Icelandair

Sudden · 2 Nov 2012 at 19:07

Anyone flown Icelandair before? Any comments on them? Looking at flights from Washington to London in early Dec. and Iceland air is about £250. Next in line is United at almost £700.

Such a massive price difference so wondering why that is.

Nutella33 · 2 Nov 2012 at 19:35

standard low budget airline i believe. same applies for most, beware your luggage and expect little customer service and be on the look out for extra fees especially including a long haul flight.

that is a big price difference but i saw similar when looking at flying to iceland.

[TW]Fox · 2 Nov 2012 at 19:40

Sudden said:
Anyone flown Icelandair before? Any comments on them? Looking at flights from Washington to London in early Dec. and Iceland air is about £250. Next in line is United at almost £700.

Such a massive price difference so wondering why that is.

Because everyone else has hiked the price and they havn't. £700 from Washington to London is comically high.

Sudden · 3 Nov 2012 at 09:12

Tried looking at some reviews and they are very mixed. For one, you have to pay for any food you want. I also hear that the transfer airport (reykjavik) is incredibly tiny and subject to lots of delays. Some say they are great etc.

How accurate are the bad reviews? Have people on here have had better experiences?

Yea, I was surprised at the price as well, especially just for a one way flight. And from what I understand, United could be even worse so looking at even more for the next decent airline.

Jokester · 3 Nov 2012 at 09:17

Might be flying to the US next year with Icelandair, does that pay for your own food also include the transatlantic stretch?

Never had any issues with United here by the way.

Sudden · 3 Nov 2012 at 09:49

Jokester said:
Might be flying to the US next year with Icelandair, does that pay for your own food also include the transatlantic stretch?

Yep. From their site - http://www.icelandair.co.uk/information/on-board/meals/

"Here you can see the menu (food for purchase) on all of our European and North America routes for Economy Class."

It's free if you pay for Economy plus/business etc.

Soft drinks are free! lol.

Sagalout · 3 Nov 2012 at 10:14

I've flown with IcelandAir to Iceland. Service was excellent. It's not Business class Emirates, but doesn't feel budget either.

MickeyFinns · 3 Nov 2012 at 10:53

Iceland Air also give you option of extending your layover in Iceland for free so you can get a day or two their if you like. It's cheap because I believe it is government subsidised to promote tourism.

Scuzi · 3 Nov 2012 at 11:05

[TW]Fox;23089539 said:
Because everyone else has hiked the price and they havn't. £700 from Washington to London is comically high.

If it's a one way fare it's not that bad.

For a short flight like this I'd go with a balance of cheapest fare and most suitable times. Don't go too hung up about seat pitch or IFE.

Pudney · 3 Nov 2012 at 11:14

Sagalout said:
I've flown with IcelandAir to Iceland. Service was excellent. It's not Business class Emirates, but doesn't feel budget either.

Same, Icelandair isn't "budget" in the sense of Ryanair or Easyjet so isn't too bad to Iceland. Not sure about the USA.

PinkFloyd · 3 Nov 2012 at 11:15

I've flown with Icelandair to Iceland and I thought it was awesome. Leaps and bounds above Easyjet.
It wasn't far off my BA flight from Heathrow to Atlanta. Only thing lacking was free drinks. No idea whether that's down to the the distance of the journey or anything though

dannyjo22 · 3 Nov 2012 at 11:45

Completely different market to Ryanair and easyJet, 20 odd old aircraft, 757's and 767's. Cheap prices though, how much of it is propped up by other areas of the group though I'm not sure. I can't see the group made 80 odd million with just 1.7m passengers without subsidising the airline from other areas.

PobodY · 3 Nov 2012 at 11:55

Sagalout said:
I've flown with IcelandAir to Iceland. Service was excellent. It's not Business class Emirates, but doesn't feel budget either.

Snap!
It's quite a small country so don't expect the huge transport hub of somewhere like Dubai. They seemed quite efficient and capable to me; not run-down and shabby; and not plastic seats as close together as they can get them.

The internal flights are really relaxed; I flew from Reykjavik to Askeryri, and you just rock-up at the gate and give them your first name. The lady ticks you off the list, and the pilot swings the plane as close as he can to the door without hitting the building.

International flights are a little more strict, but they didn't spot I'd left a lock-knife in my hand luggage even though I could clearly recognise it on the X-ray image. - I guess they're not worried about terrorist threats.