Recent experience with Icelandair?

We go to Iceland a couple times each year. We were there again just last month and we fly out of SEA. We always do carry-on only and use the Rick Steve’s 21 inch rolling bags. Those fit in their sizes. The agents are very strict at Seattle and they weigh and measure the bags for economy as well as saga.

The food on the flight is fine. It is airplane food so nothing special. One time we did special order our meal ahead of time thinking it would be better, but it was awful. The flight attendant took it away and gave us one of the sandwiches for free. So I suspect they get that a lot with that meal. We always go to the lounge at SeaTac so usually eat there. If you don’t have lounge privileges then just find any restaurant near the gate and eat there first.

The EES system was in place last month, but not with the kiosks. When we landed, they checked our passports and that is when we did the fingerprints and the facial recognition.

Since you are transiting, you will not go through passport control there.

You don’t mention staying in Iceland at all, but just transiting through. Iceland Air will allow you to do a stop over for up to seven days without the airfare being any different. I highly recommend doing a stop over if you can. Iceland is an amazing country and we have fallen in love with it.

You will only go through passport control while at Keflavik, so I wouldn't worry about a security screening with your bags. And the fact that you have TSA pre-check in the US doesn't matter in Iceland.

With regards to your baggage, I've read on this forum that they are strict about weighing the bags. I'm not sure about size, but they publicize the sizes so as long as your bags are within that limit, you shouldn't need to worry about it. That said, I'm flying to Iceland in July and I have a 21" carry-on that I plan on checking both ways, just to be safe.

With regards to food, here is a thread that talks about the food that's served on board. It sounds like you might want to bring your own food just to be safe. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/iceland/time-to-transfer-between-planes-at-keflavik

Keep in mind that Keflavik is a small airport although they do have a duty-free shop, and a gift shop and food if you have time. I doubt if you'll have any problem with the EES kiosks. When are you leaving?

Iceland Air will allow you to do a stop over for up to seven days without the airfare being any different. I highly recommend doing a stop over if you can. Iceland is an amazing country and we have fallen in love with it.

What mikliz97 said. That's what I'm doing in July, with my daughter. We are flying into Iceland and spending seven nights there, then heading on to Sweden and Norway. It's an amazing offer and I love the fact that Icelandair offers this.

I make this note every so often. Different days can have different prices, so a stopover can increase the cost. When I have checked on this I have been unable to stopover (i.e. fly onward a different day) without incurring an extra cost.

Toby, I suppose that's possible but I didn't pay anything beyond what I would normally pay for a round trip ticket to Europe.

I flew Iceland Air YVR to Paris via Reykjavik this February.
The price was a bargain so I booked Saga Class which they say is Business but it’s like P. Ec. on other airlines.
The food was fantastic!
I believe in Economy you have to buy all food….no idea what the quality is there.
It was nice to have a break at KEF.
I stretched my legs twice as I went to the wrong gate for my Paris flight and had to run to the opposite end of KEF for my correct gate.

FYI: there are no seats at the gates.
I asked why and was told they had removed them all. 🧐

I would fly with them again if the price was right.

I am so used to using "flexible dates" on airfare searches, that I can fiddle with my dates enough that the Icelandair stopover is, indeed, free. If an expensive flight day "crops up" in the itinerary planning, of course the ticket price will be more. And, I guess it is harder, because the Iceland layover is of a limited duration. I should get back to checking Icelandair, but, I became so frustrated with trying to get service regarding the miles that I had with them, that I just started to deal exclusively with Delta. I actually liked everything about Icelandair except trying to get some help from customer service in regards to the miles I had banked. Say what you want about Delta, but I can usually get a living person on the phone.

Back to the OP, we never purchased any food inflight. We carried our own on. Actually, once, they announced after we had boarded that no peanuts were allowed during the flight. That was a problem because all of our snacks contained some kind of peanut product. I mentioned to the flight attendant that it kind of put us in a bind, or at least hungry. After they had served everyone they comp'd us some sandwiches which was quite nice. The sandwiches were fine.

We did check our bags, but at least at that time, it was at no charge.

In terms of connecting, they are watching their flights and they tend to hold flights for people on connecting flights that are late.

