Icelandair

Airline liveries come and go

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Icelandair is retiring two lovely liveries

Icelandair is retiring its Boeing 757 aircraft and refreshing and expanding its fleet with Airbus A321LRs.

That means two aircraft with much-loved liveries will no longer fly.

Vatnajokull (2017), the carrier’s ode to the largest glacier in Europe, was introduced in 2018 and retired last week.

We had the good fortune of flying on the plane in May 2017, before it went into full service, on a one-hour flight between Keflavik Airport near Reykjavik and Egilsstaðir Airport, with a route that went right over the glacier the plane is named after.

Now that the plane and that livery have been retired.

Here is Icelandair’s video about the creation of the livery.

Icelandair’s aurora borealis livery is going bye-bye too

Hekla Aurora, Icelandair’s northern lights plane, debuted in 2015, with interior aurora borealis mood lighting and an aurora borealis livery.

The plane’s last flight is scheduled for Sunday, October 12, and the airline has scheduled a special 1 and a half hour farewell flight from Keflavík Airport. Details here.

Looking forward to Lufthansa’s 100th anniversary livery

While Icelandair is retiring two cool liveries, Lufthansa is getting ready to unveil a new livery in honor of its 100th anniversary in 2026.

Starting in December, a new Boeing 787-9 will go into service with a special livery featuring a blue fuselage, the carrier’s trademark white crane hovering above it, and the bird’s wings merging into the wings of the aircraft.

In addition to the crane, the numerals “100” will be visible on the left side of the fuselage and the lettering “1926 / 2026” on the right side.

There will also be a 100” logo painted on the underside of the aircraft.

Airport News

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We’re ending the week with a round-up of airport news and activities

Ugly Sweaters in Las Vegas

In Las Vegas, Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) – the airport formerly known as McCarran International Airport – hosted its annual ugly sweater competition. And this week the airport also officially switched over to its new name, which honors retired Democratic U.S. Senate majority leader Harry Reid.

Spot an Elf, Win a Gift Card at PVD Airport

Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport (PVD) is having some fun with the #RIAirportelf and offering airport visitors a chance to win gift cards.

Fresh Art at John Wayne Airport

Behind the Tent – by Wednesday Aja

The newest exhibit at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, CA features photography by Wednesday Aja offering a unique view of the circus.

“Enchanted by the worlds of sequins and makeup, performers, and trapeze artists, Wednesday Aja’s work reveals the magic that transforms for a song – or a circus season – inviting the viewer to come along and get lost in the magic.”

The photographs on exhibit at John Wayne Airport are from Aja’s ‘Troupes and Tribes’ ongoing series exploring themes of custom, costume, and community. Find them (pre-security) on the Departure (upper) Level near security screening areas in Terminals A, B, and C and on the Arrival (lower) Level adjacent to Baggage Carousels 1 and 4.

Another Milestone at LaGuardia

Terminal B West Concourse, Courtesy LaGuardia Gateway Partners

The West Concourse of Terminal B  at New York’s LaGuardia Airport has opened. This phase includes the opening of four new gates and triggers the closure of the final gates of the original Central Terminal Building.

In addition to a 350+ seat American Airlines Admiral Club (Phase 1 is open now; the club should be complete by Spring 2022), the West Concourse has a charming children’s play area modeled after New York City.
 

Icelandair’s Holiday Ad. Based on a Trues Story.

Travel Tidbits: smuggled finches, Iceland adventures, middle seats, and more

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There does indeed seem to be an uptick in travel and travel news. Here’s some of what we spotted today.

Delta Air Lines will stop blocking middle seat starting May 1. They were last US airline still blocking middle seats.

Delta also announced on Tuesday that it is extending the expiration date on travel credits and bringing snacks back starting April 14. Passengers flying Delta One or First Class on select domestic coast-to-coast flights will see hot food options return in early June. First Class customers on some other U.S. routes will be served boxed meals beginning in early July.

Alaska Airlines now part of oneworld airline alliance

As of March 31 Alaska Airlines becomes the newest member of the oneworld airline alliance. That means that “as a Mileage Plan member, you can earn Alaska miles on all 14 member airlines when you fly to as many as 1,000 destinations in more than 170 countries and territories,” the airline said in a statement.

The new membership also means the benefit enjoyed by Alaska’s elite flyers will be honored on other member airlines.

“You’re an MVP Gold? Without doing a thing, you now also have Sapphire tier status in oneworld (75K fliers are Emerald and MVPs are Ruby in the alliance),” the airline notes, and, “Depending on your tier status, oneworld travel priveleges include priority check-in, access to more than 650 international first and business class lounges, preferred boarding, fast track through security, priority baggage benefits and more.”

Hair Rollers harbor finches

People try to smuggle things – foods, animals, drugs, etc – through airports all the time. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently spotted a guy who was trying to 29 finches in these hair rollers.

