Icelandair
Encyclopedia
Icelandair ehf
is the flag carrier
airline of Iceland
, based on the grounds of Reykjavík Airport
in Reykjavík
. It is part of the Icelandair Group
and currently operates scheduled services to 31 cities in 13 countries
on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean
out of its hub
at Keflavík International Airport
. The geographical position of Iceland thus allows for one-stop transatlantic flights, which is one pillar of the airline's business strategy, along with traffic to and from the country.
During 2010, Icelandair transported 1,482,000 passengers, with an increase by 17 percent projected for 2011, thus expecting to come close to the 1.8 million mark. Up to 183 flights per week were operated during the 2011 summer season.
on the north coast of Iceland. Flight operations started in 1938 with a single floatplane
of the type Waco YKS-7. In 1939 the airline had to be grounded when the aircraft was destroyed in a capsizing accident. The company moved to Reykjavík
, were it acquired another Waco aircraft and was re-launched in 1940 as Flugfélag Íslands, which translates as Flight Company of Iceland. Previously, two unrelated airlines of the same name had existed in the country (from 1919 to 1920, and between 1928 and 1931). For international purposes, the name Iceland Airways was adopted.
The fleet was expanded with a Beechcraft Model 18
in 1942, and with two de Havilland Dragon Rapide
as well as one U.S.-made Consolidated PBY Catalina in 1944, the latter being the first ever aircraft to be flown to Iceland from North America. On 11 July 1945, this aircraft operated the first commercial flight over the Atlantic Ocean
for the airline, which led from Reykjavík to Largs
in Scotland
, with four passengers and four crew members on board. Regular flights to Prestwick Airport, Scotland and Copenhagen
in Denmark
, using B-24 Liberator
aircraft leased from Scottish Airlines
were launched in 1946.
In the same year, comfort and performance of domestic flights in Iceland could be improved with the introduction of the Douglas DC-3 Dakota. A total of six airliners of that type had been purchased, which remained in service with the airline until 1972, the oldest one being still flightworthy as of 2011. Until the late 1960s, Flugfélag concentrated mostly on domestic flights, where it initially faced fierce competition from Loftleiðir
, another airline which had been founded in 1944. When a merger proposal of the Icelandic government was rejected by the two airlines, the domestic routes were split among them as a measure to ease competition. When Loftleiðir pulled out of the domestic market in 1952 to fully concentrate on international flights, Flugfélag became the main domestic carrier of the country.
International services stayed part of the business model of Flugfélag, though to a far lesser extent compared to Loftleiðir. In 1948, the Douglas C-54 Skymaster was introduced on those routes, and in 1957 two new Vickers 579 Viscounts were acquired, the first turboprop
airliners to be operated by an Icelandic airline. In the 1950s, Flugfélag began to use the Icelandair branding for its international flights.
In 1967, Flugfélag was the first Icelandic airline to join the jet age
, when a Boeing 727
dubbed Gullfaxi
was put into service. Another 727 was acquired in 1971, and the aircraft type was operated until 1990. In 2008, the cockpit section of the "Gullfaxi" was put on display at the Icelandic Aviation Museum at Akureyri Airport, the original base of the airline.
had been formed in 1944 by three young pilots returning from their flight training in Canada
. Their company, whose name roughly means "Skyways", concentrated on Icelandic domestic air services for the first few years. The first planes used were two Stinson Reliant
s, and then a Grumman Goose
amphibious aircraft
.
For the first few years, Loftleiðir, like Flugfélag Íslands, concentrated on domestic air services. Besides the planes already mentioned, the company operated planes like Noorduyn Norseman
, Avro Anson
s and a Vultee Stinson Vigilant. One DC-3 and two Catalinas were also used domestically by the company in these early days.
Loftleiðir began scheduled international operations in 1947, using a Douglas DC-4
Skymaster
. A year later, another DC-4 was added to the company´s fleet and regular flights to America commenced.
This latter DC-4, called "Geysir
" crashed on the middle of Vatnajökull
on September 14, 1950 spurring a famous rescue operation. For four days no-one knew where the airplance had crashed or if there were any survivors. In fact, the whole crew survived, and as the plane had been carrying cargo at the time there were no passengers.
