Hello - my husband and I are already planning our next trip for September, 2015. Planning on flying in to London and out of Paris. Icelandair keeps coming up as the best deal. Round trip from Orlando is $839. Everyone else is in the $1200-$1300 range.
Have any of you flown Icelandair and if so, how was it?
As always, thanks for your help,
Few years ago I flew from Seattle to Reykjavik (Keflavik) with 6 days layover and then to Munich. Back from Amsterdam. It's like any other airline. It seems to me that I had to pay for food there. But it was still quite cheaper than other airlines.
we flew on Icelandair last summer to Paris. I liked it. They do not serve you any food but you have the option of purchasing food on board. I thought they had great service and the price was worth it.
We flew Iceland Air a few years ago on a trip to Stockholm. It was ok.....however I think they only use smaller planes....three seats on each side of one aisle. It was pretty cramped. You may want to pay extra for more leg room.
We have flown Icelandair twice, both times to Paris and we were very satisfied. We will be flying to London with them this year. Yes, you do have to pay for food but we just take our own. The difference in price is worth the effort to take your own. Have a great trip.
I have a question. The last time I checked the Icelandair flight from Atlanta changes in Toronto. Does that mean clearing customs in Toronto and Europe???
We loved Icelandair, but mostly because we paid for economy plus, and I'm very very glad we did.
The seats in coach are narrow and quite hard... I don't know where they get their seats from, but they do seem harder and less comfortable than coach seats on other airlines.
Using economy plus, often times the coach economy plus seats (where you have three normal coach seats for two people, but with the middle seat unoccupied and a tray over it... very little more legroom than coach, though) are filled, so you get automatically upgraded to Saga class (basically business class). We only flew "normal" economy plus for one leg (from Iceland back to Seattle), and it was a little cramped due to the legroom and the narrow seats. But your chances of being upgraded are high, and MAN those are nice Saga class seats! Economy plus also offers free food and drinks (alcoholic and non). The only difference is that you don't get free champagne.
Also, it cannot be understated the joy of the Icelandair lounge at Keflavik, which you use for free if you pay for economy plus. Free food, coffee, drinks (alcoholic and non), huge comfy couches and seats, etc. Lovely.
I flew them last August based on price. For the most part, they were fine and I'd fly them again if the price was right.
My only complaint was that they made absolutely no announcements about delays in the gate area. There were very few seats in the gate area and I stood for more than an hour with 100+ other passengers expecting to board imminently. After finally boarding, the flight crew announced the delay was due to a late inbound flight, but this was never communicated on the departure board nor via announcement in the gate area. I consider poor communication to be poor customer service and unfortunately many airlines fail in this regard.
As others mentioned, don't expect food. You can buy food on the plane, but the choices are pretty weak.
I flew with them to California last year and would use them again. Really liked the short hop from Iceland to Seattle (7+ hours) & West Coast to Iceland (-7 hours)and then a very short transfer in Iceland to continue on to Frankfurt. That short layover of 40 min. both ways had me concerned, but it was easy. I took my own food and contrary to others here, didn't find the seats uncomfortable or cramped. (I am 5'6" or 168cm.) Good entertainment systems. Only thing I would make sure I did the next time was bring a bottle of water on board. Flight to Seattle from Iceland, they barely came around offering water or other drinks. Coming back, they came more frequently.
One very big plus is the scenery from the plane. Do recommend getting a window seat to see the glaciers, ice bergs, and the glorious wilds of Canada that you will see if the weather is clear. I chose the North side of the plane and would do that again. Took lots of photos.
Thanks for all the great replies. We are really leaning towards flying Icelandair to London early September. Right now they have two dates we can fly from Orlando to either Heathrow or Gatwick one way for $375.00 each. Can't think of a good reason why we wouldn't do that!
I searched for the month of September using Skyscanner. Here are the lowest fares I saw (I did not note down the airlines and the specific airports though - I am sure you would not mind doing further research):
MCO to London $355
MCO to Paris $250
Paris to MCO $430
London to MCO $419
Depending on whether the dates work out, you might have an alternative airlines/route to choose from (I believe the MCO to Paris and London to MCO were on Norwegian) :-)
Porcupyn
PS: Don't know how, but skyscanner sometimes shows prices less than what the airlines' website offers - and then directs you to the airline's website where you are now shown the lower price! It happened to me a few months back with Norwegian (but I had already purchased our tickets by then).
PPS: You could check on my profile if you want to read more about Norwegian (I have been on a few related threads).
Ms. Jo:
the glorious wilds of Canada that you will see if the weather is
clear.
Not on a transAtlantic from Orlando! :-(
Thanks for all the help. We're going to book with Icelandair. Right now it's almost $500 per round trip ticket lower than other airlines. We don't mind taking our own food and bottled water. Never really cared much for airline food anyway.
I few Icelandair to Paris a couple of years ago (with a stop in Reykjavik of course) and thought it was fine - brought my own food, they offered enough water and drinks, seats were no more uncomfortable than other airlines I have flown in Economy. This year I flew Air Canada to Brussels, with a stop in Canada each way. Of the two I much preferred the Icelandair flight.
Sue,
As well as bringing your own food (they will give you a bottle of water when you board), be sure to bring your own headphones (or else you'll have to buy them on board - maybe 5-6 euro?). They have a great selection of tv shows and movies on board. If you can, sit on the left side of the plane on the way to Europe. If it's clear, you'll see some beautiful scenery when you fly over Greenland and Iceland!
We're flying IcelandAir for the third time this April. We've always left on time and the price was always hundreds lower than other airlines.
Your other budget would be to fly Orlando to London Gatwick on NorwegianAir round trip. See Norwegian.com.
Their prices are the lowest on their routes, and we expect t see more of Norwegian in the future. They've recently agreed with the U.S. FAA to put more American flight crews online, as many of their pilots are from Singapore at lower wages.
Hi Sue,
We have flown Icelandair several times now to Europe and have enjoyed the experience. While there are few frills, all the important things are available. They have good in-flight entertainment, comfortable seats, and if you get hungry...you can purchase food at a reasonable price. Keflavik Airport, where you would change planes, is super easy to get around...very pleasant and has all the amenities you need.
Flown with them several times. Great fares, All great experiences. Also took 4 day layover in Iceland, what an awesome place!
We've flown Iceland twice and found them to be similar to other airlines. The boarding process is a little chaotic, no real rhyme or reason to how they board. You just have to be assertive to get to the plane.
