Airline Review: Iceland Air

When I booked my flight to Iceland in early May (I should’ve booked it in April, to be honest), I was looking forward to booking on IcelandAir. I thought, for some reason, that it was THE airline to fly to Iceland with, and that it was super nice.

WELL.

When I got to Terminal B at JFK Airport three hours early, I started wondering: will there be a meal on this five and a half hour flight? There surely must be. Right? RIGHT?

So, I looked for reviews on TripAdvisor and I was horrified at the reviews I found. Apparently, Iceland Air is known for being a super budget airline. Lots of people complained about the lack of leg room and the lack of food. Well, that was that. I better eat before I get on the plane. Shit. Though I did look at the in-air menu and the prices weren’t that bad at all. I read on TripAdvisor that the food is not complimentary because it’s all made in Iceland and it’s really expensive to make there.

OK.

So, I was a little nervous while I was boarding the plane. “What kind of shitbox will I find myself on?”

But then I boarded (after eating a $16 greens bowl from the pub in Terminal B – pro-tip: food options in Terminal B SUCK) and I was pleasantly surprised. The plane was nice and the seats seemed big enough.

I was still disappointed by the lack of meal served, but whatever. I’d already eaten and I had brought about 6 protein bars with me on the plane. You also receive a bottle of Icelandic water when you first board. Nice touch, but really, IcelandAir, you should consider saving the planet and not handing out hundreds of plastic water bottles a day.

I had more than enough room to cross my legs and still have space left between my knees and the seat in front of me (I’m 5’8″). And there were screens on the backs of all the seats and they had around 30 movies to choose from.

I’d also read on TripAdvisor that their luggage requirements for carryons were more restrictive than other airlines so that made me a little bit nervous. I looked up the dimensions of my Tortuga backpack and read that it was a half inch over the carryon requirements for IcelandAir. I freaked out a little but it ended up being just fine and my bag fit perfectly.

Though I could barely sleep because the flight was short and the seats were too terribly comfortable (pretty standard seats, if you ask me), I was happy that I was awake while we were flying over Greenland because it was SO pretty.

So while IcelandAir is a pretty cheap airline, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been. I haven’t flown TAP yet, but I hear it’s pretty bad, so that’s the bar I set when I’m flying: be better than TAP. My flight was $446 roundtrip so it was a pretty good deal.

Just remember: If you book your trip on IcelandAir, remember to bring your own dinner!

Bon voyage!