In 1952 Loftleiðir took the fateful decision to cease domestic flights in Iceland and concentrate instead on international flights, both to Europe
and North-America. The Icelandic authorities were very worried that fierce competition between the two Icelandic airlines on domestic routes would ruin both companies, and had tried to force a merger between them. This did not happen at the time, but instead the authorities split up the domestic routes and handed each company certain routes. Loftleiðir considered themselves coming off worse, and quit domestic flights altogether.
For the first few years Loftleiðir cooperated closely with the Norwegian airline Braathens SAFE, especially regarding maintenance, inspection, overhaul and repairs, but also flights between Iceland and Europe.
The main objective for Loftleiðir´s new board was, however, the Trans-Atlantic flight.
Loftleiðir´s pioneering low-fare services across the North-Atlantic then commenced in 1953. In a way, Loftleiðir can even be considered a sort of precursor of the low-cost carriers that started operating in the seventies. At the time, however, IATA
determined the fares for airlines flying between Europe and North America, and all airlines charged the same amount. Loftleiðir was not a part of IATA and could, therefore, determine its own fares, undercutting all competing airlines. This made them a popular airline for travel between Europe and North America.
For the first few years, Lofleiðir used DC-4s, but in 1959 the company started operating its first Douglas DC-6B Cloudmaster. By then, Loftleiðir had made Luxembourg
its main hub
in Europe. From 1955 onwards, Luxembourg was extremely important for Loftleiðir´s operations, and the company´s operations were just as important for the development of flight operations and tourism in the country.
In 1963 Loftleiðir started flying from Findel Airport in Luxembourg to America with a stopover in Keflavik Airport at no extra cost. At the time, Loftleiðir was the only airline that did this and, therefore, pioneered sixth freedom rights.
In 1964, Loftleiðir started operating its first Canadair CL-44D-4, and two years later the first of its four CL-44Js, a variant of the CL-44D4 stretched on request by Canadair
. Loftleiðir was the only passenger operator of the turboprop, which was used as a cargo plane by other airlines. It was the largest passenger aircraft flying over the Atlantic ocean at that time, carrying up to 189 passengers. Loftleiðir marketed the CL-44J under the name "Rolls-Royce 400 PropJet". This led to the confusion that the CL-44J is sometimes referred to as the Canadair-400.
The late seventies were an exciting time for Loftleiðir. In 1969 the company acquired Air Bahama, a small airline operating out of the Bahamas, and a year later Loftleiðir became one of the founders of Cargolux
, a thriving cargo airline. Also in 1970, Loftleiðir entered the jet age with its first two DC-8-63
. In 1971 the company started flying between Iceland and Scandinavia with the slightly smaller DC-8-55.
During those years, Loftleiðir were often referred to, even by the company´s own staff, as "the Hippie Airline" or even "the Hippie Express". Many young Americans travelled to Europe after graduation, to experience the "old-world culture" and they were more concerned with getting there cheaply than comfortably or even exactly on time. Loftleiðir were not famous for speed or punctuality, but flying with the company became a sort of rite of passage for those young "hippies", one of whom was Bill Clinton
, later US President.
In fact, when Hillary Clinton, the ex-president´s wife and then US Secretary of State, met with her Icelandic counterpart, Össur Skarphéðinsson
, in May 2011, she fondly remembered the role Loftleiðir had played in enabling young Americans to travel to Europe
. She still recalled Loftleiðir´s sometime slogan from these years: "We are the slowest but the lowest."
, the economic situation for both Flugfélag and Loftleiðir worsened. The government of Iceland initiated a new attempt to merge the to airlines, which could be realized in 1973 following lengthy negotiations. Especially the staff of Loftleiðir complained that Flugfélag, although smaller, would have gained the upper hand. A holding company called Flugleiðir was created, which combined the two companies and began to streamline staff and operations. At the time of the merger, two thirds of the passenger traffic of the airline were international transatlantic crossings, and Flugfélag's fleet of DC-3s and 727s was enlarged by DC-8s
of Loftleiðir. In 1979, Flugfélag bought all of Loftleiðir's assets in Flugleiðir, and the airline became known by today's Icelandair.
The aircraft fleet of Icelandair remained mainly unchanged until the Boeing 757-200 became the new backbone for transatlantic flights during the 1990s. The domestic DC-3s were replaced by Boeing 737
s, which were also deployed on European routes. The European hub at Luxemburg-Findel Airport had been taken over from Loftleiðir. Passenger count topped one million in 1995 as the company's business grew on a reputation as a "backpacker airline", similar to Loftleiðir, which had been referred to as "Hippie Airline" since the late 1960s. In the same year, it was begun to dismantle the Luxemburg hub in favor of today's decentralized European network, linking the largest cities non-stop to Reykjavík.
