I booked originally a return economy class ticket on Icelandair on the lowest booking class from Reykjavík to Toronto. As I expected I received an e-mail from Icelandair to make a bid to upgrade. My bid of about 190 Euros was accepted so I could travel on the outbound leg on business class - a very good deal.
Icelandair flies to many destinations from Reykjavík to Canada and the US. Most of the flights leave at the same time (between 5 and 6 pm) to connect with inbound flights with Europe. I arrived to my home airport Keflavík at 14.45 for my flight at 17.00. There was almost no line at the business class (Saga Class) so I was checked in in two minutes.
There was no priority security for premium class passengers and first it seemed there were quite a lot of people but I was actually through in about 12 minutes only. Keflavík Airport is quite nice inside:
At check-in I received a flyer saying that the lounge was temporarily moved next to gate C23. I was pleasantly surprised to find a spacious lounge full of natural lights and a good view on the apron. Most of the food was salad and other cold food and also desserts, but what I had was actually very tasty. There was also a good internet connection.
After spending more than an hour in the lounge I went through passport control – one minute or so. The boarding area was quite crowded and there was no separate line for business class passengers but when I was asked I was just let to go.
My aircraft for today’s Icalandair flight from Reykjavík to Toronto was a B757-200, TF-FIT named Helgafell. Depending on how you look at it Icelandair has the best business class for intra-European short-haul flights with a 2+2 configuration (unlike most European business classes with normal economy seats with the middle seat blocked) or the worst transatlantic business class with legroom smaller than you would expect (no flat-beds or lie-flat seats on Icelandair). But this was a 5 hours and 35 minutes daytime flight, so it was perfect for me. I also remembered how low price I paid for my flight. The business class cabin has 4 rows so a total of 16 seats. Today’s load was 11/16. As far as I could see I was the only was originating from Reykjavík, all other passengers were connecting from Europe – maybe taking advantage of Icelandair’s free stopover.
All passengers (including economy) were offered a bottle of water upon boarding. After taking my seat 1C I was offered a headset (noise cancelling, quite good but not perfect), an amenty kit and sparkling wine.
Push-back was on time. There was still some daylight outside when we took off shortly after 5 pm.
Menu was distributed some time later. You can also pre-book your meal on Icelandair’s website from a much bigger choice.
The entire meal was served at one time on a tray which I didn’t mind. The starter was absolutely fantastic. My main course was Bouillabaisse – normally a fish soup from Marseille in France. Well, it was very different from what would have been served in France – but it was much better! The dessert was also very, very good. The food was absolutely five-star. I was very happy about it.
Icelandair offers free wi-fi – in theory. But I could only connect towards the end of the flight.
There is also IFE. The screen is as small as it would be on economy class. I found the choice of music reasonably good, but I couldn’t find any movies I was interested in it. There are however some short Icelandair-themed videos, interesting for anyone who like aviation. The photos shows some of he available movies.
The good thing about flying from Reykjavík to Toronto at this part of the year is that you have a nice sunset for over 5 hours. We overflew the southernmost part of Greenland with some spectacular views.
Maybe an hour or so after we had some other very nice views, this time over Canada. Can you see the winglet with the Icelandair logo reflecting on my screen?
We arrived toToronto on time. I was through immigration in two minutes and my luggage arrived after another two minutes.
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Verdict
Icelandair
8.1/10
Cabin7.5
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Meal/catering10.0
Saga Lounge - Principal/Main
8.0/10
Comfort10.0
Meal/catering9.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Services8.0
Reykjavík - KEF
10.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0
Toronto - YYZ
10.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0
Conclusion
I had a very enjoyable flight on Icelandair from Reykjavik to Toronto. While the seats are certainly not on pair with other transatlantic airlines, I liked the small cabin. The service was friendly, the food was outstanding, I could listen to some good music and I paid only a small fee for upgrade. What else do you need for such a short daytime flight?
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Thanks for sharing this report. The upgrade was well worth the price with a confortable seat a nice IFE and a nice meal. I agree with you on a daytime trip he seats are fine.
Great report about your flight with Icelandair! I have often wondered how Saga Class is, and your photos made it look like a nice cabin. The meal looks tasty, but the portions look quite small to me for a Business Class meal. Glad to hear it was good though!
Thanks for this FR. At 190EUR it is indeed a really good price. However for a regular fare paying passenger I think the service is not sufficient, sure the lunch is of good quality but a snack before landing should be served. Although I understand most of FI's flights are around 6h long and a flat bed is not required, a better seat with a legrest similar to some Y+ ones would be welcome.
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4 Comments
Thank you for sharing.
At 190EUR it is indeed a really good price.
However for a regular fare paying passenger I think the service is not sufficient, sure the lunch is of good quality but a snack before landing should be served. Although I understand most of FI's flights are around 6h long and a flat bed is not required, a better seat with a legrest similar to some Y+ ones would be welcome.
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