. I'm not kidding.

    • @Moha-eh9tq
      @Moha-eh9tq Před 4 lety +1

      @@tomsmith5584 Yea I saw that.

    • @twistedyogert
      @twistedyogert Před 3 lety

      @@tomsmith5584 *WOW*

    • @anxiousbottle
      @anxiousbottle Před 3 lety

      Tf bro
      Sounds like
      The fuck bro

  • @mattus1gig
    @mattus1gig Před 5 lety +82

    I used WOW air to Iceland in 2015. They were a good bunch of people and because Iceland’s population is so small 3 of the staff were related. Such a shame they have gone now. 😕

    • @faith_alone
      @faith_alone Před 5 lety +2

      Shame they were all in a threesome relationship too

    • @mattus1gig
      @mattus1gig Před 5 lety +2

      EarnedMyResp3ct 😆 could have been 😁

    • @faith_alone
      @faith_alone Před 5 lety +2

      @@mattus1gig I have no clue why I wrote that

    • @AEMoreira81
      @AEMoreira81 Před 5 lety

      If there is a bright spot, many of their flight attendants were educated in other fields and went back there.

    • @victoria2425
      @victoria2425 Před 5 lety

      i flew to iceland an frankfurt on wow air last june:o

  • @realmarktilford
    @realmarktilford Před 5 lety +13

    I flew WOW round trip Baltimore to Copenhagen (through Iceland) in 2015..Aside from being nickeled and dimed a bit, it was a great experience.

    • @TXnine7nine
      @TXnine7nine Před 5 lety +2

      Never flew on them but I priced an itinerary a few times to mainland Europe via Iceland and even with the seat fees, bag fees, buy on board meals etc it was still often cheaper than a legacy US or European carrier by a sizable margin.

  • @craigbiggam2111
    @craigbiggam2111 Před 4 lety +28

    Would love to see an episode on Thomas Cook who just went bust in the UK.

  • @jasminem812
    @jasminem812 Před 3 lety +5

    this airline went out of business literally like a week after my best friend and i got back from our trip to Ireland, we were SO lucky to not be stranded

  • @aMAXproduction
    @aMAXproduction Před 5 lety +8

    I hope the marketing and design teams (if they worked directly within the company) have gone on to more things because WOW Air has really impressive marketing and branding. It's very modern look in the airline industry makes its competitors feel outdated. It comes across fun and trendy! Definitely a good portfolio piece.

  • @durselegion3297
    @durselegion3297 Před 5 lety +87

    I flew on WOW Air, to Reykjavík from Singapore. Way too expensive, but I did it anyways. Flew on Singapore Airlines on the way back because WOW Air just went bankrupt.

  • @tacomahunter
    @tacomahunter Před 4 lety +31

    “WOW Air, we hope you like your new home!”

  • @threeone6012
    @threeone6012 Před 4 lety +10

    2020 would be the perfect time to restart WOW air.
    *DOH!*

    • @57thorns
      @57thorns Před 3 lety +3

      yes, 2020 was simply a bad year for everything.

  • @kyleh0122
    @kyleh0122 Před 5 lety +7

    My family and I were in Iceland in January. When we were looking for a flight, we were tempted by WOW's prices. But we ended up going with IcelandAir because my mom didn't get good vibes about flying on an airline named "WOW." Considering what we know now, that was a good decision. When we saw what happened in March, it hit all of us how close we came to being stranded in Reykjavik airport. We really felt for those poor passengers.
    Jake, if you still wanna go to Iceland, I highly recommend going in the winter, during Northern Lights season. It was actually warmer there than it was where we live in New York, although I recommend bundling up because it can get quite windy at times. But it's definitely worth going just to see the Aurora.

  • @santir0vi
    @santir0vi Před 5 lety +50

    Please do Mexicana Avaition next their airplanes are abandoned in almost every airport in Mexico!

    • @faviolagonzalez2997
      @faviolagonzalez2997 Před 5 lety +3

      Yesss I remember going on mexicana as a child! I also remember hearing when It died out

    • @nxios
      @nxios Před 5 lety +1

      @@faviolagonzalez2997 when did it die out? Damn, Mexicana Airlines was part of my childhood and early teens. I only remember hearing that they were going to stop service to SFO where I live.