In 1997 the domestic operations of Icelandair, part of which had previously been operated under the Flugfélag Nordurlands branding, were combined with small airline Nordurflug to form the Air Iceland
subsidiary, allowing mainline Icelandair to fully concentrate on international flights since then. In 1999, a new aircraft livery was introduced, as part of an image campaign designed to retire Icelandair's "backpacker" label in favor of an emphasis on business travel. From 2001, the Icelandair hub was moved to Keflavík International Airport
. As Icelandair particularly focusses on flights to North America, the company was significantly affected by the airspace closure
following the September 11 attacks in the same year.
The Flugleiðir holding was reorganized as Icelandair Group
(for aviation business) and FL Group (for non-aviation finance and investment business) between 2002 and 2005, with Icelandair becoming the largest and most important of eleven subsidiaries. The wet-lease and charter department, which was founded in 2003, was named Loftleiðir Icelandic, thus re-introducing a familiar name.
In February 2005 Icelandair placed a firm order for two Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which were originally expected to be delivered in 2010. The order was later increased by another two airframes, but in the wake of delivery delays Boeing
was plagued with and the difficult financial situation Icelandair was in following the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis, it was announced in May 2011 that purchase rights of three of these planes had been transferred to Norwegian Air Shuttle
.
Icelandair was hit hard by the air traffic restrictions following the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull
, which resulted in large parts of the European airspace being closed down
. The air travel disruption coincided with the start of the important summer season for the company. The in-house crisis management organization began advance the situation once the scale had become known, which was backed by triple-daily crisis meetings at the airline's headquarters. Icelandair tried to operate as many passenger flights as possible, keeping its hub at Keflavík open and diverting European flights to airports that were still open, like Glasgow Prestwick Airport or Trondheim Airport
. The eventual closure of Keflavík due to the volcanic ash cloud coincided with an improvement of the situation towards Europe, which allowed Icelandair to move its headquarteres with 200 staff to Prestwick and operate flights from there for ten days, with shuttle flights to Iceland's Akureyri Airport and round-the-clock bus shuttles onwards to Reykjavík.
In the aftermath of the eruption, the government of Iceland launched the successful "Inspired by Iceland" campaign to regain confidence in travelling to Iceland for tourists and business people, of which Icelandair was a leading participant and initiator.
When the Grímsvötn
volcano erupted in 2011, Icelandair once again had to cope with airspace closures in Europe, though this time to a lesser extent due to a higher level of political preparedness. Weekly newspaper The Economist
claimed that Icelandair could even take advantage when catering for disaster tourists
.
In February 2011 Icelandair was chosen "The Knowledge Company" of the year and Icelandair CEO
Birkir Hólm Guðnason
was picked as "Man of the Year" in the Icelandic business community. In both categories the panel of judges of the Association of Economists and Business Graduates in Iceland said that "the fine results of the company in the previous year showed both a high degree of skill and specialist knowledge within the company as well as excellent leadership." In October of the same year, the airline was awarded the title "Marketing Firm of the Year in Iceland", by a judging panel from IMARK, the Marketing Association in Iceland.
After having launched scheduled flights to Washington D.C. in the 2011, Denver was announced as new U.S. destination for 2012, bringing the total number of cities served in the country up to seven, along with Boston
, Minneapolis, New York City
, Orlando
and Seattle. Also in 2012, Icelandair plans to resume domestic services, with regular flights to link Akureyri
to its Keflavík hub.
). Free meals are only available in Economy Comfort and Saga Class, and a buy on board
service is provided for Economy Class passengers.
Some of Icelandair's aircraft are equipped with a free of charge AVOD
in-flight entertainment
system that includes seatback, touch-screen monitors for each passenger. The airline claims to be especially children-friendly. As such, free meals, blankets, pillows and headsets are provided, and the inflight system hosts a selection of children movies.
Icelandair Info, the inflight magazine
of Icelandair, is printed four times a year in Icelandic and English. First published in 2008, it is also the product catalogue for the airline's Saga Shop. The frequent flyer program
of the airline is called Saga Club.
, JetBlue Airways
and Alaska Airlines
.
