Scotttyd

Looking at booking Iceland air for the first time- I am a bigger guy 6'2" 220 - and obviously like leg room. How does iceland air compare to more "traditional:" airlines such as United/AA/Lufthansa, etc? I don't need great service, I just want to be comfortable on the long flight - obviously I could book business class if I need more room, but just seeing if there really is a difference between riding their 737 vs a widebody in turn of actual "in seat" comfort. I know a widebody will have more room to stand up and walk around. I am guessing a 737 with iceland air is like a typical domestic US flight?

thanks

HawaiiTrvlr

I came here to ask a similar question. I am thinking of booking on Icelandic Air from Denver to Paris with a stop over in Iceland. Their premium cabin seats are around $2800 for the time frame I am looking at. I know their seats are not lie flat. But their single seat (in the 2-1-2 configuration) looks appealing. Any inputs would be appreciated.

_kurt

Economy seats are about the same as US carriers in both width and seat pitch. At 6'2" you'll be a bit cramped but it's tolerable for 4-5 hours.

Saga is like US domestic First was 10 years ago. Much more room and much more padding in the seats. Whether it's worth 3x the price of coach? Up to you. Food and service in Saga is excellent though. Order the lamb.

Scotttyd

thanks Kurt- seats similiar, just not the space to get up and walk like in a wide body international then -

gretchendz

I am usually a Delta flyer, and also think United Polaris is delightful. However, as I fly a lot to Europe from U.S. and I prefer Business class, I am flying IcelandAir more and more. I don 't need lie flat seats. other than that, I find the IcelandAir experience, especially in Saga, to be excellent--especially since it is usually half the price of U.S. carriers. Look at icelandAir Business class--it may be similar to what you would pay in main cabin on US carriers. LOL--and you get a lovely gin menu

jiburi

If your aircraft is 73M on anything longer than 4 hours, dont do it. The aircraft is cramped with only 3 LAV. My flight to seattle was 7.5 hours. There is insufficient ratio of lav to passenger on such a long flight.

Jiburi

Heyden

I'm also looking at Icelandair for travel from Toronto to the UK. How is the airport in Reykjavik for making connections? Would I need to clear immigration? Also, how does Saga on Icelandair compare to Premium Economy on other carriers such as Air Canada?

Braniff

Small and easy airport. No need to clear immigration in Iceland as you will always be outside the Schengen area. The hard product is domestic US first class seats as mentioned above. The service level and food in Saga is far superior to business class on carriers such as Air Canada.

rtpflyer

Flying Saga class, I have in the past gone though immigration into the Schengen area to enjoy the Saga Lounge between flights. Then back through to board my onward flight. It is a nice enough lounge, but it's your call as to whether the immigration hassle is worth it.

bhomburg

Another point here:
Because transatlantic flights on Icelandair always break the journey in Reykjavik, flights are shorter and thus much more tolerable especially for Economy passengers. It makes a difference if I have to sit in a cramped 737 economy seat for 4,5 hours like on the typical Icelandair flight or for more than nine hours on carriers offering nonstop flights...

ClaireWithLove

We just did Economy with paying extra for Exit Row to Oslo, Norway with a stop in Iceland and coming back we won/paid for the Class Up upgrade to Saga Premium class from Iceland back to the U.S.

My husband is 6' 3" and it was a 5.5 hour flight to Iceland, so we paid for the Exit Row upgrade. If you need more leg room, this was definitely the way to go! It was much more than Exit Rows on American domestic airline. The people in front of us could recline their seats and there was still plenty of distance between their seat and our knees. The drawback is that on take-off and landing, you are not allowed to have any personal item below the seat in front of you and depending on the flight attendant on your lap either, so you personal item has to be put in the overhead compartment. We each had a small bag that we had our snacks and things we needed that we were able to tuck into the seat pocket, so it was fine. If guess you could get your personal item down after your take off, but you would have to stow it before you land. No free earbuds or headphone, you need to rent them. We pre-paid and ordered meals online before we left. The lasagna dinner was really good. Salad had mozzarella, olives, tomatoes. Nice piece of lasagna and a mousse. No free snacks and alcoholic drinks you pay for.

On the way from Reykjavik, Iceland to the United States, we won the Class Up Upgrade to Saga Premium which was nice since it was a 6 hour flight. The drawback was we had already paid for the Exit Row on the way back, so we lost that money. We also had pre-ordered sandwiches. The Saga Premium attendant did not have a record of it, but my husband was able to show her his e-mail, so she got us our paid for sandwiches from Economy which we kept for dinner. Upgrading from Iceland is the way to go. At the Keflavik airport is a 14,500 sq for Saga Premium lounge you will have access to. It has serve yourself wines, beers, and hard liquor from bottles. Food included a little sandwich, mini pita pizza, spring roll, salad, cold cuts, cheese, bread, a few desserts at dinner time. Of course, you get free food and an extensive wine/drink/Gin list onboard.

The seats were in a two seat configuration. We finally had so much room between our shoulders that our shoulders and arms were no longer crowding each other like economy plus I had a hand width between my hips and sides of the seat on each side - roomy! Plenty of leg room even with the seats reclining farther but there was less room than the Economy Exit row. .You get a pillow which was really good for supporting your lower back, warm blanket, amenity kit, and free to use noise cancelling headphones plus a choice of dinner and free drinks. Our dinner choices were Salmon served three ways (cold) with blini pancakes and gravlax sauce or Lamb shank with potatoes, baby carrots, and asparagus.

In summary, Economy with the Exit Row upgrade will give you a lot of extra leg room but your personal items need to be stored during take-off and landing. The Lasagna dinner is a very good choice for a pre-paid meal.

Saga Premium - seats were wider with good leg room but less than the Exit row. Access to Saga Premium lounge in Iceland is excellent. Free drinks (wider selection) and dinner. I did like the Economy lasagna better than the salmon though.

Saga Premium amenity kit: socks, eye mask, ear plugs, toothbrush and toothpaste, hand location, lip lotion, post cards

Noise cancelling headphones for free in Saga Premium.

Pull out tray table plus table for drinks between the two Saga Premium seats. Champagne and Espresso Martini in a can are free.

Saga Premium foot rest. Foot rest folds out of the way as well.