Icelandair

Icelandair

Icelandair aims to be the preferred airline to and from Iceland and an attractive choice for North Atlantic travel, committed to providing safe and efficient air travel and unique services. Icelandair has built up an international route network with Iceland, a sparsely populated island in the North Atlantic, as a hub. Instead of viewing the country’s isolation as an obstacle, the company has transformed its geographical location into a business opportunity. Icelandair is a key component on the scheduled airline side of Icelandair Group.

Icelandair operates under an Air Operators Certificate issued by the Icelandic Civil Aviation Authority and is as such considered EASA compliant. Icelandair is an Icelandic carrier and has route rights in accordance with this status. Icelandair Technical Services provides maintenance and technical services for the Icelandair fleet, with the majority of the work performed at the Service Centre at Keflavik International Airport.

The Icelandair business strategy is based on the position of Iceland on the flight route between northern Europe and North America. Icelandair divides its marketing activities into three main categories: travel from Iceland, travel to Iceland and travel via Iceland – that is to say flights between Europe and North America with a stopover in Iceland. By linking these three markets using the same aircraft and the same route network the company has succeeded in sustaining and strengthening this business over a long period of time.

Icelandair connects 15-20 European cities to 5-8 North American cities through the hub in Iceland.  The network is based on a 24 hour rotation with aircraft departing Iceland early morning for Europe, returning in the late afternoon and then leaving for Canada and USA in the early evening.  These then arrive back in Iceland early the following morning and the process is repeated.  In 2009 Icelandair introduced Stavanger and Seattle into the network and has announced services to Brussels, Belgium and Trondheim, Norway as of spring 2010. Icelandair is increasing capacity in its network by 13% in 2010 from the year before, carrying an expected 1,6 million passengers.

What Icelandair’s international expansion has accomplished for Icelanders, apart from an increase in the number of tourists and the business activities that have developed around the tourist industry throughout the country, is a system of outstanding flight services between Iceland and other countries. By linking the Icelandic "micromarket" with the international airline route network, Icelandair has been able to offer greater frequency, more destinations and better efficiency and services than would otherwise be possible. 

Birkir Hólm Guðnason is the CEO of Icelandair.