As of November 2011, the Icelandair fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 15.8 years:
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
is the flag carrier
Flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...
airline of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, based on the grounds of Reykjavík Airport
Reykjavík Airport
Reykjavík Airport Reykjavík Airport Reykjavík Airport (Icelandic: Reykjavíkurflugvöllur, is the chiefly domestic airport serving Reykjavík, Iceland. The airport lies two kilometres from Reykjavík's city centre. Possessing rather short runways, it normally only serves flights within Iceland and to...
in Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
. It is part of the Icelandair Group
Icelandair Group
Icelandair Group hf is an Icelandic travel industry corporation, the owner of the airline Icelandair and numerous other travel industry companies...
and currently operates scheduled services to 31 cities in 13 countries
Icelandair destinations
This is the list of airports served by Icelandair scheduled flights :-Europe:** Brussels - Brussels Airport [seasonal]** Billund - Billund Airport [seasonal]** Copenhagen - Copenhagen Airport** Helsinki - Helsinki-Vantaa Airport...
on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
out of its hub
Airline hub
An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
at Keflavík International Airport
Keflavík International Airport
-Cargo airlines:-Ground transport:Transport between the airport and Reykjavik city is by road only. The distance is 50 km. A new fast freeway was opened 2008. The buses have a timetable adapted to the flight schedule. They go to and from the Reykjavik bus terminal, taking around 45 minutes...
. The geographical position of Iceland thus allows for one-stop transatlantic flights, which is one pillar of the airline's business strategy, along with traffic to and from the country.
During 2010, Icelandair transported 1,482,000 passengers, with an increase by 17 percent projected for 2011, thus expecting to come close to the 1.8 million mark. Up to 183 flights per week were operated during the 2011 summer season.
Flugfélag in the early decades
Icelandair traces its roots back to 1937, when Flugfélag Akureyrar was founded in AkureyriAkureyri
Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....
on the north coast of Iceland. Flight operations started in 1938 with a single floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
of the type Waco YKS-7. In 1939 the airline had to be grounded when the aircraft was destroyed in a capsizing accident. The company moved to Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, were it acquired another Waco aircraft and was re-launched in 1940 as Flugfélag Íslands, which translates as Flight Company of Iceland. Previously, two unrelated airlines of the same name had existed in the country (from 1919 to 1920, and between 1928 and 1931). For international purposes, the name Iceland Airways was adopted.
The fleet was expanded with a Beechcraft Model 18
Beechcraft Model 18
The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
in 1942, and with two de Havilland Dragon Rapide
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...
as well as one U.S.-made Consolidated PBY Catalina in 1944, the latter being the first ever aircraft to be flown to Iceland from North America. On 11 July 1945, this aircraft operated the first commercial flight over the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
for the airline, which led from Reykjavík to Largs
Largs
Largs is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" in Scottish Gaelic....
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, with four passengers and four crew members on board. Regular flights to Prestwick Airport, Scotland and Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, using B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
aircraft leased from Scottish Airlines
Scottish Airlines
Scottish Airlines Limited was formed in 1946 as a subsidiary of Scottish Aviation Limited. The airline commenced worldwide passenger and cargo charter flights from bases at Prestwick and Stansted...
were launched in 1946.
In the same year, comfort and performance of domestic flights in Iceland could be improved with the introduction of the Douglas DC-3 Dakota. A total of six airliners of that type had been purchased, which remained in service with the airline until 1972, the oldest one being still flightworthy as of 2011. Until the late 1960s, Flugfélag concentrated mostly on domestic flights, where it initially faced fierce competition from Loftleiðir
Loftleiðir
Loftleiðir HF, internationally known as Icelandic Airlines or Loftleiðir Icelandic, was a private Icelandic airline headquartered on the grounds of Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, which operated mostly trans-atlantic flights linking Europe and America, pioneering the low-cost flight business...
, another airline which had been founded in 1944. When a merger proposal of the Icelandic government was rejected by the two airlines, the domestic routes were split among them as a measure to ease competition. When Loftleiðir pulled out of the domestic market in 1952 to fully concentrate on international flights, Flugfélag became the main domestic carrier of the country.
International services stayed part of the business model of Flugfélag, though to a far lesser extent compared to Loftleiðir. In 1948, the Douglas C-54 Skymaster was introduced on those routes, and in 1957 two new Vickers 579 Viscounts were acquired, the first turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
airliners to be operated by an Icelandic airline. In the 1950s, Flugfélag began to use the Icelandair branding for its international flights.