Regarding passport control....you will go through passport control only if your destination country is in Schengen. If not, you will stay in the gate area.

No extra security. I've also never seen them check bags at the gates as KEF. Especially if you are beng bussed to your plane.

If you’re going to fly economy and want to eat the airplane food, be sure to order it ahead of time. Some on my flight last June, did not, and there was not much left for them.

My sister, brother-in-law and I all preordered sandwiches, and we thought they were pretty good.

For me, the real test of an airline is what happens when something delays or cancels a flight. We had made several flights to/from Seattle on Icelandair without difficulties.

On our last trip, 2 years ago, our flight from Munich arrived at KEF too late to make our Seattle connection. Within 30 minutes we had new reservations on the next day’s flight, transportation vouchers, hotel voucher, meal vouchers and a pamphlet on how to claim EU 261 compensation. We filed for compensation on the bus ride into Reykjavik and enjoyed our Iceland stopover….. Our €600 compensation per person was received within a few weeks. We were on our way home so one day delay just wasn’t a big issue.

Delays can happen on any airline. I am not sure that being treated this well happens on all of them.

The ham and cheese baguette sandwiches are pretty good, for airplane food. The one time we preordered a meal it was the Icelandic meal and it was god awful! We have never had a bad meal in Iceland, but that one was horrendous.

I know they say they have a "new" menu as of 2022, but that bad meal was in 2024. On our flight last month there were far less options that what their website shows. Not sure why, but yes, eat before you board. Also, if you bring a water bottle, you can go to the back and ask the flight attendant to fill it for you. That way you are not waiting for them to come around.

I've also never seen them check bags at the gates as KEF.

Frank, I'm assuming HeidiQ is talking about checking a bag at SEA. I have heard that Icelandair does check weight and measurements there.

Frank--I can't think of a flight home from KEF that they did not check bags at the gate. Just again last month, the agent came through and eyeballed all the bags that people had and if she had a question, it went into the sizer. They did not weigh them at the gate though.

We don't fly in and out of SEA, but a couple things have been consistent in the 4 or 5 flights we have taken on Iceland Air from IAD. The small terminal's hallways have been packed, so moving from gate to gate isn't always stress-free. The departure areas are congested. When we had to overnight due to a missed connection, check in the next morning was chaotic. Every flight we've been on has involved stairs to board the aircraft. This might not be the case for all flights, but it was a challenge for us. I carried both bags and personal items up the stairs. Caveat on all of this is that we both are seniors. One of us uses a wheelchair in the terminal. Even the attendant pushing the wheelchair could not part the Red Sea. Without her help, I doubt we would have made our most recent connection. The food was ok; there was no measuring or weighing baggage at the Dulles gate. We haven't used EES at KEF. All of that said, we still fly Iceland Air. Along with TAP, they offer the cheapest fares from IAD.

Wanderlust--At SEA the aircraft does park right at the gate. The gate are that they fly out of is small, but has plenty of seating. At KEF though, yes, most flights the aircraft is out on the tarmac and you are bused to/from the terminal. We have had only 2 flights where the aircraft have actually been right at the gate, so no buses involved. On those 2 flights, there was actually seating right at the gate, and quite a bit. I sure wish all of our flights were out of that gate:)

I've probably taken half a dozen flights out of KEF and no one has ever checked ny bags.

At BOS no one checked.

At JFK, they checked everyone except those in Saga.

At GLA no one checked.

At MAN, no one checked.

I guess I've been lucky.

And only once at KEF did I get to use a jetbridge. All other times I was bussed out to the plane.

Frank--Then you don't want to be on my flights, lol. It is interesting how it varies so much. At SEA, for those that did not stop at the ticketing desk and went straight to the gate, their bags were weighed and sized on the spot and there was no leeway. On our trip last month we watched so many of those people start moving stuff around to try and cram their bag into the sizer. We almost always check a bag coming home, so at KEF we only have our day pack and small duffel bag, about the same size as the day pack, so the agents just walk past us.

This is interesting. I'm wondering if I shouldn't have my daughter and I just go ahead and check a bag. I've never been forced to check a bag before (except for small planes that gate check) but technically it's not within the Icelandair limits, which are 21.6" x 15.7 " x 7.8". FWIW, I will be flying out of MSP.

