Icelandic carrier Wow Air is considering going public within 18 months, according to the airline’s chief executive and owner.
Skuli Mogensen, who set up the long-haul low-cost carrier seven years ago and is the sole owner, told The Financial Times he planned to sell “less than half” the company through an initial public offering (IPO).
Mogensen hopes to raise between $200 million and $300 million through Wow’s IPO which he expects to take place within 18 months.
Wow Air operates transatlantic flights between Europe and North America, via its hub at Reykjavik’s Keflavik International airport.
The airline made a pre-tax loss of $27.5 million last year despite recording a 69% increase in passenger numbers, which reached 2.8 million.
The company is still expected to stay in the red during 2018 but Mogensen said he hoped Wow would return to profit in 2019 with revenue in the region of $830 million to $840 million for the year.