  • @AEMoreira81
    @AEMoreira81 Před 4 lety +15

    And then Icelandair couldn't take advantage because of the worldwide MAX grounding. The difference: aside from the MAX, Icelandair owns almost all of its planes and is also an aircraft lessor.
    But here, amazingly, is that WOW air sent the plane on their outbound flights and then went out of business.

  • @felixrowan3740
    @felixrowan3740 Před 3 lety +1

    When I volunteered in Iceland earlier this year, I walked past the WOW building you show in the video. It was both interesting and somewhat surprising to see it still there.

  • @ThaSwitcherTayTay
    @ThaSwitcherTayTay Před 5 lety +6

    Ooh thanks for making this episode!
    I travel to France frequently, and you could fly from Washington DC (BWI) to Paris for no more than 450 round trip thanks to WOW. I would go there like once every four months. People would ask how I afford to visit France so much, and this was the reason why. When I heard of the bankruptcy, my heart dropped.
    Now the tickets start at like 800 dollars! Gotta cut back now until I actually move there!

  • @Delta_NWAB747fan
    @Delta_NWAB747fan Před 5 lety +6

    I love the aviation bankrupt ones! It celebrates the airline and the history of it in the aviation industry. Keep up the great work!

  • @adventuresblissconnection4198

    Love your thorough approach to research & storytelling

  • @dnfl-7168
    @dnfl-7168 Před 4 lety +6

    Everyone I know in that industry
    "Wanna know how to make a small fortune?"
    "Start with a big one"

  • @milyluv16
    @milyluv16 Před 5 lety +12

    Crazy I hadn't heard of this. I flew WOW from LA to Iceland to Ireland in 2017

  • @woowoowoo6063
    @woowoowoo6063 Před 5 lety +3

    Relatively new viewer here, Jake - - just want to say thank you and how much I have enjoyed watching your videos and to commend you on how professionally done they are. You aren't just another "abandoned explorer" (those are a dime a dozen and very amateur...many seem downright pointless and without any real purpose). I particularly like the fact that you take the time to present the history behind each abandoned subject - it is informative, educational and entertaining, at the same time. It all makes for a very enjoyable viewing experience - granted, some of the stories are a bit sad, but your thorough and polished presentation, from start to finish, provides the back-story and a complete understanding of how these places came to become abandoned. Even your voice provides the perfect narrative touch. I was watching several of your videos with my son last night, and he found them equally riveting. So, all the best to you in your endeavors here - you are doing a fantastic job! Well done! Best wishes - Brad J.

  • @ronniedelahoussayechauvin6717

    I never heard of this Airline...BEAUTIFUL!

  • @l3vihd345
    @l3vihd345 Před 3 lety +3

    The BEST Reason They Went Bankrupt:
    so many decorations

  • @shiroshika1
    @shiroshika1 Před 5 lety +9

    Keep up the good work. I really enjoy your careful researched "bankrupt" or "cancelled" series.

  • @MrWoahna
    @MrWoahna Před 5 lety +3

    So glad my family and I were able to take advantage of this airline in October 2018 before it went under.

  • @jmason2838
    @jmason2838 Před 3 lety

    Love that fuschia color ! .... So vibrant and easily seen... 😃👍👍

  • @Smallfrye
    @Smallfrye Před 2 lety +1

    I flew WOW from Baltimore to Reykjavik then connected to Frankfurt and then back again two weeks later. $400 round trip, it was insane. Not the most comfortable, but the staff were nice and the plane was clean.

  • @thema1998
    @thema1998 Před 5 lety +6

    I had *no* idea that WOW Air existed until you uploaded this video yesterday.
    EDIT- 10:36 A.M.: *finishes video 15 minutes later*
    Judging by what I learned from this video, WOW Air seemed to have been way too ambitious.

  • @juangabriel123ify
    @juangabriel123ify Před 5 lety +26

    Yea Yea, but those prices though. My God, you could fly for basically 159 dollars across the Atlantic

    • @jokat9896
      @jokat9896 Před 4 lety +1

      these airlines take the Walmart approach. Offer dirt cheap products that loose lots of money in the hope that the competition goes bankrupt before you do. I'm willing to bet WOW air never flew a single profitable flight. because if WOW could make a profit, then iceland air could make a profit at the same price and WOW was no closer to its goal of 100% market share.

