Hold Up – $490 Roundtrip to Paris – Same Day Departure and Arrival?
At first I thought I had lucked into one of those rare times we all read about in the newspaper. “Mistake by Airline Results in $49 Roundtrip Fares for Lucky European Vacationers.” Or, something like that. But, no. I opened a new browser and went straight to the airline’s site (wowair.com) and got the same result.
However, here are the catches:
Yes, the flight leaves on the same day it arrives in Paris. But, it departs at 12:40 a.m. – the very beginning of the day. To look on the bright side, that means you could get to JFK from nearly anywhere in the country in time to get on that flight. Budget travelers – are you ready for this?
Another catch, you have a 3 hour and 25 minute layover in Reykjavik, Iceland at the Keflavik International Airport. I have been to that airport and it is pretty cool. And, they have interesting souvenirs. But, the airport is a little far out to be able to go into town and see anything. Still, from the airport you can look outside at the crazy moonscape of Iceland. Who knows, it may get your traveling yen going for a trip to Iceland next.
On the return, the departure time from Paris is great – 6:30 p.m. (Go ahead and climb those towers at Notre-Dame de Paris, have lunch, then take your time getting to Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport for your return journey). Again there is a layover in Rekjavik for another 3 hours and 30 minutes of chill time. While it is not so bad for the savings, the plane does not arrive until 11:25 p.m. at JFK. What are you going to do if you don’t live next door to JFK? Sleep in the terminal?
Then, more catches:
You have to pay for a carryon, and for a checked bag, and this is for each direction. So double those bag charges! Remember, even with the least expensive ticket, personal items are free – hurrah!
No food is included in the ticket price unless you buy the WOW biz ticket. So if you were going to try the suggestion to avoid eating in flight, the decision is made for you!
Yet, the airline offers a lot of options to go with the basic ticket. Everything is à la carte (to use some French), so you buy what suits you. Need cancellation protection, check it off and an amount is added to your total charge. Want priority boarding? Check it on the screen and your total is increasing. What about extra leg-room or extra, extra leg-room? You can buy it. Decide you want to forego the recommendation about avoiding jet lag? On the WOW air website, you can purchase food for your meal on board at the time you purchase your ticket. Choose what you want and pay for each part as you choose your options.
Want your bags included in your ticket, take a look at WOW plus. That fare is about $100 more and you get a seat, one checked bag and one carryon bag – worth it! Then you only have the catches written about earlier to worry about.
Leaving and arriving on the same day is incredible. You arrive in Paris, go eat dinner, go to bed, and wake up the next day on schedule. Or at least that is how it is supposed to work. This flight could work to your advantage to avoid jet lag. You will be so exhausted, you will sleep well into the next morning after you finally hit the hay.
This is budget travel and it doesn’t seem half bad.
It will just take a bit of planning to cover the issues created by cost savings.
