I was impressed with my experience flying Wow Air with nut allergies. Before booking my flights to Iceland, I looked at the two main carriers, Icelandair and Wow Air.
Wow is a budget airline that has become popular with its cheaper flights from Boston to Iceland. I have flown decent budget airlines in the past so I wasn’t ruling it out, especially since during school vacation week it was almost half the price of Icelandair. I decided to look up their allergy policies listed on their website. I was pleased to find that they did have a nut allergy policy that sounded approachable.
From Wow Air’s website:
Nut allergy
We advise passengers with a nut allergy to inform our cabin crew when boarding. The cabin crew will make an announcement advising the other passengers onboard that products containing nuts will not be sold and should not be consumed. Please be advised, that despite taking the above precautions, we cannot guarantee that traces of nuts will not be found onboard.
Next I searched for Iceland air’s nut policy, which I found satisfactory, although a bit more concerned with liability and less approachable.
From Icelandair’s Website:
Icelandair’s allergy policy
Icelandair cannot guarantee an allergen free environment on-board our aircraft. Therefore we strongly encourage passengers with severe allergies that can result in anaphylaxis to bring an epinephrine auto-injector (EpiPen®) and any other medications they may need.The meals offered on Icelandair flights do not contain peanuts or peanut products, such as peanut butter, although trace elements from peanuts may be found in meals.In addition, tree nuts (e.g., almonds) may be found in meals on board, and fish and shellfish is sometimes on offer in Saga Class. Unfortunately it‘s not possible to remove tree nuts, fish, or shellfish from the cabin. In the case of severe peanut allergy, our cabin crew can make an allergy announcement on board asking other passengers on the flight not to consume foods that contain peanuts. Please contact Icelandair Customer support at +354 50 50 100 and submit a doctor´s certificate at least 48hrs before departure to request an allergy announcement. We do however wish to stress that Icelandair can in no way restrict other passengers from bringing or consuming their own food, on the aircraft, that may contain peanuts or other allergens. For that reason it’s possible to find traces of peanuts on seats cushions, arm rests, tray tables, or elsewhere in the cabin.
I was more inclined to go with the budget airline this time. I read a number of reviews about both airlines, and came to the conclusion that I wanted to try out Wow Air. I must say I was impressed with their customer service. I did call ahead but was told to just let them know at the gate. When I informed them about my severe allergies at the gate and asked if I could pre-board, they were great about it. They didn’t question me, ask to see a doctor’s letter (yes, that has happened before), or any other proof. I told the flight attendants about my allergies once I was on-board and they made an announcement that they would not be serving nuts before the flight took off.
On my return flight I was even more impressed. When I told the flight attendant about my allergies as I entered the plane, she kindly checked to make sure I had an Epi Pen. This made a positive impression on me because she was knowledgeable and understood the severity. They also made an announcement on this flight multiple times in both Icelandic and English and asked passengers to “Please refrain from opening any products that contain nuts or traces of nuts. Thank you.”
Below is what I was able to catch on voice record in English:
and in Icelandic…
Overall, I had a positive flight experience on Wow Air and would certainly consider flying them again in the future! Have you flown Wow Air or Icelandair with nut allergies?
