Icelandair Business Class 737MAX Iceland to Raleigh Inaugural Flight
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Date: 2023-08-28
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Comments and reviews: 30
Peter
This is the promise of the combination of location and equipment. The location, Iceland, makes for an enormous number of city connections between North America and Europe with a single stop. The aircraft, the long-range single-aisle 737 Max, provides both the endurance and lower operating cost to make thinner routes profitable.
When I lived in NYC, I never really considered this, there were non-stop flights to almost anywhere. Now that I live in a small-market city, the promise of an Iceland Air flight direct to Keflavik is extremely appealing. Couple that with the Saga class product which sits between premium economy and business with a corresponding price tag and, I think, it makes for an attractive travel future.
I suspect that this is part of Iceland Air's plan to become a major carrier. They see the growth possible in these smaller-market US cities.
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This is the promise of the combination of location and equipment. The location, Iceland, makes for an enormous number of city connections between North America and Europe with a single stop. The aircraft, the long-range single-aisle 737 Max, provides both the endurance and lower operating cost to make thinner routes profitable.
When I lived in NYC, I never really considered this, there were non-stop flights to almost anywhere. Now that I live in a small-market city, the promise of an Iceland Air flight direct to Keflavik is extremely appealing. Couple that with the Saga class product which sits between premium economy and business with a corresponding price tag and, I think, it makes for an attractive travel future.
I suspect that this is part of Iceland Air's plan to become a major carrier. They see the growth possible in these smaller-market US cities.
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Marzipan
Having recently flown on a 737 MAX between Toronto and Iceland, I will tell you it is a deep step-down from the rest of the fleet. Perhaps the most uncomfortable part of boarding is being pushed onto an over-crowded bus for a tour of the tarmac before a long climb up the stairs to the plane. Once on board in Saga Class, the entire rest of the plane boarded hitting me on the head with their backpacks. Please take off your backpack and carry it like a carry-on. The layout of other planes in the fleet allowed Saga passengers to turn left and economy passengers to turn right when boarding.
I am quite unsure how people with physical disabilities could board the plane. Strangely the flights to US destinations had the typical jet bridge.
Typically, the Saga Lounge and onboard service and food were impeccable. The MAX was not.
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Having recently flown on a 737 MAX between Toronto and Iceland, I will tell you it is a deep step-down from the rest of the fleet. Perhaps the most uncomfortable part of boarding is being pushed onto an over-crowded bus for a tour of the tarmac before a long climb up the stairs to the plane. Once on board in Saga Class, the entire rest of the plane boarded hitting me on the head with their backpacks. Please take off your backpack and carry it like a carry-on. The layout of other planes in the fleet allowed Saga passengers to turn left and economy passengers to turn right when boarding.
I am quite unsure how people with physical disabilities could board the plane. Strangely the flights to US destinations had the typical jet bridge.
Typically, the Saga Lounge and onboard service and food were impeccable. The MAX was not.
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EV
Hey Jeb - how about a review of a transatlantic with a stopover at KEF?
Had the pleasure of flying Saga Premium OSL-KEF-DEN a few weeks ago. Food was solid 4 but lacked in the pre-flight meal into DEN - just a tiny snack. The IFE kept bugging out and even after a reset my screen rebooted every 10 minutes. Quite annoying given the 2 minutes of commercials you have to watch before resuming your movie. Guess what - similar issues over to DEN but not quite as frequent. However crew and overall service was an easy 5.
Also the seat is just a bit too uncomfortable for an 8 hour flight from KEF-DEN, especially the awkward foot rest for someone 6'3'' / 190 cm. Wish they had more options for their flights over six hours.
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Hey Jeb - how about a review of a transatlantic with a stopover at KEF?
Had the pleasure of flying Saga Premium OSL-KEF-DEN a few weeks ago. Food was solid 4 but lacked in the pre-flight meal into DEN - just a tiny snack. The IFE kept bugging out and even after a reset my screen rebooted every 10 minutes. Quite annoying given the 2 minutes of commercials you have to watch before resuming your movie. Guess what - similar issues over to DEN but not quite as frequent. However crew and overall service was an easy 5.
Also the seat is just a bit too uncomfortable for an 8 hour flight from KEF-DEN, especially the awkward foot rest for someone 6'3'' / 190 cm. Wish they had more options for their flights over six hours.
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Janet
I flew Icelandair Seattle to Keflavik summer 2017; good to see the airport terminal expansion work was finally complete. Two extra points: the fact that the international airport is in Keflavik, not Reykjavik, could stand to be emphasized for us ignorant Americans. When I traveled there, one of my cousins in our party arranged for our rental car and, you guessed it, she booked it for the Reykjavik airport. And those open-faced sandwiches? Theyre a special part of Scandinavian cuisine, whose name I cant put here because the alphabet on my iPad lacks the necessary characters.
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I flew Icelandair Seattle to Keflavik summer 2017; good to see the airport terminal expansion work was finally complete. Two extra points: the fact that the international airport is in Keflavik, not Reykjavik, could stand to be emphasized for us ignorant Americans. When I traveled there, one of my cousins in our party arranged for our rental car and, you guessed it, she booked it for the Reykjavik airport. And those open-faced sandwiches? Theyre a special part of Scandinavian cuisine, whose name I cant put here because the alphabet on my iPad lacks the necessary characters.
