Anian

Anyone flown using Icelandair? I checked out reviews before I bought tickets (Seattle to Heathrow via Iceland) and they were rates as mediocre, but saving a few thousand made it worthwhile. The problem with the reviews is that many didn't really talk about what it was like. I know I'll have to buy my own food on the flight (not sure if they accept dollars, prices are all in Euros), but beyond that I'm note sure exactly what to expect. As a short person I'm not too bothered by leg room. The entertainment system seems a bit short on kids tv, something I was really hoping for, but then again that might just be missing from their website info and it is a lot better.

So, what's been your experiences (or even second-hand experiences)?

Bob

I've had quite a few friends use it to get to the US, but this was years ago, just before they had to pay for meals, so probably not all that relevant.

But back then, they all enjoyed it, food was half decent except the usual rubbery eggs for breakfast you get on most flights. In flight entertainment was a mixed bag.

Best bit was the stop over in Iceland and the ability to make a weekend of it though.

Karrie72

I have friends from Norway who use them all the time. They say it's quite a utilitarian style airline and the flight attendants are a bit frosty...but it's safe and gets you to your destination. I've looked into them myself but I've found never found their prices beat Virgin or B.A.

rpjs

I'd agree that the best aspect of flying Icelandair is the ability to break your journey for a night or two in Iceland for no extra charge from the airline. A night at the Northern Light Inn at the Blue Lagoon and a nice long soak in the pool are well worth it.

I agree that the cabin crew can be quite reserved, but Icelanders in general can make us Brits seem positively Latin in comparison, and last time we flew with them OH was having real fear-of-flying problems and the FAs were marvellous - kept checking how she was doing and were really nice to her.

Also we had a go-around on approach to Keflavik, and the captain came on the PA to explain that he and the co-pilot had determined the approach "was not conforming to our usual high standards" and so decided to abort and try again!

Guindalf

But, but, but....

Listening to Bjork for nine hours!!

tonrob

Googled Icelandair Review and got a fair bit of info, including:

http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/icelr.htm

Scouse Express

Your journey will probably be on a single-aisle Boeing 757, which is a "Major No-No" for Long-Haul.

Jim.

Anian

Overall rating: Okay.

Not problems at all on the way out except that the seats were hard. Luckily I got a few pillows to sit on.

On the way back, some of the entertainment systems didn't work. Mine did, my wife's didn't. The screens simply didn't give any option to watch anything, just sat at a default screen. The USB hookup was nice, I managed to complete a lot of Where's My Water on my phone without killing the battery. The food was good, the stewardesses were helpful.

The Keflavic airport was a mess though. There were three planes scheduled to leave at the same time. All three were at gates next to each other. There were hundreds of people crammed into a small area. Then all of the planes were delayed without anyone saying anything about how/why/when - the only clue was that the passengers were still queuing at the gate when the plane was meant to be taking off. A good 45 minutes late at taking off, no effort was made to make up this time in the air. Barely made the scheduled bus service home from the airport (minute to spare).

joto

It must have been about 10 years ago that we last flew on Iceland Air from Boston to Glasgow via Rekjavik. Crap food then, hopefully will have improved by now. Some nasty fish thing, either take it or leave it. Seeing as both flights were reasonably short, I didn't manage to get much or any sleep. Some flight attendants were ok, others were positively rude or snapped at you if you asked them anything. Bring food with you to eat on the flight if their offerings aren't up to scratch.