In 1967, Flugfélag was the first Icelandic airline to join the jet age
Jet age
The Jet Age is a period of history defined by the social change brought about by the advent of large aircraft powered by turbine engines. These aircraft are able to fly much higher, faster, and farther than older piston-powered propliners, making transcontinental and inter-continental travel...
, when a Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
dubbed Gullfaxi
Gullfaxi
Gullfaxi is a horse in Norse mythology. Its name means Golden mane.It was originally owned by Hrungnir, and was later given to Magni by Thor as a reward for helping him in the fight against Hrungnir:...
was put into service. Another 727 was acquired in 1971, and the aircraft type was operated until 1990. In 2008, the cockpit section of the "Gullfaxi" was put on display at the Icelandic Aviation Museum at Akureyri Airport, the original base of the airline.
Loftleiðir
Another company called LoftleiðirLoftleiðir
Loftleiðir HF, internationally known as Icelandic Airlines or Loftleiðir Icelandic, was a private Icelandic airline headquartered on the grounds of Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, which operated mostly trans-atlantic flights linking Europe and America, pioneering the low-cost flight business...
had been formed in 1944 by three young pilots returning from their flight training in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Their company, whose name roughly means "Skyways", concentrated on Icelandic domestic air services for the first few years. The first planes used were two Stinson Reliant
Stinson Reliant
The Stinson Reliant was a popular single-engine four to five seat high-wing monoplane manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation of Wayne, Michigan.-Design and development:...
s, and then a Grumman Goose
Grumman Goose
The Grumman G-21 Goose amphibious aircraft was designed as an eight-seat "commuter" plane for businessmen in the Long Island area. The Goose was Grumman’s first monoplane to fly, its first twin-engined aircraft, and its first aircraft to enter commercial airline service...
amphibious aircraft
Amphibious aircraft
An amphibious aircraft or amphibian is an aircraft that can take off and land on either land or water. Fixed-wing amphibious aircraft are seaplanes that are equipped with retractable wheels, at the expense of extra weight and complexity, plus diminished range and fuel economy compared to planes...
.
For the first few years, Loftleiðir, like Flugfélag Íslands, concentrated on domestic air services. Besides the planes already mentioned, the company operated planes like Noorduyn Norseman
Noorduyn Norseman
The Noorduyn Norseman is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Norseman aircraft are known to have been registered and/or operated in 68 countries throughout the world and also have been based and flown in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.-Design and...
, Avro Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
s and a Vultee Stinson Vigilant. One DC-3 and two Catalinas were also used domestically by the company in these early days.
Loftleiðir began scheduled international operations in 1947, using a Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
Skymaster
Skymaster
Skymaster may refer to*An airline**Skymaster Airlines*Several aircraft**Cessna Skymaster**Douglas C-54 Skymaster**Cessna O-2 Skymaster*A satellite company**Skymaster *A comic book character**Skrullian skymaster*An amusement ride...
. A year later, another DC-4 was added to the company´s fleet and regular flights to America commenced.
This latter DC-4, called "Geysir
Geysir
Geysir , sometimes known as The Great Geysir, was the first geyser described in a printed source and the first known to modern Europeans. The English word geyser derives from Geysir. The name Geysir itself is derived from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb from Old Norse...
" crashed on the middle of Vatnajökull
Vatnajökull
Vatnajökull is the largest glacier in Iceland. It is located in the south-east of the island, covering more than 8% of the country.-Size:With an area of 8,100 km², Vatnajökull is the largest ice cap in Europe by volume and the second largest in area Vatnajökull is the largest glacier in...
on September 14, 1950 spurring a famous rescue operation. For four days no-one knew where the airplance had crashed or if there were any survivors. In fact, the whole crew survived, and as the plane had been carrying cargo at the time there were no passengers.
In 1952 Loftleiðir took the fateful decision to cease domestic flights in Iceland and concentrate instead on international flights, both to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North-America. The Icelandic authorities were very worried that fierce competition between the two Icelandic airlines on domestic routes would ruin both companies, and had tried to force a merger between them. This did not happen at the time, but instead the authorities split up the domestic routes and handed each company certain routes. Loftleiðir considered themselves coming off worse, and quit domestic flights altogether.