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whatevermightwork
I took advantage of an Icelandair sale to make my first ever transoceanic trip in Saga class. Yes, your average business class lie-flat seat is much better, but Icelandiar is often so much cheaper that I'm satisfied with their offering. And the flights between Seattle and Keflavik, Wow! Schedule your eastbound trip close to a new moon to enjoy the aurora! Westbound, your views of the ocean, Greenland, and northern Canada are incredible!
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I took advantage of an Icelandair sale to make my first ever transoceanic trip in Saga class. Yes, your average business class lie-flat seat is much better, but Icelandiar is often so much cheaper that I'm satisfied with their offering. And the flights between Seattle and Keflavik, Wow! Schedule your eastbound trip close to a new moon to enjoy the aurora! Westbound, your views of the ocean, Greenland, and northern Canada are incredible!
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Mach
Great video jeb,
The ice air 737 max is definitely an aircraft I would like to fly on, looks like a really nice aircraft. I have flown on the MAX 4 times, but all airlines within the UK so maybe a trip up to Iceland for a few days would be nice. Would prefer the 752 on the route from Glasgow as thats my local airport, of course the 757 has been replaced by the MAX!
Lovely video again!
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Great video jeb,
The ice air 737 max is definitely an aircraft I would like to fly on, looks like a really nice aircraft. I have flown on the MAX 4 times, but all airlines within the UK so maybe a trip up to Iceland for a few days would be nice. Would prefer the 752 on the route from Glasgow as thats my local airport, of course the 757 has been replaced by the MAX!
Lovely video again!
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travel
The near-polar route across the Atlantic was a common way of transporting aircraft from America to England during ww2. We should have remembered that later on because it's actually a really great way to go and several airlines have rediscovered this. Even the flights are usually smoother because the polar air mass is very stable most of the time.
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The near-polar route across the Atlantic was a common way of transporting aircraft from America to England during ww2. We should have remembered that later on because it's actually a really great way to go and several airlines have rediscovered this. Even the flights are usually smoother because the polar air mass is very stable most of the time.
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david
You mentioned on another video about someone taking Susans luggage. I buy black luggage, then I write in fluorescent white paint my name, address, email and phone number on all 6 sides in as big as the size of the luggage allows. Nobody wants your luggage. Also as we found our driver who was meeting us in Dublin found us easily.
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You mentioned on another video about someone taking Susans luggage. I buy black luggage, then I write in fluorescent white paint my name, address, email and phone number on all 6 sides in as big as the size of the luggage allows. Nobody wants your luggage. Also as we found our driver who was meeting us in Dublin found us easily.
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Swordsman1425
It's good to see international airlines coming to other airports.
If you can, you should check out Lufthansa's really new flight from my hometown St. Louis to Frankfurt, the first time the St. Louis airport has had a transatlantic flight in decades, probably not since the TWA days.
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It's good to see international airlines coming to other airports.
If you can, you should check out Lufthansa's really new flight from my hometown St. Louis to Frankfurt, the first time the St. Louis airport has had a transatlantic flight in decades, probably not since the TWA days.
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John
Icelandair certainly has an attractive and seemingly comfortable business class. The food looked just and had a great presentation. Looks like the airline would provide an attractive European hub for continuing on to continental destinations, away from the big hub airports in London and Paris.
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Icelandair certainly has an attractive and seemingly comfortable business class. The food looked just and had a great presentation. Looks like the airline would provide an attractive European hub for continuing on to continental destinations, away from the big hub airports in London and Paris.
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jeb_brooks
You didn't sound excited about this seat especially when you said a bottle of water you got to remember Iceland Air is one of the economy based type airlines they try to save pennies where they can great service but I wouldn't compare it to the big three back at home
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You didn't sound excited about this seat especially when you said a bottle of water you got to remember Iceland Air is one of the economy based type airlines they try to save pennies where they can great service but I wouldn't compare it to the big three back at home
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Perry
KEF only has international flights. Five of these flights are US routes. During peak season, there are an additional fifteen routes to the US. Because Iceland is an island nation, is it plausible for KEF to (someday soon) be a US Customs Border preclearance airport?
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KEF only has international flights. Five of these flights are US routes. During peak season, there are an additional fifteen routes to the US. Because Iceland is an island nation, is it plausible for KEF to (someday soon) be a US Customs Border preclearance airport?
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Viking9
Back in 1993 when I was assigned to the US Naval Base at Keflavik, for my mid-tour leave I flew Icelandair (757) First Class to BWI. Little pricey but I wanted to treat myself and it was well worth it. I could definitely get used to flying First Class.
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Back in 1993 when I was assigned to the US Naval Base at Keflavik, for my mid-tour leave I flew Icelandair (757) First Class to BWI. Little pricey but I wanted to treat myself and it was well worth it. I could definitely get used to flying First Class.