Iceland is hot right now

If Iceland wasn’t high on your travel list before now, the volcanic eruption going on now should be grabbing your attention. Another reason to make plans to head that way: this package offer from Icelandair available to book through April 13 for travel from 10 US cities. Along with roundtrip airfare and three nights hotel, with breakfast, vaccinated travelers get a visit to the new Sky Lagoon, a Northern Lights Board Tour and a one-day pass for the Hop On Hop Off city sightseeing bus.

WOW Air shuttered and airlines, bus lines, travel companies try to help

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Beleaguered WOW Air shut down on Thursday, posting a note on its website that all flights had been canceled.

For tickets holders stranded in various cities and airports, and those with tickets for future dates, WOW Air suggests contacting your travel agent or credit card issuer for help and offers this advice:

“Some airlines may offer flights at a reduced rate, so-called rescue fares, in light of the circumstances.”

As of Thursday evening, here’s what airlines, travel companies and even a bus company is offering WOW Air ticket holders in terms of “rescue” assistance:

Early in the day, the Hopper booking site announced that all customers who booked WOW Air flights through its site would get full refunds.

“Hopper will also be paying the full cost of rebooking for all its stranded passengers in transit.”

A variety of airlines are offering WOW Air tickets holders discounted rates on rebooked flights.

Icelandair has a posted a list of discounted Economy fares for stranded passengers en route to, from, or through Iceland. The fares are only available for passengers already on their journey, with a return WOW AIr ticket between now and April 11, 2019.

Other airlines, including Norwegian Air, Aer Lingus, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic are also offering special “rescue” fares to help WOW Air ticket holders. Check with the airline to see what they can do for you.

Even the Megabus company is doing its part to help.

Are you holding tickets for a WOW Air flight? Let us know how your rebooking plans work out.

Icelandair celebrating Iceland’s soccer team with stopover fun

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This year, Iceland became the smallest country ever to have its men’s soccer team qualify for the World Cup.

To celebrate, Icelandair, which sponsors the team, is launching a special soccer-themed version of its famed stopover program.

Passengers can apply to participate in Team Iceland Stopover: a selection of 90-minute, soccer-inspired experiences curated by members of Iceland’s men’s and women’s teams and taking place from May 29 through the end of June, 2018.

The experiences range from attending either a National Men’s or Women’s team match and hanging with midfielder Birkir Bjarnason at his favorite geothermal area to attending the June 16 party to celebrate Iceland’s World Cup match.

Anyone can apply to be part of the Team Iceland Stopover experiences, but there are limited spots. You’ll  need to be flying on Icelandair and your itinerary will need to match up with the program events. See the Icelandair website for more details.

Icelandair welcomes its first 737Max

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Icelandair took its first new Boeing 737 MAX 8 on a celebratory flight on Saturday, flying north from the in-city Reykjavík Airport for a one-hour special flight over stunning mountains and landscape before returning to the airport for a welcome party that included tours of the aircraft for hundreds of invited guests.

I was fortunate to go along for the flight.

All Icelandair planes are named after Icelandic volcanoes, glaciers or other areas of Iceland’s landscape and this new Boeing 737 MAX 8, is named Jökulsárlon, after a glacial lagoon.

Here are some more snaps from the flight:

Invited guests on the flight got to taste a special 737 Transatlantic Pale Ale, which will be available for purchase onboard Icelandair flights, starting at the end of May, for a few months.

 

Sigurður Helgason, Icelandair’s past CEO and Bjorgolfur Johannsson, the current President & CEO, toast the new plane with cans of the special 737 Transatlantic IPA.

 

Hundreds of invited guests came to the airport to welcome the plane and lined up for a tour. But first the red carpet had to put out.

 

This is the first of 16 737 Max airplanes Icealandair will receive over the next four years, so keep an eye out for them in the skies and at your airport.

 

Icelandair’s in-flight immersive theater experiment

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Last week Icelandair tried something new: an 11-hour immersive theater production that took place on a flight from London to New York, with an on-the-ground bonus performance during a short layover in Reykjavik.

I got to ride along.

The cast was a mix of professional actors from the London theater group, Gideon Reeling, and real airline employees, including pilots, engineers, accountants, ground workers and cabin crew, who had volunteered to attend a special stage school.

The characters ranged from film stars and flight attendants from various decades to a perky party planner, a stone-faced volcanologist, a ram farmer and a pair of barefoot, beaded hippies. And the plot was built around Icelandair’s 80-year history, its can-do philosophy and themes of empowerment for women.

The show – such as it was – took place on board, as the characters mingled with passengers, telling stories about their role in what turned out to be a kooky and somewhat complicated family all headed to a party for Edda who  (spoiler alert…) never appeared.

I’m finishing up a story for NBC News about the event, but here are some snaps from the flight.

Icelandair’s new Stopover Pass promotion

Contests

 

Icelandair is celebrating its 80th birthday with a fun promotion.

