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Icelandair

Posted by on

Sorry for the rant, but hopefully this saves folks some trouble.

I have flown Icelandair multiple times to Europe due to the good prices, and it was nice to have the required layover in Iceland to stretch my legs. Keflavik Airport in Iceland is... well... hectic and a bit cramped. Friends of mine who travel to the EU more frequently warned me against it, but I had never missed a connecting flight and gotten stuck in Iceland... until yesterday.

Let me warn you that being stuck here isn't fun. Keflavik Airport starts shutting down around 5 pm local time after the connecting flights clear out. Getting help from Icelandair staff is extremely difficult. They just are used to stranded travelers milling about here and don't seem to care.

Thankfully, other stranded travelers and I found a "meeting area" at the airport exit from where we were --- without any actual instruction --- just sort of thrown on a bus, rushed to the back room of a restaurant where we were given a few minutes to eat the remains of a buffet meal away from the rest of the restaurant customers, and then dumped at a hotel about an hour away. The hotel staff had no idea they were going to have dozens of stranded passengers walk in, but they assured us that it happens regularly and they were kind and accomodating. Luckily, I was first in line and I was able to access the Wifi for a self check-in process. Guests further back in line were not able to get rooms and were bussed somewhere else.

That said, it is very hard to find out what is going on. The best I can tell is that Icelandair pays hotels in the west of Iceland some sort of voucher to feed and house stranded travelers. A store clerk told me I was very lucky to have found lodging and food for the night, as hotels here book up quickly and stranded passengers sleep on the floor at the airport regularly.

Today, I will try to find out how to get back to the airport and find how to file for potential reimbursement.

This whole process has been very stressful.

I can honestly recommend that you reconsider Icelandair to Europe, unless you are doing Iceland itself. I understand that Icelanders are quite proud of Icelandair, understandably so! I have flown them several times without incident. But, the more often you fly with them to mainland Europe, the better the chances are that you will be stranded here virtually without help. Please consider a direct flight or get a connecting flight at a busier airport with actual backup options!

I am sorry to have to make this post. And, please don't think of this as bashing Icelandair or Iceland.

Posted by
9248 posts

I was shocked to read your post as it was the exact opposite of my experience with a missed connection,

First of all, there are clearly marked customer service counters. No “milling around lost” as you described. We were given a hotel voucher with the name of the hotel they had booked. a meal voucher, a transportation voucher and rebooked for the next day’s flight. Clear directions and explanations given. In addition, we were given the brochure on how to apply for compensation.

The hotel was an hour away because Reykjavik is an hour away from the airport. Those of us on the bus used this time to apply for our 600 euro compensation for our delay online. It was deposited into our accounts 4 weeks later. (OP if you have not yet applied it is not too late). Your hotel should be able to give you clear instructions on how to catch the connecting bus to the bus station where the airport transfer buses leave.

Our delay was on the way home so we did not have the stress of worry about missed vacation plans. We thoroughly enjoyed our extra day in Iceland and put the compensation money toward our next trip.

No one likes it when irregular operations occur. I am sorry for your experience and the stress you have experienced. Your experience does not seem to be the norm from my observations.

Posted by
2 posts

I'm very sorry Carol, but I am currently going through this experience with no fewer than three dozens fellow travelers in the lobby of a hotel room in Reykjavik. All of us have missed other connections and plans. We are having the exact opposite of the experience you claim to have had. Many of us are elderly and U.S. Army combat veterans visiting from Chicago.

Again, I clearly stated multiple disclaimers in my original post stating that my experiences are not to be read as disrespectful towards Iceland or Icelandair.

That said, however, a quick review of Google shows many, many passengers do not have as cheery an experience as yours.

Also, as I stated clearly in my original post, the "meeting site" at Keflavik Airport for stranded travelers is NOT clearly marked and on a Friday afternoon after 5 pm there are few if any Icelandair staff to help.

Moving forward, I hope you learn not to discount and diminish the experience of other travelers.

DISCLAIMER: AGAIN, I am not disrespecting Icelandair or Iceland. But, this veteran will never be flying Icelandair again.

Posted by
3131 posts

I have flown Icelandair numerous times and only had one flight cancelled, and they handled it very well. I have not been stuck anywhere, so can't comment on that part of it. However, most of the time I take the 7:45 pm flight home so have spent a lot of time at KEF after 5pm and there have always been personnel around.

Any flight with a layover is going to have the possibility of being stuck somewhere. I am sorry this happened to you, but with travel, things happen.

Posted by
9248 posts

Dear OP,
I am not trying to minimize your experience. You are clearly miserable and having a hard time. I’m simply saying I don’t think this is necessarily typical. I hope you apply for your EU 261 compensation as you have clearly earned it.

Posted by
451 posts

Icelandair seemed to have some rough edges when I flew with them. Gave me the impression of "new, struggling to get off the ground". Flight over to Europe was fine, the layover at Keflavik was ~ 1.5 hrs at about 3:00AM. There were people there to handle the traffic at that time but the rest of the airport was dead. The return flight sat on the ground at Schipol for 4hr (?) with mechanical problems before they finally gave up and we deplaned. There was a similar struggle with no directions and "find your own way". I'm used to coping with such and spotting where they were rebooking passengers on my own (no general directions for the people struggling) and managed to get out and to an overflow hotel near Schipol.

My impression then was they were a young organization that could handle routine but quickly lost it with novel or surprise situations and struggled to cope.

edit: For example; at the overflow hotel they kindly provided me with a "packet" of common toiletries useful for such situations. They had some extra as they were used by other airlines for such but Icelandair didn't think of it, ran out, or were too cheap (it was a "low cost" carrier after all and I could see someone deciding that).

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