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franklinmimi
Thank you so much for all the time you spend making these interesting and wonderful videos of your trips. I think at 82 years old I'm learning some geography I didn't learn in school. I look so forward to watching your videos.
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Thank you so much for all the time you spend making these interesting and wonderful videos of your trips. I think at 82 years old I'm learning some geography I didn't learn in school. I look so forward to watching your videos.
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Loy
My sister living in Iceland but shes want to come to us but shes cant fly by herself because shes not speaking English and not understand anything. Give me some idea how shes getting on the plane from Iceland to us. I am living in LA
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My sister living in Iceland but shes want to come to us but shes cant fly by herself because shes not speaking English and not understand anything. Give me some idea how shes getting on the plane from Iceland to us. I am living in LA
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Theresa
Icelandair is my choice of airline when flying to Europe. Also as a person with a physical disability, their staff at check-in, ground staff, and flight crew are top notch at making if easier for me to travel.
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Icelandair is my choice of airline when flying to Europe. Also as a person with a physical disability, their staff at check-in, ground staff, and flight crew are top notch at making if easier for me to travel.
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Darren
You were flying in business class, its a debut flight and CEO is onboard so of course its going to be the best. Try the same flight in 18 months time without a CEO onboard and see if its as good?
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You were flying in business class, its a debut flight and CEO is onboard so of course its going to be the best. Try the same flight in 18 months time without a CEO onboard and see if its as good?
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Rusty
You're either brave or incredibly ignorant. I build the engines for this plane and know the industry from the inside. I will never fly on a MAX. Scrap them all. Glad you made the journey safely.
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You're either brave or incredibly ignorant. I build the engines for this plane and know the industry from the inside. I will never fly on a MAX. Scrap them all. Glad you made the journey safely.
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John
I live in Raleigh and am planning to try Icelandair for a trip to London this summer. Really glad we have this option at RDU now - having to connect stateside at a big hub is a pain.
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I live in Raleigh and am planning to try Icelandair for a trip to London this summer. Really glad we have this option at RDU now - having to connect stateside at a big hub is a pain.
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JanPBtest
Everyone talks about irrelevancies on those flights, like food. But few people mention there are no recliner (horizontal) seats in their business class on transatlantic flights.
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Everyone talks about irrelevancies on those flights, like food. But few people mention there are no recliner (horizontal) seats in their business class on transatlantic flights.
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elijnah
Another great video! Btw im not sure if you heard, but brussels airlines is resuming flights to conakry starting june 11. I think itd be really interesting for you to fly on it!
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Another great video! Btw im not sure if you heard, but brussels airlines is resuming flights to conakry starting june 11. I think itd be really interesting for you to fly on it!
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Hankster99
KEF is one of the worst airports to connect through into the EU. They mostly only give you 90 minutes for your connection which leaves many having to run to their next plane.
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KEF is one of the worst airports to connect through into the EU. They mostly only give you 90 minutes for your connection which leaves many having to run to their next plane.
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Seth
The new international routes coming to Raleigh (my home airport) is really exciting! Maybe if I werent so broke Id take advantage of them more. Would LOVE to see Iceland!
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The new international routes coming to Raleigh (my home airport) is really exciting! Maybe if I werent so broke Id take advantage of them more. Would LOVE to see Iceland!
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ScrappyTracy
Icelandair is one of my favorite airlines. I've flown them multiple times to/from Europe (with and without stopovers, and I've always had great experiences.
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Icelandair is one of my favorite airlines. I've flown them multiple times to/from Europe (with and without stopovers, and I've always had great experiences.
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Andrew
Hi Jeb really enjoy your travel videos both the flights and the trains keep it going as they are giving me some good ideas of places I want to visit in the future
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Hi Jeb really enjoy your travel videos both the flights and the trains keep it going as they are giving me some good ideas of places I want to visit in the future
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Thomas
I can't imagine the difficulty of being forced to fly on the same plane as a whiney and entitled prick like Mr Brooks.
Those poor Flight Attendants!
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I can't imagine the difficulty of being forced to fly on the same plane as a whiney and entitled prick like Mr Brooks.
Those poor Flight Attendants!
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Purely
Im travelling from London to Washington DC via Keflavik in a few weeks and it was really interesting to watch your review on the airline. Great vid!
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Im travelling from London to Washington DC via Keflavik in a few weeks and it was really interesting to watch your review on the airline. Great vid!
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Unkown
I flew on icelandairs 757 from iceland to boston its really lovely at nignt when the put on the moodlighting its much better than any other carrier
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I flew on icelandairs 757 from iceland to boston its really lovely at nignt when the put on the moodlighting its much better than any other carrier
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Mission
Great Video! Also dont know if you noticed, isnt the new Icelandair Livery reminiscent of the old Air Florida livery? Sort of Reminded me of it.
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Great Video! Also dont know if you noticed, isnt the new Icelandair Livery reminiscent of the old Air Florida livery? Sort of Reminded me of it.
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solarflare623
What if you revisited the empire builder? Amtrak is getting brand new diesel locomotives and they are testing them on the empire builder.
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What if you revisited the empire builder? Amtrak is getting brand new diesel locomotives and they are testing them on the empire builder.
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