  • @MrHusang23
    @MrHusang23 Před 4 lety +2

    Those signs are really funny! I'd love to travel with a smiling airplane:D

  • @javirettig96
    @javirettig96 Před 4 lety

    I love these series! Excellent job.

  • @eco_normie3633
    @eco_normie3633 Před 5 lety +33

    Looks at vid that wow is dead
    Me: WOW

  • @gypsydust
    @gypsydust Před 5 lety +8

    Love you and your posts!!! You do your homework and it shows!

  • @nedita9475
    @nedita9475 Před 4 lety

    These Bankrupt videos are great, very interesting! please keep them coming!

  • @DanimalGTwitch
    @DanimalGTwitch Před 4 lety +2

    I was introduced to your channel a few days ago and have been binging ever since. I've never heard the words "filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection" more in my life. Keep it up!

  • @KurtE71
    @KurtE71 Před 5 lety +26

    Forget WOW 2.0, he should revive Hooters Air! 😁

    • @cubixx4354
      @cubixx4354 Před 5 lety +1

      I feel like Hooters air could make it big in 2019

    • @Coolsomeone234
      @Coolsomeone234 Před 5 lety +1

      Agreed

    • @NicholasLittlejohn
      @NicholasLittlejohn Před 5 lety

      Trump supporters would love that in the deep south.

    • @cubixx4354
      @cubixx4354 Před 5 lety

      @@NicholasLittlejohn why you gotta make it political doe

    • @abandonedchannel281
      @abandonedchannel281 Před 5 lety

      Nicholas Littlejohn As much as I agree, you have started a shit show in the replies.

  • @ottoice5778
    @ottoice5778 Před 5 lety +5

    As an Icelander and avid follower of your channel, interesting documentary. Keep up the good work ;)

  • @evilelf5967
    @evilelf5967 Před 4 lety +3

    we flew to iceland last year when wow was still in business,albeit coming to its operational end.a huge hit for iceland,hopefully the new owners/carriers don't make the same strategy mistakes.

  • @ralphbani
    @ralphbani Před 4 lety +8

    In 2017, I took a flight from LAX to Iceland on WOW Air, and oh my god it was the most uncomfortable flight I’ve ever been on...

    • @twistedyogert
      @twistedyogert Před 3 lety +5

      You get what you pay for. But it's better then renting a rowboat.

  • @whytwojay
    @whytwojay Před 5 lety +252

    Doctor: you have 13:12 minutes to live
    My phone: “Bright Sun Films has uploaded a new video”
    Me:

    • @Jayfive276
      @Jayfive276 Před 5 lety +19

      Stop it. Just stop it. These aren't funny.

    • @michaelugwueke6312
      @michaelugwueke6312 Před 5 lety +3

      Jayfive276 I understand but why

    • @darthXreven
      @darthXreven Před 5 lety +1

      Bones: he's dead Jim

    • @Happymali10
      @Happymali10 Před 5 lety +10

      And then youtube throws in two 30 second ads.

    • @darthXreven
      @darthXreven Před 5 lety

      @My Phone smartass lol
      [in southern accent]
      whut kinda ass maam??

  • @KingMooseThe3rd
    @KingMooseThe3rd Před 5 lety +15

    Great stuff once again Jake - now cover the abandoned fishing villages of Newfoundland!

    • @YujiUedaFan
      @YujiUedaFan Před 5 lety +1

      When I flew back from Toronto to Iceland, the plane had to stop at Newfoundland to refuel.

  • @TobuscusMojo
    @TobuscusMojo Před 10 měsíci +1

    Its funny too cause I remember driving by the Hartfield-Jackson International Airport and seeing WOW airplanes, I always loved the name. But I completely forgot about the company after a few years until I saw this video. Then I remembered seeing that purple airplane when I was younger. It's sad too. Even after the company cease to exist, I remember seeing 2 WOW airplanes just sitting there and thinking to myself "wow".

