ICELANDAIR   Passenger Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports

ICELANDAIR customer review :  30 November 2009 by N Holdsworth   (UK)

LHR-KEF return. Much better than a budget airline in the sense that you get an AVOD system, comfortable seats, good service, free soft drinks/coffee with the option of purchasing food if necessary. Check in at KEF disorganised and took 20 minutes. But good experience overall.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  8 November 2009 by Paul Harvey   (UK)

LHR-KEF return: both flights on time and comfortable. The flight out was only 25% full and service was good - flight back was full and it was not until three quarters of the way through that the drinks trolley arrived. Overall, good value and I would travel with them again.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  26 October 2009 by K Mathes   (USA)

Haven't even taken my trip yet and I'm already annoyed. Icelandair's scheduled flight on January 1 2010, CPH to SEA, has been cancelled, and seems they will only offer a refund or booking on Icelandair's next flight, 24 hours later. They refuse to put us on another carrier with a similar flight schedule for us to arrive in SEA on the day scheduled. Their own "Conditions of Carriage", section 9.2.2, states that if the flight is cancelled they offer three options: rebook onto their next available flight (which is January 2 in this case); "within a reasonable period of time re-route you to the destination shown by our own services or those of another Carrier"; or make a refund. Their representative just said that arrival 24 hours later than originally scheduled is considered a "reasonable period of time", and they will not offer to book us on another carrier. I would gladly take the refund if airfares hadn't escalated so dramatically with the other carriers (currently, airfare on SAS or KLM for 3 people would be 3x what I paid). What a shock and disappointment to experience this kind of service before my trip starts. Right now I'm not sure how or when I'll be getting home.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  19 October 2009 by C Christensen   (USA)

My family and I have flown Icelandair at least 5 times between Boston and Copenhagen. While the first two times were uneventful, flights were on time and our bags made it, I found their IT, website and customer service inadequate. Don't expect the same level of politeness. Many times the people on customer service line don't seem to know the answers to your questions. And to retrieve a travel itinerary, you have to wait until the next morning at 6:30AM to get it in your email, because their IT system runs on batch operation, not real-time. It also seems to me that there are only 5 people that work there, you can't escalate issues when the first person you talk to doesn't help. When we flew with our infant son this month, they gave me different answers on whether or not their planes had bassinets when I called 3 times prior to the flight. I also wanted to reserve bulkhead seats for more room with a baby, also got conflicting information. In the end, we sat in a completely full flight, no bassinet, no bulkhead seats and the arm rests were fixed on the Boeing 757! (I've always flown airlines where the arm rests can be moved up). The worst part is we found our 2 months old stroller damaged upon arrival, with no one to help. After calling customer service with the damage report in hand, they insist us bringing back the broken stroller to Boston, have a shop provide an irreparable statement before issuing any help. Keep in mind the stroller was already in 3 pieces because the axel was ripped apart. The woman on the phone was extremely unpleasant and not reasonable. It caused us a lot of hardship and inconvenience to travel with a baby without a stroller for 8 days and having to pack a broken stroller and ship back to Boston. If you are on a tight budget, can tolerate tight seating, no free food, no customer service in the event of possible loss/damage of your property, then Icelandair does have good fares. But for us, this is not a family friendly airline at all. This is our last time flying with them.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  16 October 2009 by A Brito   (USA)

Have flown twice with Icelandair en route to Copenhagen from Boston. What attracted me was the low fare. The boarding by seat sections at Boston was bizarre and certainly superfluous. IFE was okay as I don't mind silent movies, though I was initially dumbstruck as to why some passengers had earphones. The food was adequate, but that's all. I thought that the price for alcohol was ridiculous. Aside from one FA on my first trip, who seemed to be naturally friendly, most FAs are stiff and almost haughty. Don't care much for the airport staff at Keflavik either. As I'm not a fussy person, I'd fly Icelandair again, but only if I had no choice.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  13 October 2009 by D Salter   (South Africa)

JFK-KEF-LHR. Flight delayed out of JFk due to late arrival but kept informed and turnaround quick. Then an hour to take off due to long line of planes waiting - 50. Kept informed and crew provided soft drinks free. Quick flight to KEF, only 4.30hrs - food for sale but not needed on such a short flight. Good TV screens, blankets and pillows. Comfortable seats with foot rests. Staff helpful but looked a little imposing. Easy change at Keflavik and flight to LHR left on time despite a technical issue. Baggage arrived quickly. Cheapest one way flight when I oked and have used many years ago -recommended and would use again.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  6 October 2009 by A Wang   (USA)

Paris-KEF-JFK. No meals in economy except what you purchase; I expected this for CDG-KEF but did not really believe it for international (KEF-JFK). Sandwiches and wraps around 4 euros, larger meals around 10 euros. Did not get a drink (water is free) but thought the prices were fair. Earphones offered on first flight but you have to buy them on KEF-JFK route (bring your own); entertainment system good with movies, music, TV-shows. Crew professional and helpful. Seats decent on first flight but very uncomfortable on second - could be the hardest, least ergonomic seats I've ever flown.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  24 September 2009 by S Colker   (UK)

