Mogensen said the airline’s Reykjavik-Delhi route, which launches on December 6, would attract a whole new market in the US.

He said the flight could even attract some UK travellers, those unconcerned about changing aircraft in Reykjavik if fares were cheap enough. “If you save $100, it works,” he said.

India was a market ripe for low-cost long-haul, he said. “Only 50 million of the 1.3 billion Indians have flown. We are offering fares 75-80% less than has previously been in the market, and 20% of foreign students in North America are of Indian origin.”

Mogensen said Iceland was the perfect transatlantic hub. “Iceland, strategically and geographically, can’t be replaced unless you build an island in the Atlantic.

“If you fly Delhi or Mumbai to Boston, you fly directly above Iceland and 87% of those passengers need to make one or more connections.”

Wow will also launch flights from Iceland to Orlando on December 18 with connections from the UK and Ireland.

The airline has built up its transfer hub at Reykjavik to such an extent that only 12% of its passengers originate in Iceland.