One thing to note is that FI offers pricing similar to EI's - cheap one-way fares, etc. EF shows, for example, SEA-KEF-LON for $385++. From their current station at MSP, FI flies one way to ARN for $420 all in, $375 to LHR.
Iceland is an amazing destination. I'd highly recommend it. Now that a direct is in place, I have little excuse not to visit.
Iceland is considerably cheap cost-of-living-wise compared to a few years ago, but iceland air is overhyping the "cheapness" of their airfare...and the intro fares are not good deals. They sometimes hit around $300-$450/rt. Who knows what the Seattle direct will price out at. I'd say watch for the new route to suffer and discounts to roll in.
Another trick you can do is visit the icelandic website and purchase your ticket in kr, taking careful watch of your credit card's exchange rate. you can sometimes save a bit of money this way.
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I'm sure that Icelandair will do well for the budget portion of the market. SK had poor marketing for years, unfortunately. They have been serving SEA for years and years (took them to Spain 32 years ago) and should have had the SEA market sewn up with VERY little competition until recent years.
I was just talking to a friend with Icelandic heritage. He was telling how beautiful Iceland is.
whhoo hooo not to have to go via BOS? Awesome. TH flew to Iceland twice last year for work. 757 should be pretty tiring for that period of time.
However, it will be nice to get to Greenland without having to go via CPH.
I flew JFK to Malaga, Spain on a DL 757. That flight is 60 miles longer than this one will be. It really is not that bad. I think a lot of it is just psychological. The cabin you are in is smaller, but at your seat it won't be any smaller than on a widebody. If you sleep for half of the flight and then get a meal and watch some TV, you'll be there before you know it. I guess I've just never had a problem even on a 14 hour flight to Australia. As long as you go into the flight prepared for the longhaul and with enough things to keep you occupied, time will fly by much faster than you think and the size of the plane won't matter. If it was on a CRJ...then I could see the complaints =)
If you sleep for half of the flight and then get a meal and watch some TV, you'll be there before you know it.
FI changed to a 3 class service last November; business, economy comfort, and economy. In economy, you pay for movies and meals. Not a big deal, but if you are expecting this free, things have changed.
Fares are a bit lower than on other carriers. I checked SEA-ARN (Stockholm) for August, and FI comes in about $100 less than NW for a r/t in coach. The connect thru KEF makes the total trip time from SEA 4 hrs less.
If you go to Europe, FI gives you a "free" up to 7 day stopover in Iceland either outbound or on the return, so you can do Europe and Iceland on one ticket.
It would be great if they strike up some kind of code share agreement with AS. The FI flight from KEF gives plenty of connect time for most cities on the AS system. I really hope this works out.
Iceland is a fantastic place to visit with striking natural beauty. If you are interested, here is a link to the journal of a professional photographer who was there a while back. The photos are incredible.
This is great news. I'm considering a trip to Europe with a stop in Iceland within the next year. 1 stop from ANC to Iceland - it's like a dream! Now I just hope for partnership...and would love EQM's. EQM's is probably a far fetched idea though. Who decides about the EQM's, anyway? Is it up to AS if a partner can offer EQM's, or is it up to the partner paying more for the miles?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ANC RED-EYE
This is great news. I'm considering a trip to Europe with a stop in Iceland within the next year. 1 stop from ANC to Iceland - it's like a dream! Now I just hope for partnership...and would love EQM's. EQM's is probably a far fetched idea though. Who decides about the EQM's, anyway? Is it up to AS if a partner can offer EQM's, or is it up to the partner paying more for the miles?
I think EQM's is a combination... but ultimately lies if the partner is willing to pay AS extra for the EQM's...
It is cool to have 1 stop service to Iceland... (although you could fly Condor and skip the US altogether )
I flew JFK to Malaga, Spain on a DL 757. That flight is 60 miles longer than this one will be. It really is not that bad. I think a lot of it is just psychological. The cabin you are in is smaller, but at your seat it won't be any smaller than on a widebody. If you sleep for half of the flight and then get a meal and watch some TV, you'll be there before you know it.
There are some 737 flights from the east coast to europe. I think that would be weird. But i feel the same about alaska's hawaii flights.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 98103
Missy: we want EQMs on FI. Can you get on that for us??
I guess by the time that gets worked out, FI will be starving for seattle business and dropping their fares ... should work out great.
Several years ago I took a small expedition ship cruise from Scotland to Iceland. On the way one of the stops we made was a small island 10 miles offshore of southern Iceland where the enclosure still remains where Keiko the whale was kept in a lovely bay. Iceland is quite beautiful but not interesting enough to me to return except as a fly through. A couple of the many remembrances I have is that puffin is on the menu and we were told (tongue in cheek) if we got lost in a forest to stand up.
Last year I flew on Air Niugini from Brisbane to Port Moresby, New Guinea on a Boeing 767-300. It was a surprise when I looked at my boarding pass and it said "Operated by Icelandair". The plane was painted with "Air Niugini" and it also said "White" on the tail and www.flywhite.com on the side. Would this be a company that leases planes?
Last year I flew on Air Niugini from Brisbane to Port Moresby, New Guinea on a Boeing 767-300. It was a surprise when I looked at my boarding pass and it said "Operated by Icelandair". The plane was painted with "Air Niugini" and it also said "White" on the tail and www.flywhite.com on the side. Would this be a company that leases planes?
Icelandair is leasing one of its 757-200 to Air Niugini in Papua New Guinea registration TF-FII. Icelandair's sister company Loftleidir Icelandic is leasing one of its aircraft a 767-300.
This was in todays post from Daily News from Iceland:
When SAS disappears from the market between Scandinavia and Seattle in summer an opportunity appears for Icelandair,” managing director of Icelandair Birkir Hólm Gudnason told amx.is.
Gudnason stated that with stopovers in Iceland, Icelandair can offer three to four hour shorter journeys between Seattle and European destinations and, through its cooperation with Alaska Airlines, good connections with American cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Does AS already have plans going for some sort of agreement with Icelandair?
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