Starting to plan for my first trip to Paris next spring. There is a flight from Seattle to Paris via Reykjavik that would cost me very few miles but the time for the Reykjavik layover is only 90 minutes. I have never been to this airport, is it doable to catch your next plane in that amount of time? I usually allow a minimum of 2 hours between flights.
Posted by
Michigan
545 posts
Yes, this should be fine. We had a similar situation last fall flying through Iceland to Zurich. I think our layover was a little shorter than yours. There isn't time to really linger and explore the airport in a leisurely fashion - but we had time for a bathroom stop and a quick self serve snack and Icelandic chocolate acquisition before moving to our next gate. :-)
I would do it again - that flight cost hundreds less than a Delta flight would have at that time.
Have a great trip!
Laurie
Posted by
Seattle, WA
353 posts
Hi! We’ve flown Iceland Air several times from Seattle to Paris with very short layovers. No problem. It’s a very small airport set up to move you through passport control quickly, so you should make your connection. If your flight from SEA is seriously delayed that’s another story.
In addition to offering some good fares, an added bonus to flying through KEF is passing through immigration at KEF/Rekjavik. The flight from KEF to Paris is like a domestic flight - you just walk off the plane and out of the airport.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
3343 posts
The airport is set up for this kind of short transfer. Note that many US flights arrive at the exact same time, so it will be you and many of your closest friends tromping through the same small area. You may or may not have time for a comfort stop between arriving and your next gate, so use the facilities on the plane. It's been a few years, but as I recall the food on Icelandair left something to be desired (in coach) but maybe it has improved.
Posted by
Reston VA
453 posts
We used to use Icelandair quite a bit to get to Europe. I always liked it as it was a great "break" in the near middle of the flight. You'd get off the plane, get to use real bathrooms, stretch and stroll the TINY airport a bit, maybe peruse for snacks, and then board a (likely) different plane headed to your destination. Like others wrote - planes are timed to arrive from the US at similar times and then depart in a bunch too.
We had one bad experience where a maintenance/safety concern on our flight from BWI to KEF was majorly delayed, so when we arrived, all the Euro flights were gone without us. They scrambled to get it sorted - plane to Heathrow and connections onward from there, but it did eat up basically 12+ hours of our trip and our checked luggage didn't arrive (at our remote Black Forest hotel) until about 24hrs later. Still, that can happen on ANY flight, and be much worse than losing some hours and delays to luggage.
Honestly, now with more time, I'd definitely take up the "stay a couple days in Iceland" option too.
Posted by
OP
Edmonds, Wa
18 posts
Thank you all for responding. Am feeling like I will probably go ahead and book my flight. It is my first solo trip to Europe. Doing Paris alone but then going to visit some former colleagues. In Metz and then on to Germany. This forum is invaluable to helping me sort out where to stay, attractions and how to get from point a to point b.