is the
Flag Carrier Airline of
Iceland , based in
Reykjavík . It is part of the
Icelandair Group and operates services to 22 cities in 12 countries on both sides of the
Atlantic . Its main base is
Keflavík International Airport .
1
Icelandair traces its roots to 1937 when was founded in
Akureyri on the north coast of Iceland. Operations started in 1938 with a Waco YKS-7 floatplane. In 1940 the company moved its headquarters to Reykjavík, and changed its name to '''Flugfélag Íslands'''. A company called
Loftleiðir had been formed by three pilots in 1944 . Initially Loftleiðir and Flugfélag Íslands concentrated on Icelandic domestic air services.
In 1945 Flugfélag Íslands (Iceland Airways Ltd.) made its first international flights to
Scotland and
Denmark . Scheduled international services were commenced in 1946 with converted
B-24 Liberator aircraft leased from Scottish Airways. Loftleidir began international operations in 1947 , and its pioneering low-fare services across the North-Atlantic commenced in 1953 . At the time
IATA determined the fares for airlines flying between Europe and North-America and all airlines charged the same amount. Loftleidir was not a part of
IATA and could therefore determine its own fares, undercutting all competing airlines. This made them a popular hub for travel between Europe and North-America.
Flugfélag Íslands and Loftleiðir were merged in 1973 and the name was adopted. The company's English name became Icelandair. A large portion of the air traffic between the
United States to
Europe flies over Iceland making the island a transfer point for people travelling between the U.S. to Europe and vice versa. This accounts for much of the company's passenger traffic. Icelandair's stopover plan dates back to when
Loftleidir started the plan in 1963 on its transatlantic flights at no extra cost. At the time Loftleidir was the only airline that did this and therefore pioneered
Sixth Freedom rights.
s at
Luxembourg Airport in 1983]]
After the merger, Icelandair was the holding company for the two airlines, but assumed all operating responsibilities in October 1979 . In 1997 it established a subsidiary,
Air Iceland , to operate domestic and selected short-haul routes. In January 2002 , Flugleiðir-Icelandair Group became a holding company with 11 subsidiaries, of which Icelandair is the largest. In March 2005 the groups name was changed to FL Group. In October 2005, FL Group sold its airline and travel operations and a new company was formed,
Icelandair Group . Icelandair has 2,565 employees (at March
2007 ).
Icelandair transported over one and a half million passengers in 2005 (1,526,241), the largest number of passengers that the airline has transported in one year. The number of passengers increased 14.5% from the previous year and since 1993 this amount has tripled. On average Icelandair operated 28 flights a day in 2005.Icelandair 2005 Annual Report.
with
Winglets taking off]]
take off. The nosewheel and main undercarriage doors are still retracting]]
Destinations served from Iceland:
The Icelandair fleet includes the following aircraft (at February
2007 ):
On
28 February 2005 Icelandair signed a contract for two
Boeing 787 s for delivery in 2010 and purchase rights for 5 more. On
5 April 2006 Icelandair signed a contract to exercise two of their five
Boeing 787 purchase rights for delivery in 2012.
Icelandair shares many of these aircraft with its sister company Loftleiðir Icelandic. Loftleiðir Icelandic is now operating 6 Boeing 757-200s and 3 Boeing 767-300s. Icelease, another sister company of Icelandair, owns 15 Boeing 737-800. These aircraft are leased to other companies including Air China and Hong Kong Airlines until the 2008 Olympics end.
