Budget travelers, prepare your wallets: Beginning December 5, 2018, Iceland’s low-cost carrier, Wow Air, will launch new flights between the United States and India. To celebrate, the airline is offering discounted rates on the already economical route, with one-way fares starting from $199 for travel between January and March 2019.
The new routes will take travelers from nine U.S. cities to Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) in Delhi, with just a brief stopover in Wow’s home base, Iceland. (In a statement announcing the new routes, Wow Air’s founder and chief executive officer, Skúli Mogensen, noted that the shortest flight path from India to the U.S. East Coast goes right above Iceland—so the layover isn’t even off course.)
Wow’s Delhi-bound flights will depart from Newark (EWR), Boston (BOS), Washington, D.C./Baltimore (BWI), Chicago (ORD), Pittsburgh (PIT), Detroit (DTW), San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX), and St. Louis (STL).
It’s important to note that Wow is a budget airline, which means that travelers will have to pay add-on fees for baggage and in-flight meals. On the Delhi route, the airline will use brand new Airbus A330neo aircrafts—which are outfitted with seats offering approximately 37 inches of legroom—but ticket prices will vary depending on seating category. Basic seating starts from $199, while the airline’s premium seating, which is similar to business class, costs $699 one way.
Still, the announcement is major news for no-frills travelers seeking an affordable way to visit India’s many highlights, from the Taj Mahal to the Himalayas.
“This addition expands on Wow Air’s promise to connect more travelers to as many diverse and exciting cities at the best-possible prices,” said Mogensen. “It is an opportunity to change the game.”
In comparison with other airlines’ current rates for Delhi-bound routes from the United States during the same period—Wow’s $199 one-way tickets are a bona fide deal.
This article originally appeared online in May 2018; it was updated on August 28, 2018, to include current information.
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