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The perpetual catch with low cost carriers are the fees they stick you with on top of the advertised price of the ticket. Everything’s peachy keen until you look at the fine print and realize that’s not the real price after adding the cost of checking luggage and selecting a seat ahead of time.
But I have good news. Icelandic low cost carrier WOW air has doubled their carry on luggage allowance. The previous allowance was 11 lbs, and now you can carry on 22 lbs total without paying any extra fees. The maximum dimensions are 42 x 32 x 25 cm, including the wheels and handle.
Why This is Good News
You’ve seen Scott write about $99 fares flying WOW air before, from Boston and Baltimore— as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles— to Iceland. They are quickly expanding their reach in North America, with flights starting between Newark and Reykjavik this November. With fares as low as $99, WOW air is an extremely cheap way to get to Iceland and beyond as you can find connections to Europe for a total of a $149.
The following screenshot is from wowair.com‘s homepage (today):
The previous carry on allowance was 11 lbs, and if you wanted to carry on more than that (up to 26 lbs), you’d have to pay an extra $38.
So essentially you’re getting 11 extra pounds of fee free luggage that you would have paid $76 for roundtrip before.
Here is the fee page for WOW Air. If you want to carry on more than 22 lbs or check a bag, you will incur more fees. The cost to check a bag when flying from the United States varies from $48.99 to $76.99 depending on where you are flying from and to (Iceland or Europe).
Bottom Line
WOW air is a fantastic option for cheap travel to Iceland and Europe, and this new carry on allowance makes maintaining their baseline prices a lot more realistic.
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