Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.09.2019, Blaðsíða 16

In late July, it was announced that Oasis
Aviation Group (OAG) had agreed to
buy all assets in the WOW air bank-
ruptcy estate. When the liquidators
caught wind that controversial figure
Michele Roosevelt Edwards (FKA
Michele Ballarin) was behind OAG, they
cancelled the deal. Edwards had previ-
ously announced that she intended to
invest 24 billion ISK into what was left
of WOW Air and revive the company.
In early August, Edwards returned
to Iceland with her lawyer, Páll Ágúst
Ólafsson, and public
relations guru, Gunnar
Steinn Pálsson, trying
again to resurrect
the budget airline.
Something must have
worked, because in
early September she
finalised the purchase
of the assets for an undisclosed amount.
She now has $85 million USD commit-
ted to the business of bringing WOW
Air back to life, with the intent to make
Iceland a European hub. She says she
wants to capture the Icelandic expe-
rience, and to make flying fun again.
Without specifying a purchase price,
she assured RÚV that she plans to have
the company back on its feet by October.
“We are debt-free and want to stay debt-
free,” she told the state broadcaster.
Lofty goals
WOW 2.0’s twin headquarters will be
Washington Dulles and Keflavík inter-
national airports. Michele is reportedly
hopeful that the company will start
with two freight planes, and by next
summer, she hopes to have between
ten and twelve freight and passenger
planes. “I’m not seeing more than
twelve aircraft when we’re full-sail, as
you Vikings would say here,” she said.
She has not specified how many former
employees she plans to re-hire, but she
does want to bring back at least some
of the pilots and flight attendants.
“We’re looking for a very strong Icelan-
dic face.”
This is a very optimistic goal, but it
might be too idealistic. Kristján Sigur-
jónsson, editor in chief at travel news
site turisti.is, has been vocal about his
doubts. "I do not yet have full faith in
the resurrection of WOW air," he told
Morgunblaðið, adding that the purchase
of the assets alone isn’t enough to run an
airline. “You would need more informa-
tion on how to do this. We still do not
know what airline licenses they intend
to use.”
The how
Edwards remains optimistic. “Many
airlines have historically challenging
times. Maybe they didn’t become perma-
nently grounded or face closure. But
WOW Air is a unique brand,” she told
RÚV. “It’s well-recognised.” She also
said that the founder did a good job of
building the WOW brand, which is an
interesting thing to say, considering the
fact that the WOW Air brand was widely
recognised as a no-frills means of travel
to and from Iceland, and consulting a
Michelin-starred chef is incompatible
with a low-cost airline.
It is worth mentioning that in order
to keep costs low, Edwards wants to
focus on reducing passenger compen-
sation. It is unclear what exactly she
means by this, but it’s most likely she
is referring to the EU’s compensation
laws, which state that if a passenger is
delayed, their bag is lost, or they are
inconvenienced in a number of other
ways, they would be entitled to compen-
sation. Edwards’ company would there-
fore be required to have fewer delays,
lose or delay fewer bags, and ensure
that every customer is completely satis-
fied with their experience. She also plans
not to ferry staff between Reykjavík and
Keflavík, which WOW Air used to do at
significant cost. She also said that she
plans to hire a much smaller IT depart-
ment. Perhaps the savings incurred by
this perfect plan will generate enough
profit for the American Tycoon that
she will be able to keep WOW’s low-
cost reputation without going bankrupt
herself. Probably not, though.
A Cloud Of Doubt
Around WOW Air
An American tycoon plans to resurrect WOW Air by October
"We're looking for a very strong Icelandic face," WOW Air's new owner Michele Edwards says.
Words:
Sam O’Donnell
Photo:
Art Bicnick
News 16 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 16— 2019
"I do not yet
have full faith in
the resurrection
of WOW air."