WOW air founder looking to revive bankrupt carrier

Skúli Mogensen hopes to acquire the WOW brand and resume scheduled flights as soon as June.

WOW air might be taking off soon again. Credit: Sigurjon Ragnar/sr-photos.com

Skúli Mogensen, founder and former CEO of collapsed low-cost carrier WOW air, is seeking to revive the airline. According to information obtained by Fréttablaðið newspaper, Skúli and some former key employees at WOW air are presently looking to raise up to 40 million dollars in operation costs from financers in order to revive the airline.

An investor presentation details that the new company hopes to acquire the WOW brand and buy up WOW air’s remaining assets. The presentation also includes the company’s two-year strategic plan; according to which the company intends to lease five Airbus aircrafts to an unnamed European carrier for 12 weeks as soon as an air operator certificate has been acquired. The company then plans to begin scheduled flights to thirteen destinations around Europe and North America as soon as June.

The group will hold 51% of the new company, while new investors will own 49%. The presentation emphasizes that the management team, consisting of Skúli and WOW air’s former key employees, are willing to take on a 30% pay reduction for the first year of operation.

WOW air ceased operations on March 28th, leaving thousands of passengers around the world stranded and more than a thousand people in Iceland unemployed.