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Icelandair adds 200 flights to winter schedule

20th September 2010 Print

Icelandair’s schedule this winter will increase in scope by 14% over last winter. Icelandair will fly to a total of 15 destinations east and west of the Atlantic.

An average of 82 flights will depart from Iceland every week in the period from November through March, 10 more than last winter. Over the five-month period of November, December, January, February and March, the number of flights will be increased by a total of 200. The company will fly to 11 cities in Europe and four cities in North America. 

The principal change from last winter is that the number of flights to European cities, including Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Copenhagen, will be increased, as well as to Seattle, New York and Orlando in the United States. In addition, flights to Helsinki will be continued until after the turn of the year, two months longer than in recent years. Finally, there will be flights to Munich in Germany from the end of January until March, which is the first time that the company flies to Munich at this time of year. Also, the number of flights to various destinations will be increased both this autumn and next spring, i.e. in October and April/May, in an attempt to extend the tourist season.

“In spite of the severe fluctuations in our operating environment the prospects appear quite promising, and we are increasing our capacity significantly between years,” says Icelandair CEO Birkir Hólm Gudnason. “When the economic collapse and the plunge of the króna in 2008 virtually ended Icelanders’ overseas travels we immediately shifted our focus and managed to increase the proportion of foreign travellers in our aircraft to bridge the gap. However, the volcanic eruption caused a severe temporary dent in bookings. However the North Atlantic market remained strong. Now we are seeing increases from last winter in both Icelanders’ bookings for travels abroad and bookings to Iceland this fall are picking up following the Inspired by Iceland campaign. This flexibility of Icelandair, and our ability to adapt quickly to fluctuations enables us to add to our capacity at this time,” says Gudnason.

This winter Icelandair will fly to the capitals of the Scandinavian countries, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki, to London, Manchester and Glasgow in the U.K., and to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Munich in continental Europe. U.S. destinations are Boston, New York, Orlando and Seattle. This summer Icelandair will also fly to Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim, Helsinki, Brussels, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Munich, Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Halifax, Toronto and Minneapolis.