We travelled on Icelandair from London Heathrow to Keflavik Airport, Reykjavik, Iceland towards the end of lockdown. It was our first flight ‘since Covid’, and many people felt we were foolish to travel internationally when much of the world was still locked down. However, we knew that Iceland had low levels of infection, and we’d be outside most of the time; our greatest risk was in the travelling itself – we wore double masks, used sanitisers and felt safe at all times.
Terminal 2 at Heathrow was noticeably quiet, affording us the opportunity to get a lazy lunch in one of the terminal restaurants before making our way to the boarding gate. You know that ‘rushed’ feeling you sometimes get when it’s time to board – everyone stands up and want to get to the front of the queue to board first? Well there was none of that. We commented at the time that it was the most polite plane loading we’ve ever experienced!
Flight, and Economy service
Our flight was Icelandair FI451, a 767-300 aircraft called Svörtuborgir (‘Black Fortress’), named after a row of volcanic craters west of Námafjall near Lake Mývatn. We flew Economy class on the way out, and the seats were in a 2-3-2 configuration. We chose two window seats and aisle seats (no arguing teenagers as to who sat by the window!) The flight was just over 3 hours in duration, and it was very comfortable; the seats were roomy, seatbelts long enough to not cut off blood supply and the crew were very attentive and friendly. Complimentary drinks were offered throughout the flight, and the seatback screens provided entertainment and music for the duration.
It was a good flight. Probably the best Economy flight I’ve taken in many years.
Icelandair Saga Lounge, Kevlavik Airport
On our return, after an amazing few days exploring Iceland, we headed to the Icelandair Saga Lounge in the airport, as we had booked Saga Premium seats for our return journey home. The lounge was huge, and empty except for the odd traveller dotted in chairs here and there. It was very peaceful, and decoratively ‘Icelandic’ with natural colours and materials throughout. Here’s some images of the varied seating options:
There were complimentary food and drink options, a selection of which can be seen in the following gallery:
The self-service drinks machine was particularly worthy of a mention … coffee was lovely!
There were also showers available (towels provided), with washroom complimentary toiletries from the Blue Lagoon.
We sat overlooking the runway – every seat had charging options for mobiles and laptops – and happily awaited our flight (FI454).
Saga Premium
Saga Premium is Icelandair’s Business/First class, and it meant we were shown to our seats first. We were in rows 4 and 5, in the same configuration as before (2 window seats, 2 aisle seats). The seats were noticeably larger again, with footrests.
Soon after take off we were offered drinks and snacks from a menu … I couldn’t resist an Icelandic gin and tonic 😊
Mid-flight we had a complimentary cold meal tray (no hot meals during the pandemic), which was tasty, followed by coffee. It was a lovely experience, and very comfortable for the 3-hour homeward flight. The seats on Icelandair flights do not fold flat, much to the disappointment of my son (desperate to fly ‘flat-bed’!) – but it didn’t impact on our enjoyment as the flight wasn’t that long.
Final Thoughts
Icelandair is a great airline. We found all the crew to be helpful and friendly, and given that we were flying in a pandemic the whole experience felt safe. Any nerves we may have had before flying quickly disappeared. Iceland as a destination is amazing, as my following posts will confirm, and I can’t think of a better way of getting there. And we will be flying there again as, yet again, I failed to see the Northern Lights!
