Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.07.2019, Blaðsíða 12

Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.07.2019, Blaðsíða 12
When WOW Air suddenly ceased all operations in March 2019, filing for bankruptcy shortly thereafter, the primary question that arose was how Iceland’s tourism market would be affected by its demise. Recent tourism figures have given strong indications that it has had an effect, but at the same time, former management and assets of WOW Air are also being used to cobble together two new airlines: virtual clone WAB Air, and a newer version of WOW. The date of WOW’s collapse falls very close to the end of the first quar- ter of 2019. Recent data from Statistics Iceland on the second quarter gives us some indication of the effect this had: overall tourism did decrease, by about 20%, but something very interesting happened to accommodations: book- ings for AirBnB rentals, popular with the budget traveller, declined by 14% in this quarter, while decidedly more expensive hotel bookings remained more or less unchanged. It might not be unreasonable to wager that the sudden disappearance of a budget airline then had a more significant impact on budget accommodation than it did on more expensive rooming options. Luck o’ the Irish Earlier this month, Fréttablaðið reported that a new airline—dubbed WAB Air—was in the works. The minds behind this project have some very optimistic projec- tions: they expect s o m e 1 m i l l i o n passengers to fly with WAB Air, which will hire 500 employ- ees over the next 12 months, generating about 20 billion ISK in revenue. Ho w e v e r, t h i s is contingent on a significant capital investment from Av i a n t a C a p i t a l , an Irish company, which has report- edly pledged some 5 billion ISK to WAB Air in exchange for a 75% stake in the company. The other 25% will go to a new company called Neo which, it turns out, is led by some former WOW Air board members. These folks are also trying to get Arion bank and Landsbanki to lend money to Avianta for investment in the company, but that has yet to play out. Somali jihadists and budget airlines Far more interesting is the possible resurrection of WOW itself. When it came to light that someone was buying up WOW’s logo, website domain name, uniforms and other assets, reporters in Iceland did some digging and discov- ered that the driving force behind this was one Michele Ballarin. A recent profile on Michele in Foreign Policy magazine described her as a “flamboyant West Virginia heiress”, who bears the distinction of organis- ing Sufi resistance against Wahhabi militant groups in Somalia since 2006. Providing both money and logistical support to these resistance fighters, she has been involved with both the Pentagon and the CIA in these efforts for years. And now, she apparently wants to breathe new life into a budget airline in Iceland. This naturally raises the question: what plans does Michele have for WOW Air, exactly? Will WOW re-emerge with a new MO, or does this mark a new field of interest for her? Those questions remain unanswered, but unless and until one or both of these airlines get off the ground, the lack of budget flight to Iceland has had a greater impact on budget travellers to the country than it has had on the number of booked hotel rooms. Words: Andie Fontaine Photo: Marvin Mutz 12 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 12— 2019News WHALES, PUFFINS & REYKJAVÍK May 10:00, 12:00 14:00 June 10:00, 12:00 14:00, 16:00 20:00 July & August 09:00, 10:00, 11:00 12:00, 13:00, 14:00 15:00, 16:00, 20:00 Price: 21.990 ISK #WHALESAFARI • #THEULTIMATEWHALEWATCHING • #CLOSERTONATURE +354 497 0000 • INFO@WHALESAFARI.IS • WHALESAFARI.IS “AMAZING EXPERIENCE 10/10, WOULD BOOK AGAIN!” “THE COOLEST EXPERIENCE IN ICELAND!!” “WE WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS TOUR. DEFINITELY A 5 STAR COMPANY” 2018 CERTIFCATE of EXCELLENCE P R E M I U M WHALE WATCHING TOURS CLASSIC PUFFIN PREMIUM PUFFIN EASY FAMILY TOUR UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL 1ST OF MAY - 15TH OF AUGUST 08:00, 10:00, 12:00 & 14:00 PRICE ISK: 7-15 YEARS: 3250 ISK 0-6 YEARS: FREE6.500 1ST OF MAY - 31ST OF MAY 1ST OF JUNE - 20TH OF AUGUST MINIMUM HEIGHT & AGE: 145 CM / 10 YEARS 9:00, 13:00 & 17:00 9.30, 10.30, 11.30, 12.30, 13.30, 14.30, 15.30, 16.30 & 17.30 PRICE ISK: 9.990 #PUFFINTOURS #MRPUFFIN /REYKJAVIKBIRDWATCHING WWW.PUFFINTOURS.IS +354 497 2000 INFO@MRPUFFIN.IS PUFFIN & BIRDWATCHING UP TO 13 DAILY DEPARTURES FROM REYKJAVIK OLD HARBOUR “Ballarin has been involved with both the Pentagon and the CIA, and apparently wants to breathe new life into a budget airline in Iceland.” Picking The Bones Of WOW The ghost of the late budget airline haunts Iceland still What even is a WAB?
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