Update for 2021: Covid-19 has of course changed the information below dramatically. Things are changing quickly; find the latest Icelandair schedule here:
The good news is that 24 airlines currently fly directly into Keflavik airport in Iceland. Icelandair is far and away the biggest, with flights from 18 different countries. Let’s take a look at Icelandair, and how they compare to other options you may have.
Keflavik Airport
As an aside, note that nearly all international flights to Iceland land in Keflavik, a city about 45 minutes east of the capital Reykjavik. Even if the destination city is listed as Reykjavik, note the airport code is KEF, which is Keflavik. See options for getting from Keflavik to Reykjavik.
You could also spend some time in Keflavik. There are a couple of good museums there: Viking World and the Icelandic Museum of Rock ‘N’ Roll. See our coverage Keflavik here.
Icelandair
Most travelers are going to have the choice of Icelandair and at least one other airline. This is true for flights from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, and many more countries. Here are the details about Icelandair.
New Icelandair Economy Light fares
In October of 2017, Icelandair introduced a new fare class called Economy Light, which doesn’t include a checked bag. This was likely in an effort to compete with the fare structure at WOW Air. In Icelandair’s web site, the fare will be clearly marked as “no bag”:
Typically Economy light will cost exactly $45 less each direction vs. Economy Standard. Given that the primary difference between the fares is whether you can check a bag, this is just an option to pay $45 to check a bag or not. (There is one more difference: the change fee for a Light ticket is $360, whereas the fee is “only” $300 for Standard.) Unless you can get by with only carry-on luggage, that $45 is well worth it: Paying to add a checked bag will cost $118 ($59 each way) from Europe or $138 ($69 each way) from the US.
You can still have a carry-on bag in all ticket classes, up to 10 kg / 22 pounds and 55 x 40 x 20 cm / 21.6 x 15.7 x 7.8 inches. You can also take a small personal item, up to 40 x 30 x 15 cm / 15.7 x 11.8 x 5.9 inches.
Icelandair entertainment and perks
All fare classes have access to the in-seat entertainment system, though Economy fares do not provide headphones (except for kids.) The cost to purchase headphones on board is $8, though at least you can also use them on the flight back! Still, you may want to buy a pair for the same price (or even less) that you might actually use again.
Meals are also not included in Economy fares; again, the only exception is children who do get a free meal. Adults can pre-order a meal from the Icelandair Saga kitchen. Meals are prices in Euros, and cost from €5-€12 (about $6 – $14 right now.) Non-alcoholic drinks are free for everyone.
Icelandair Child Fares
All economy tickets (so economy light, standard, and flex) offer a 20% discount for children ages 2-11. But this discount is only on the base fare and not on taxes. So the true savings is closer to 12%-15%. There is no discount for kids in the Saga classes. Lap infants under get a 90% discount in Economy, and a 75% discount in Saga. But again, that exclude taxes.
Besides qualifying for modestly discounted tickets on Icelandair, children 2-11 will get a free meal, free headphones, and some games, puzzles, and crayons.
Icelandair Stopovers
You can connect through Iceland and make a vacation out of it. For example, let’s say you want to fly from New York to Amsterdam; your flight will connect in Iceland, and you can stay there for up to 7 days. (Economy Light fares limit stopovers to 3 days.) You’ll see the stopover option on the main Icelandair page:
When you choose a flight from Keflavik to Amsterdam, at least one of them should say “Included”, so the stopover does not cost anything more.
Icelandair flights from the United States
Icelandair flies from 11 different US airports, down from 16 before Covid. You can see the latest map on their web site:
There are 10 US cities marked on the map: Portland, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Orlando, Baltimore, Washington DC, New York and Boston. They fly from both JFK and Newark airports in (or near) New York.
Many of these are seasonal routes that have service in the summer only. Here’s what the calendar looked like for 2021.
Some cities also only have service certain days of the week. For example, service from Philadelphia is offered 4 days a week. Check Icelandair’s flight schedule for details.
Other Iceland flights from the United States
From the US, your other airline options are American, Delta and United. Here are summaries of cities and times of year for each:
American: American Airlines announced in December 2021 that they are suspending all service to Iceland from the United States.