The airline already allows a free stopover in Iceland, but a new Icelandair Stopover Pass offers some fun extra perks.

From now until March 2018 passengers can apply to their have their standard boarding pass into a Stopover Pass, which offers exclusive access to a series of entertaining performances on land and in the sky.

The performances range from a three-act play on board a flight from London to New York via Iceland (starring Icelandair crew members), tickets to a private concert, trips to Icelandic football matches, backstage passes to a music festival and more.

Go here to enter a contest to be on a flight September 8 from London to New York (via Iceland), during which that three-act play will be performed and to enter your name to snag a ticket to one of the special events taking place during the next year.

 

 

 

Love the layover: Iceland

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[My story about Iceland tourism first appeared on NBC News)

You’re not imagining it if it seems like everyone you know is either planning a trip to Iceland – or just got back.

The Nordic island nation – population 350,000 – has seen tourism numbers explode from under 500,000 in 2010 to 1.7 million in 2016, with more than 2.4 million tourists expected to visit this year.

Iceland’s stunning glaciers, waterfalls, volcanoes, lava fields, geothermal pools and geysers have always been there, of course. But it took global news coverage of the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, cameo TV and film roles for Iceland’s scenery and some quirky tourism campaigns to really grab the world’s attention.

“At first it was crisis communications,” said Inga Hlin Palsdottir, Director of Visit Iceland and Creative Industries at Promote Iceland, “Our tourism industry was having difficult times after the 2008 recession and in 2010 things were just beginning to pick up. Then the volcano starting erupting right before the peak summer tourism season.”

Iceland’s tourism industry and the government banded together to try to save the summer season, eking out a tiny 0.1 increase that year. They continued to work together, with a focusing on raising Iceland’s profile as a year-round destination and getting tourists to venture outside of Reykjavik.

“Before Airbnb was even booming, we had locals invite tourists to their homes. Then we asked tourists to rename Iceland, because the country really doesn’t have that much ice,” said Palsdottir, “Now we have the Iceland Academy,” which is a series of short, offbeat videos on everything from “How to Eat Like an Icelander,” to the essential “How to Avoid Hot Tub Awkwardness.”

Now music fans want to see where Björk, Of Monsters of Men and Sigur Rós came from. TV and film aficionados want to see for themselves the Icelandic scenery that appears in hits such as HBO’s fantasy series ‘Game of Thrones,’ and the movie ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,’

And going somewhere where there’s a great chance of seeing the Northern Lights is on the bucket list of almost every traveler.

Foreign and local tour operators have greatly expanded schedules and itineraries throughout Iceland and the inventory of hotel rooms and vacation rentals have grown.

Courtesy Promote Iceland

Helping to fuel in the influx of visitors from North America is the increase in air service to Iceland, especially by Wow Air and Icelandair, two Reykjavik-based airlines that route their flights through Iceland and offer passengers the option of an Iceland stopover for no additional airfare charge.

Wow Air flies to Iceland from ten North American cities, while Icelandair serves 13 U.S. airports (Philadelphia services starts May 30; Tampa services kicks off September 7) and five in Canada.

“Who doesn’t love a two-for-one deal?” said Pauline Frommer, Editorial Director of Frommer’s guidebooks and Frommers.com, “Most travelers are jazzed by the idea of getting to see an additional destination on their way to Europe – and one that hugely popular right now.”

Icelandair, celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, has been promoting its stopover option since perhaps the early 1950s or mid-60s, said airline spokesman Michael Raucheisen, “We’ve always encouraged passengers to come experience Iceland for a few days, fall in love with it and come back for a full trip. And that model has worked well over the years.”

For passengers who don’t choose to stopover, Icelandair has two planes offering flyers a taste – or a tease – of the Iceland experience.

The carrier’s northern lights-themed plane was introduced in 2015 and earlier this month the airline launched a glacier-themed plane (named for Iceland’s Vatnajokull glacier) that has images of the glacier hand-painted on the exterior and, inside, ice-blue lighting and headrests, cups, napkins, lavatory décor and even airsickness bags with a glacier motif.

Route round-up: more ways to get from here to there

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Increasingly, you can get there from here. Here’s a round-up of some new airline routes that may help.

British Airways will begin its San Francisco – London service with an Airbus A380 next summer. The airline began A380 service between Los Angeles and London last September 2013 and starts A380 service to Washington DC in October.

Air New Zealand announced it is adding more flights to its North American routes. with additional service from Vancouver and Los Angeles to Auckland.

Starting in April 2015, ANZ will fly LAX-AKL three times daily through October. Starting in June 2015, ANZ will fly YVR-AKL five times a week through September.

Southwest Airlines will add service between Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and San José, Costa Rica, starting in March 2015.

And Icelandair announced new seasonal non-stop service from Portland, Oregon to Reykjavik, Iceland beginning May 20, 2015 and continuing through October 21, 2015.