WOW Airline is my new best friend!  Have you heard of them?  WOW is a low-cost, budget airline, based out of Iceland.  They have some great deals if you can be flexible on the dates you travel.  Here is our first hand account of traveling on WOW from LAX to Dublin last weekend.

A little background on the planning of this trip...there was none.  When a friend told me she was traveling to Dublin for business with her husband, she asked if we were planning a trip there any time soon.  We weren't, so I didn't give it more thought.  After checking my email later that day, I saw an email from WOW airline, offering flights from LAX to Dublin for $ 199.00 each way. I started trying to figure out reasons why I HAD to go to Ireland.  That was easy. Since we own 2 Celtic stores, it could be a trip for finding new products.  That was the only reason I needed and I set out to plan my trip with less than a week from departure!

Luckily, we could be somewhat flexible on our dates and we booked flights for April 28th leaving LAX and coming back from Dublin on May 8th.  We did have to pay $7.99 per person per leg of the flight to be able to choose our seats and pay $69.99 for the one bag we checked in.  The other caveat is you have a layover in Keflavik,Iceland.  Ours was 16 hours...more on that below.

Here's a list of pros and cons from our experience on WOW airline:

Pros

The price- The cost was just under $500.00 round trip from LAX to Dublin after taking into account one flight going up to $219.00 right before I booked, as well as the seat and baggage charge.  Still, a great price!

The reclining seats!  We booked the basic seats, not XL or XXL seats.  I had read the seats recline further back than most airlines, and it's true.  It made sleeping on the flight much easier.

Everyone was very friendly!  From flight attendants to passengers, it was a great flight!  Maybe the good mood was because of the great deal, I don't know, or maybe it was just me being super happy I was going to Ireland.

A 16 hour layover in Keflavik, Iceland.  I consider this a benefit.  It is just long enough to go out and explore Iceland a bit.  We were surprised at how expensive everything in Iceland is, but you can also get as little as a 2 hour layover if exploring isn't on your to-do list.

We fit in the seats!  Both my husband and I are not small people. He is 6'1 and a former offensive lineman and my motto is "I've never met a potato I didn't like" so ya, we aren't petite. I was very worried we would get on the plane and not fit in the seat. I'm happy to report, we did and quite comfortably.

Cons

Both our flights out of LAX and out of Keflavik were delayed.  As I did my research on flying WOW airline, I did read this is pretty common.  Again, if you are flexible on time, it's not so bad.  Our delay out of LAX was approx. 2 hours and out of Iceland, approx. 30 minutes. 

WOW airline doesn't have gate privileges in Iceland or at Dublin airport.  At Keflavik, you take a bus from the tarmac to the gate, and in Dublin you walk from the tarmac to the gate.  It wasn't really an issue for us since the weather was good. It could be an issue if the weather is bad or there are any issues with walking up and down the stairs.

Bring your own drinks and snacks. I don't really consider this a bad thing, but didn't think it belonged under the pros.  Everything you get on the flight has a cost, even a soda.  Again, when you consider the price of the airfare it seems okay.

We will fly WOW airline again.  If you are looking for a low cost, no frills (really no frills) this is the airline to check out.