Delta: Flights from Minneapolis (Delta’s hub) and New York JFK. Delta will also get you to Iceland from other cities, though you would connect through one of those two cities with direct flights. Service from Minneapolis is seasonal, May through August, but JFK is year-round as of 2016.
Delta’s cheapest fare class is Basic Economy, which does not include a checked bag or assigned seats. (And no, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to sit next to your children or others in your party!) Delta claims they will “strive to seat family members together” but that’s still not a guarantee. I don’t think they’ll have a ton of sympathy if you choose Basic Economy, but I could be wrong. The Main Economy fare class includes both a checked bag and the ability to choose your seats, but can cost $100 or more.
United: Seasonal service (June – September) from Newark. United also has a Basic Economy fare that does not include checked bags. And checking a bag will cost a whopping $120 ($60 each way.) You also won’t get to choose your seats, and the fare class specifically says “No group or family seating.” You can find a regular Economy fare for as little as $50 more.
Note that Icelandair’s cheap fares, Economy Lite, still allow you to choose your seats.
Flights to Iceland from Canada
Icelandair flies to Iceland from 2 Canadian cities: Vancouver and Toronto. There used to be 5, but things cange frequently.Service to Halifax has been stopped as of the end of March 2019, and Edmonton comes and goes. Service from Montreal was seasonal, with flights from the end of May through October, but it currenclt yseem suspended. See the discussion above about fare options and amenities on Icelandair.
Air Canada offers flights to and from Toronto and Montreal, offering competition to Icelandair. Service from both cities is seasonal, from June through October only.
Air Canada’s lowest fare class to Iceland is Economy, which offers a lot of amenities: A free meal and free checked bag. (Air Canada does have an Economy Basic fare, but it’s only offered on flights within Canada.)
Flights to Iceland from the United Kingdom
Icelandair flies from London (both Gatwick and Heathrow), Glasgow Scotland, and Manchester. All service is year-round. See the discussion above about fare options and amenities on Icelandair.
British Airways flies from London to Iceland. Some portions of their web site claim they fly from London City airport, but I can only find flights from London Heathrow. British Airways offers an Economy Basic fare that doesn’t allow checked bags and “allocated seats or pay to choose anytime.” Economy plus can be had for as little as £15 more, and offers a checked bag and seat selection.
EasyJet covers more airports in the UK than any other airline: you can get to Iceland from Belfast Northern Ireland, Edinburgh Scotland, Manchester, Bristol, and two airports in London: Gatwick and Luton. EasyJet’s “Standard” fare does not include a checked (hold) bag or seat selection. You can select seats for as little as £4.99 per person; that gets you a seat toward the back of the plane. For £20.99, you can select seats in the front of the plane and take a second carry-on bag on the plane. That seems like a reasonable alternative to checking a bag, though juggling two bags through the airport might not be much fun.
TUI (formerly Thomson) flies to Iceland from Bristol, Manchester, and London Gatwick. All flights are seasonal: Bristol is January through March, and Manchester and London are both November through March. (Interesting that they only take you to Iceland in the offseason!) Seat selection costs +£9.00, and checked bags cost £22.00 if it’s under 20 kg.
WizzAir now offers daily flights to Iceland, as of May 2019. This is up from their 3-day a week schedule before then.
Play Airline finally gets off the ground
As of mid-2019, two different groups are trying to resurrect WOW Air. An American businesswoman has purchased WOW Air’s assets, and she has some odd ideas for bringing it back to life. Don’t buy the headlines that they’re going to start operations in 2019 though; the first flights will be cargo only. It’s possible that WOW will bring passengers to Iceland in 2020 … but it’s also possible they will never literally get off the ground.
The other company is Play Airline, which launched flights from Europe to Iceland in 2021. Flights from the US may start in 2022.
Summary of flying to Iceland right now
Covid leaves travelers with fewer options for flights to Iceland.
The good news is there are still lots of airlines flying to Iceland. And there are still some deals, though summer deals only seem to occur if you book very early.
The exchange rate is much better than it was a year ago, and the number of tourists is starting to decline. That’s not great news for the Icelandic tourism industry, but good news for visitors!
(If you are going to Iceland, consider our new book!)
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Leave us a comment if you have a flying experience you’d like to share. Or send us updates– cities and seasonal routes change all the time. Thanks!!
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