LHR-KEF return. Outbound on a refurbished 757, with good IFE. Didn't eat any food, but drinks service was good. Staff polite and courteous and arrived on time. Inbound flight on older larger 757, drinks service a little slower, with no IFE, but only a short flight. Again, staff courteous and even arrived into LHR half an hour early. All in all, a good experience. Would definitely travel with them again.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  15 September 2009 by Randall Lowry   (Canada)

YYZ-KEF, KEF-OSL; ARN-KEF-YYZ. Outbound flight to KEF about 60% full on new style 757 - we found economy seating comfortable. Crew professional and courteous. IFE only had a couple of movies available. KEF-OSL a few days later was delayed one hour due to mechanical problem with lavatory sinks. Communication about the delay was not good at the gate but was explained after we boarded. Old style 757 was half full but not as comfortable as new ones. There was a note on the menu that said after September 2009 all aircraft in service would be the refurbished type. ARN-KEF and KEF-YYZ on the return almost full in economy but only 3 passengers in Saga-Economy Comfort section from ARN to KEF. Check-in was very prompt and courteous at YYZ, KEF and ARN (SAS counter). Had a middle seat in economy from ARN, was surprisingly comfortable, did a quick measurement and found it was at least an inch wider than window or aisle. IFE worked on both return flights. Maps were great, not sure why they never seem to work on Air Canada. Bought a vegetable wrap that was only OK. All the North American flights seemed to be busy ex-KEF that day so international departure area was crowded but functional. Icelandair did a good job getting everybody boarded promptly and at KEF at least it doesn't take long from push back to take off. If you are going from North America to a European destination that requires a flight change anyway and the Icelandair price is right, or if you have time to take advantage of the free stopover in Iceland we would recommend that you consider Icelandair. They seem like an experienced and competent operation with a primary focus on getting you to your destination safely.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  15 September 2009 by B Schneider   (USA)

Saga Class JFK-KEF-OSL (with Finnair Connecting Flight to HEL). Seats similar to recent US domestic business class. JFK check-in with BA ground staff and professional. Full flight to KEF. Onboard service professional and food excellent. Lounge in KEF had a nice spread for breakfast - not the biggest of lounges, but nice artwork. Flight to OSL on time and again good food. Very empty Saga Class, so we could spread out. Connection to Finnair for the last leg, also on time. However, the food was a step down (I really like Finnair and only say this in direct comparison to the previous two flights). All my bags made it in one piece.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  2 September 2009 by Barbara Lange   (USA)

Economy class MSP to KEF to LHR. Airplane was clean. FAs were nice going, not as attentive on the return but helpful when asked. Icelandair does a great job with kids - free headphones, kids meal and postcard that they mailed for us. Food was fine, relatively healthy and how much do you really need? Ten year old loved the touch screen. Flights on time. Brought my own headphones for the return trip and watched a great movie. Pillows and blankets were free and adequate. Nice airport in Iceland with good ground transport. Would not hesitate to use them again. Hope to spend more time in Iceland next time.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  30 August 2009 by Michael Little   (Australia)

London-Keflavik return in B757-200. It's best to compare Icelandair Economy class with low- cost carriers- airline operates reliably, seat pitch is comfortable, and you (eventually) get a soft drink. The boarding process at Keflavik was a bit chaotic - a long walk to the gate, and then two separate queues to negotiate before you get to board.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  21 August 2009 by P Black   (New Zealand)

Keflavik to Copenhagen. Disappointed on the poor selection of overpriced food. They have the nerve to charge 2 euro for a cookie and 9 euro for a small sushi set. Headphones are not free, pay 3 euro for those. Overall they give the impression of a cold, professional penny pinching airline that regards customers as cash cows.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  30 July 2009 by Kate Juhl   (USA)

My husband's bag never made our flight from Boston to Reykjavik back in June. Not only did he not have his bag for our entire 2-week European vacation, it is now 5 weeks later and his bag is still nowhere to be seen! Last we heard it was "somewhere in Italy," which was not even remotely near where we went on our trip. It is impossible to get any answers when I call. I wait 10 minutes to even speak with a representative and then they simply take my information and promise to call back - which never happens. Meanwhile, my husband has been without the majority of his wardrobe for 5 weeks - and no compensation to replace his clothes.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  27 July 2009 by Chris Roe   (UK)

KEF-MAN on a B757. Flight on time, plane clean and comfortable and crew were smiley and helpful. Food could be purchased and looked relatively appetising. Soft drinks complementary and alcohol at £3 for a wine, beer or spirit. Headphones supplied free of charge. All in all, very good value for money.

ICELANDAIR customer review :  17 July 2009 by A Hitt   (UK)

KEF-LHR. We experienced problems from start to finish. Icelandair managed to mess up our tickets in the beginning and then had the audacity to make us pay for the changes to take place. The employees of Icelandair are arrogant and rude. They have no concept of customer service and think that they can speak to you however they want to. When we given our boarding passes at KEF, we were given the wrong ones (to Copenhagen instead of LHR!) and then had to queue again to get them reissued. The flight attendants were unhelpful - don't expect a smile from any of them! Icelandair make you pay for headphones, pillows and all the normal things that you would expect from a good airline (IcelandExpress did not charge for these things). When I wrote my letter of complaint, issues that I raised were completed disregarded and instead I was patronised. If I were to travel again to Iceland, I would use Iceland Express - customer service was much better and it is much better value for money.