  • @SoraSeiichiVT
    @SoraSeiichiVT Před 2 měsíci

    I actually flew on this airline in 2017. I went from SF-> Reykjavik-> Dublin to visit my at the time gf and her family. It was my first time flying. I remember it pretty clearly that besides the fact that the Reykjavik Int Airport was under heavy construction, it was a really nice flight albeit long.

  • @NicoAW17
    @NicoAW17 Před 5 lety +71

    1:13 really? they couldn't have survived 1 more day? wow. (that is my genuine reaction, and its also a joke)

    • @AaronShenghao
      @AaronShenghao Před 5 lety +3

      Well they can't pay the airport for takeoff slots... so yeah...

    • @nicnuckle5167
      @nicnuckle5167 Před 5 lety

      Shut up nicoAW you sound like a liberal

    • @NicoAW17
      @NicoAW17 Před 5 lety

      @@nicnuckle5167 umm... what

    • @HighestRank
      @HighestRank Před 4 lety

      it’s*, and I’m dead serious.

  • @mpgstudios1944
    @mpgstudios1944 Před 5 lety +5

    I never knew about WOW thanks for the info

  • @mikecann3220
    @mikecann3220 Před rokem +2

    I remember seeing the planes on the tarmac at Pearson Airport in Toronto.

  • @imaperson9693
    @imaperson9693 Před 4 lety +11

    May 2019: WOW! Wow Air gone belly up
    June 2019:
    July 2019:
    August 2019:
    September 2019:
    October 2019:
    November 2019: WOW! Wow Air are flying again. Somehow?

    • @casablancavic
      @casablancavic Před 3 lety

      2020 200 other airlines go belly up and WOW somehow manages to maintain

  • @Anthony-nx5yu
    @Anthony-nx5yu Před 5 lety +3

    Every time I pass by EWR (Newark Liberty International) I see that purple Wow Air parked in the back. Such a shame I never heard of them beforehand.

  • @venomousnate7263
    @venomousnate7263 Před 5 lety +56

    Amazing documentary. You never cease to amaze me. If you don’t mind taking a request, World Championship Wrestling

  • @techblogger8323
    @techblogger8323 Před 4 lety

    Love this series so much

  • @claire7004
    @claire7004 Před 4 lety +7

    Will you be looking into Thomas Cook, this left thousands stranded minutes before flights the same as this, it would be really interesting to see your take on what happened with that company

  • @nicholasthayer93
    @nicholasthayer93 Před 3 lety +4

    4:34 “if you fly from Newark’s, New York air port” Newark is in New Jersey! 😬

  • @cimengngialah2735
    @cimengngialah2735 Před 5 lety +21

    Wow, this video is amazing!!!

  • @azimuth361
    @azimuth361 Před 2 lety +1

    It's great that you put your promos at the END of your video. You get paid and if we don't want to watch your ad, SKIP! Thank you. You're awesome!

  • @avrinrose5457
    @avrinrose5457 Před 4 měsíci +1

    In my fictional world, this company never bankrupt and still successful

  • @sheeps4485
    @sheeps4485 Před 4 lety +5

    I can describe this event as “Wow”

  • @itstrevdog183
    @itstrevdog183 Před 5 lety +91

    Could you do a Payless Shoes bankrupt video? (Payless is a shoe store that sell cheap shoes)

    • @TheSjuris
      @TheSjuris Před 5 lety +7

      Was a shoe store.

    • @rissa1001
      @rissa1001 Před 4 lety +5

      What? I still have Payless at my mall tho😂😂

    • @TheSjuris
      @TheSjuris Před 4 lety +6

      Oof everyone has gone out of business near me.

    • @rissa1001
      @rissa1001 Před 4 lety +3

      Steven Juris that’s wild bc I just went to Payless to get some sandals 😂😂damn that kinda sucks that Payless closed down where u are at.

    • @JYMAHJAMES
      @JYMAHJAMES Před 4 lety +3

      @@rissa1001 I'm not sure how it works cause they filed for bankruptcy but they still have stores here in the Caribbean

  • @toby.maximillian
    @toby.maximillian Před 2 lety

    The intro is good, same with the video great work I’ve watched bankrupt videos in the past

  • @SEAL341
    @SEAL341 Před 4 lety

    This series is really good, please do more