My bag is a TravelPro MaxLite5 carry-on spinner; dimensions are 23" x 14.5" x 9" so the only issue is the length, but still 2 inches is 2 inches. 😊 I'm not concerned about the weight, as my bag is always between 18-20 pounds and I never use the zip-up expander, but it's still over the limit. I had planned on definitely checking a bag on the way home because of purchases, and with our tickets, we do have a free checked bag each, so I think I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Mardee--It just depends on that airport and the agents, but my experience would be that they would make you check it. I hate to check a bag going over, but coming home I am fine with it. After my husband's bag being delayed for 5 days in Greenland last summer, it really made us think about all of this even more.

I agree about being nervous about the checked bag, but I do have air tags in it. Plus, we'll be in Iceland for 7 nights instead of just using it as a short layover, so hopefully if the bag were lost, we'd be able to get it pretty quickly, knock on wood. 😂

Mardee--As you know, the AirTag is the only way we found my husbands bag last summer. We have them in everything now, and even in our vehicles at home, on the dogs, etc. Being able to board the plane and see that the luggage is actually being loaded onto the plane is reassuring.

Thanks everyone for the information! We are currently waiting to board the plane. They are checking sizes at the gate. But we should be ok - we had checked in online but we talked to the nice people at the ticket counter in the terminal and it was good we did. They do not use the mobile boarding pass or a home printed pass (or at least they didn’t today). We got our boarding passes and she marked our bags with an approved tag.

Now we’ll see how the flight goes and the connection! I’ll report back how that goes.

Again, many thanks to everyone who chimed in. Happy travels!

Mikliz97

The last time I flew Icelandair out of JFK, I got to the gate just before boarding (I was in the lounge.) I saw they were checking people's passports, boarding passes, and having them put their bag in the sizers.

I was called by name to the desk. They looked at my passport and boarding pass and that was it. I was in Saga and perhaps that's why they didn't have me use the sizer. (Technically, I get two carry ons plus a personal item. I only had one.)

Frank--That's just it, it seems that there is a lot of difference between airports and how strict they are. At SEA, nothing gets past them, even for Saga class. Regardless, any trip top Iceland is great!

You have to remember--in some airports, they are not Icelandair employees. They work for the local company that handles ground operations for Icelandair.

They want to get the plane off on time and will leave any baggage issues to the flight attendants.

Frank--True. At SEA they are Iceland Air employees though. The agents at the desk are also the same ones that are at the gate as there are so few.

I'm wondering since SEA would be at the start of a long Transatlantic flight for Icelandair. Meaning small additional weigh there will have more affect that an airport closer. Add that up for all the passengers and it might make ? difference.

The agents at the desk are also the same ones that are at the gate as there are so few.

That doesn't mean anything. It's possible that only a few local airport employees were trained to handle Icelandair flights and its rules.

It's like many regional flights. While the airplane might say things like American Eagle or Delta Connection et al, and the announcements may claim its that airline, the plane and its crew may actually be owned and operated by airlines most people have never heard of...Sky West, Republic, Mesa, Air Wisconsin, etc.

No, Robert H, it has nothing to do with weight. It mostly has to do with making extra money. Remember, a bag not allowed in the cabin is going into the cargo hold. It has no effect on total weight.

It also has to do with turnaround time at KEF. All planes from North America that land at KEF are then quickly made ready to fly to airports throughout Europe. The more bags in the cabin, the longer it takes to clear the cabin to prepare it for the next flight.

In the airline industry, a plane on the ground isn't making money.

Frank--I get that, but after all our flights to Iceland we have gotten to know two of the agents and have talked with them many times. They are actual Icelandair employees.

But we should be ok - we had checked in online but we talked to the nice people at the ticket counter in the terminal and it was good we did. They do not use the mobile boarding pass or a home printed pass (or at least they didn’t today). We got our boarding passes and she marked our bags with an approved tag.

Thanks for the update, Heidi. That's good to know. I was still on the fence about whether I should check my bag, but then I remembered that I want to bring my trekking poles, so I would probably need to check it anyway. And as I said before, since Iceland is our interim destination for seven nights, I'm not too worried about any delay or even losing the bag.