The Icelandic budget carrier Wow Air will end service from its Reykjavik hub to Cleveland, Cincinnati and St. Louis by early January.
The carrier began each of those routes this spring as part of a six airport U.S. expansion. While Wow will continue its three other new routes -- to Dallas, New York Kennedy and Detroit -- its gamble on mid-sized Midwest markets didn't pay off.
"Unfortunately, the routes did not achieve the profit targets set," Wow vice president of communications Svana Fridriksdottir said in an email.
Wow will halt the Cincinnati and Cleveland routes at the end of this month and will discontinue flights between Reykjavik and St. Louis on Jan. 7.
Wow is still slated to fly to 11 U.S. cities with the launch of Orlando service in December. Plus, in an interview with USA Today on Thursday, WOW owner Skuli Mogensen said a new U.S. route announcement will be made next week. Wow also plans to increase frequencies in some of its existing U.S. markets, Mogensen said.
Though Wow has been the lone carrier flying Reykjavik-St. Louis and Reykjavik-Cincinnati, it has not been alone on Reykjavik-Cleveland. Icelandair also began flying to Cleveland this spring.