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You may or may not know the two Icelandic airlines. But what is the difference between them?

You may or may not know the two Icelandic airlines. But what is the difference between them?

There are only so many ways of hauling your ass to Iceland although this island has been tempting more and more parties these last few years. A handful of those are well known low-cost airlines like Vueling, easyJet and Norwegian and then mostly there are the two local airlines.

Icelandair is pretty old by airline standards and then there is the new kid on the block, the low-cost airline Wow Air. While a large chunk of folks out there look for low prices when booking flights  there are also those that put equal or higher emphasis on comfort and service as well. Since we know both airlines pretty well we thought it wise to share with you guys to help you decide.

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Wow Air made headlines in the U.S. recently when they announced fares from Boston and Washington D.C. to Iceland starting from 99$. A great way to get attention but do not expect such prices on average. A more realistic price for one-way flight to Iceland from the States or vice-versa should be around 150$ – 170$ and that excludes any baggage for which you pay extra. Indeed you pay extra for almost anything here and those extras quickly add up.

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Seat pitch varies from 34 inch at best down to 30 inch for the majority of seats. You pay extra for the extra inches here too but there is only one cabin class.

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While you have to pay for everything once on board it must be said the flight attendants of Wow Air do a heck of a job making the journey fun. We mean genuine fun as it most often looks as if the flight attendants themselves are having fun. That is absolutely the best company on a flight.

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Less than stellar. Wow Air will not inform you of your rights in case of problems like delays or cancellations. They will also fight all demands for any compensation.

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On the whole Icelandair fares are pretty much in line with fares of other golden oldie airlines in Europe. Seldom cheap but seldom very expensive either. They do have a three-class fare system but their best class has seen better days. Expect average prices for one-way flight to Iceland be between 350$ and 450$ in economy class from the U.S.

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Three cabin classes, three different seat pitches. In first class you enjoy 40 inch space while economy comfort gives you 33 inches to enjoy. Even those in the lowest class do have 32 inch pitch. Not too bad but bear in mind seats do not recline very much.

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Apart from water and coffee you will have to pay for most things on board. There is an entertainment system for all which is nice and Wifi is said to be available too on most flights. However, the flight attendants are less than great and average at best.

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Less than stellar. Customer service has been inundated for months and average waiting time for a response at time of writing is one whole month. However, they do try to accommodate all in case of problems and do not often fight claims. But they will not inform you about your rights either.

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