Icelandair Saga Class review/advice?
 

Hi, I'm looking at taking Saga Class from Denver to Reyjavik direct. Any reviews or advice about their service on long haul flights? Thanks!

The seats are comparable to domestic first seats in the US. So don't expect any miracles there. Their service is quite decent, cabin crew friendly and efficient. In flight entertainment is not bad. This is not like business class on most other national carriers, but Iceland Air Saga Class definitely has a pleasant vibe. I find it worthwhile to book Saga Class if I get one of their cheap deals when booking well in advance. With such a fare it's defenitely value for money especially if expectations aren't too high.

Don't do it
 

I just flew with them where all Saga Class customers were huddled into the first three rows. No empty seats. The rest of the Saga Class seats in the three rows behind were dedicated to premium economy with everyone there having an empty seat next to them !!!

I think that shows clearly how much importance Icelandair places on Saga Class.

I was doing some research for an upcoming trip and came upon this video review which you might find helpful:

Well, for the dates I'm looking at in December, Saga is only priced at a 7% premium above Comfort. Comfort is 150% more than economy (more than twice the price). I don't know if that's normal or an anomaly but for me it says a lot about the value of Saga over Comfort.

Flown this a few times. SEA (KEF) CPH or AMS.
I booked 9 months in advance and appreciated the price and the fact that the ticket is fully refundable.
As said before, it's like old domestic first. Priority check-in, generous baggage allowance, leather recliner, food's okay (don't expect AF or JAL), amenities and services are fine. It's a small cabin (24 seats?), an advantage. (As an aside, they seem to fully provision the flight unlike the flag carrier of another island nation, who charges 3 times the fare for a flat bed in business, but may or may not have enough food and drink on board to serve every passenger.)
Because I'm flying from the Left Coast, I appreciate the flight schedule. Depart at 16.30, arrive 7 hours later (12.30 am on my body clock) in Iceland for an hour or 90 minute break in the decent lounge, before the 3 hour continuation to the continent.
If you're not a finicky traveler and are looking for significant savings for TATL, I'd try FI.
One caution. I have heard in the last year, FI has gotten very popular and may be suffering from too much growth too fast. I've heard the KEF lounge is regularly mobbed and KEF itself is straining as the seams. This data is anecdotal, I have not witnessed this myself.

Maybe a promo fare? Anyway, I wouldn't count too much on being seated in Saga Class seats with an Economy Comfort ticket. They only do that if the demand requires it.

I've been through KEF twice in the heart of the high season this year (August). A busy airport indeed, but everything went smooth. I guess the risk with operating at limit of capacity is that once things start going wrong, it can cause a chain reaction and many things will go wrong. I haven't experienced that though.

Seen & noted today:

http://pointsmilesandmartinis.boardi...jfk-reykjavik/

Flight Review: IcelandAir Business Class New York (JFK)- Reykjavik

Accurate to my experience. That's Saga Class. If I can fly that SEA(KEF)CPH for $2500-$2800 r/t on a fully refundable fare...I'm taking it every time.

I just flew FI Economy Comfort and essentially received Saga class sans Saga food on all four segments.

It's true that you can almost always obtain a Saga seat. I had one segment where I was in the regular Economy Comfort seats (Economy with the middle blocked) and when I checked my BP, I'd been moved into a Saga seat (and my other seat given away).

Having looked at many seat maps for many dates, I'm always surprised that the Saga seats in EC aren't pre-requested more often. There will be other occupied seats in EC with the EC-Saga seats empty. I guess most non-flyertalkers don't know they are available? Or is there something else I'm missing?

I guess it's because FI attract the LCC client base who buy on price and aren't particularly interested in seat selection. This was my first FI flight and I myself wasn't aware of this until I read some reviews, which happened after I booked.

I think people maybe don't pay attention. I just booked my wife and myself in Economy Comfort on KEF-DEN and pre-selected row 5. Got a pretty good price for a business class seat.

Chris

I just finished an IAD-KEF-ARN r/t in economy comfort and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. 3 of the 4 legs were row 5, so I got a Saga seat for an EC price. Good, friendly service and unlike the three legacy US carriers, FI actually cleans their planes. The inside of these old 757s looked as good as or better than a stateside 739.