We decided to go on holiday to California. There are no direct flights between Iceland and California since the end of Wow Air so we decided to fly to Vancouver, one of the furthest direct destinations from Keflavík, and connect from there.
Our itinerary:
Keflavík to Vancouver, Icelandair, business class
Vancouver to San Francisco, United, first class
San Francisco to San Diego, United, first class
Los Angeles to Vancouver, Air Canada, economy class
Vancouver to Keflavík, Icelandair, business class
The cost of a return direct flight in business class from Iceland to Vancouver was about 1,100 €. As a comparison the price of a direct flight from London to Vancouver (or San Francisco or Los Angeles) in business class was about 9,000 € for the same dates.
I've already reviewed Icelandair several times but this is my first review of a flight to the west coast of North America.
An advertisement in the check-in area at Keflavík Airport shows an Icelandair plane in its new livery.
Many Icelandair flights leave in the afternoon more or less at the same time so there can be long lines for check-in. There are several check-in desks for business class passengers. Waiting time for us was about ten minutes.
The agent checked our vaccination certificates, our eTA (Electronic Travel Authorizatuon) for Canada and our ArriveCAN app.
There's a separate line at security for business class passengers with almost zero waiting time.
Icelandair's business lounge at Keflavík Airport is spacious and was not crowded despite the many flights leaving in the afternoon.
You can see large and small airplanes from/at the lounge.
The afternoon choice of food includes salads, snacks, cheese and delicious Icelandic hangikjöt (cold lamb slices with flat bread).
The only hot meal was tomato soup.
This looks like pizza but is actually good quality Italian ham with cheese.
Drinks include soft drinks, beer, wine and a few types of liquor.
The departure board shows no less than 13 Icelandair flights between 16.45 and 17.15.
Passport control was fast. EU and Icelandic passengers over the age of 18 can use the automatic gates.
Boarding was by bus.
Our plane was one of Icelandair's B757-200s, the backbone of the airline's fleet, registration number TF-FIK, built 22 years ago.
As most of you probably know Icelandair has a US Domestic First Class type business class in a 2-2 configuration. There are five rows from row 2 to row 6 - there's no row 1 on this aircraft. These seats are not as comfortable as the ones in use on other airlines' widebody aircrafts on transatlantic routes but considerably more comfortable than premium economy. Load was 100% on this flight in business class.
Legroom is sufficient.
An antibacterial towel was offered upon boarding.
A pillow, blanket and nice amenity kit were waiting on the seat.
Noise cancelling headphones were handed out a short time later.
An expected flight time of 7 hours and 20 minutes was announced.
Sparkling wine was offered as a welcome drink.
Push-back was on time at 17.15. We took off at 17.30.
Some views of the village of Sandgerði near the airport.
Let's have a look at the menus!
An appetizer were offered with a drink shortly after take-off. I had some Kientz Riesling white wine from Alsace.
We had some nice views as we were approaching the east coast of Greenland.
Dinner was served on a tray less than one hour after take-off.
Balsamic-glazed creamy burratta with Parma ham, cherry tomatoes and balsamic oil. It was OK.
Lamb crown roast with parmesan potatoes, oven-baked vegetables and red wine sauce. The lamb was delicious.
The other option for the main course was cold Duck salad with Icelandic Feykir cheese, truffle mayonnaise and pomegranate.
The friendly cabin crew was very attentive and went through the cabin many times to check if any of the passengers needed anything.
All seats have quite good sized built-in screens (bulkhead seats have smaller fold-out screens).
Let's have a look at the choice of movies and TV shows. The best news of the day: the choice has finally been considerably updated with many interesting new films and series. Enough to watch for many hours!
Another form of in-flight entertainment: gorgeous views near the west coast of Greenland.
There was more and more ice on the sea as we were approaching Nunavut.
Early June is still winter in Northern Canada.
Some good quality chocolate was offered around this time.
The front of the business class cabin during the flight.
A small cheese platter was offered about one hour before landing as a second meal.
Approaching Vancouver.
We landed at 17.52 for a scheduled arrival time of 18.00.
The view of our plane after landing.
Immigration was very well organized and passport control was mostly automated in Vancouver. We were landside after a short time.
Thank you for reading my flight report and please feel free to comment.
Looks like Icelandair's bet for North American routes is going quite good nowadays. Despite the weather, looks like KEF could develop as an international hub between Europe and North America, just like Helsinki is (or was until COVID and Ukranian conflict) for Asian routes. Maybe they should upgrade it's economy class product, as I think there's a BOB service on this route for Y class?
Thanks for sharing!
Hi and thank you for your comment. KEF is already a hub between Europe and North America. Most of Icelandair's passengers are Americans travelling to Europe as Icelandair is much cheaper than the direct flights and allows a stopover in Iceland.
Hi David, great report as always. For days flights once again, FI's Business class is great and as you mention it's definitely better than a Premium Economy product...it's somewhere between a W and a J product...Business Lite of sorts. These West Coast flights do push the limits of the current fleet and as the 757 and 767 fleets will have to be retired sooner than later, I wonder what equipment FI will use to replace them, especially since the longer West Coast flights won't be possible with a 737 MAX. I also really hope they come back to California in the future.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi KévinDC and thank you for your comment. I like the B757s but yes Icelandair will really need to retire them soon.
Thank you for this report. FI offers a fairly nice product! Wonderful views of the Great North!
LYSflyer
Thank you Lysflier for your comment.