For the first few years Loftleiðir cooperated closely with the Norwegian airline Braathens SAFE, especially regarding maintenance, inspection, overhaul and repairs, but also flights between Iceland and Europe.
The main objective for Loftleiðir´s new board was, however, the Trans-Atlantic flight.
Loftleiðir´s pioneering low-fare services across the North-Atlantic then commenced in 1953. In a way, Loftleiðir can even be considered a sort of precursor of the low-cost carriers that started operating in the seventies. At the time, however, IATA
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
determined the fares for airlines flying between Europe and North America, and all airlines charged the same amount. Loftleiðir was not a part of IATA and could, therefore, determine its own fares, undercutting all competing airlines. This made them a popular airline for travel between Europe and North America.
For the first few years, Lofleiðir used DC-4s, but in 1959 the company started operating its first Douglas DC-6B Cloudmaster. By then, Loftleiðir had made Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
its main hub
Hub
Originally, the term hub referred to the central part of a wheel.Hub, HUB, Hubs, or HUBS has many uses, as listed below.-Wheels:* Bicycle hub, the central part of a bicycle wheel*Hub gear, bicycle gear...
in Europe. From 1955 onwards, Luxembourg was extremely important for Loftleiðir´s operations, and the company´s operations were just as important for the development of flight operations and tourism in the country.
In 1963 Loftleiðir started flying from Findel Airport in Luxembourg to America with a stopover in Keflavik Airport at no extra cost. At the time, Loftleiðir was the only airline that did this and, therefore, pioneered sixth freedom rights.
In 1964, Loftleiðir started operating its first Canadair CL-44D-4, and two years later the first of its four CL-44Js, a variant of the CL-44D4 stretched on request by Canadair
Canadair
Canadair Ltd. was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer in Canada. It was a subsidiary of other aircraft manufacturers, then a nationalized corporation until privatized in 1986, and became the core of Bombardier Aerospace....
. Loftleiðir was the only passenger operator of the turboprop, which was used as a cargo plane by other airlines. It was the largest passenger aircraft flying over the Atlantic ocean at that time, carrying up to 189 passengers. Loftleiðir marketed the CL-44J under the name "Rolls-Royce 400 PropJet". This led to the confusion that the CL-44J is sometimes referred to as the Canadair-400.
The late seventies were an exciting time for Loftleiðir. In 1969 the company acquired Air Bahama, a small airline operating out of the Bahamas, and a year later Loftleiðir became one of the founders of Cargolux
Cargolux
Cargolux Airlines International S.A., trading as Cargolux, is a cargo airline with its head office on the grounds of Luxembourg – Findel Airport in Sandweiler, Luxembourg. It is one of the largest scheduled all-cargo airlines in Europe with a global network...
, a thriving cargo airline. Also in 1970, Loftleiðir entered the jet age with its first two DC-8-63
Douglas DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
. In 1971 the company started flying between Iceland and Scandinavia with the slightly smaller DC-8-55.
During those years, Loftleiðir were often referred to, even by the company´s own staff, as "the Hippie Airline" or even "the Hippie Express". Many young Americans travelled to Europe after graduation, to experience the "old-world culture" and they were more concerned with getting there cheaply than comfortably or even exactly on time. Loftleiðir were not famous for speed or punctuality, but flying with the company became a sort of rite of passage for those young "hippies", one of whom was Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, later US President.
In fact, when Hillary Clinton, the ex-president´s wife and then US Secretary of State, met with her Icelandic counterpart, Össur Skarphéðinsson
Össur Skarphéðinsson
Össur Skarphéðinsson is an Icelandic politician who has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since February 2009.Össur matriculated from the Reykjavík Grammar School in 1973, and gained a BS in Biology from the University of Iceland in 1979, and a doctorate in physiology from the University of East...
, in May 2011, she fondly remembered the role Loftleiðir had played in enabling young Americans to travel to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. She still recalled Loftleiðir´s sometime slogan from these years: "We are the slowest but the lowest."
Merger with Loftleiðir
During the 1970s energy crisis1970s energy crisis
The 1970s energy crisis was a period in which the major industrial countries of the world, particularly the United States, faced substantial shortages, both perceived and real, of petroleum...
, the economic situation for both Flugfélag and Loftleiðir worsened. The government of Iceland initiated a new attempt to merge the to airlines, which could be realized in 1973 following lengthy negotiations. Especially the staff of Loftleiðir complained that Flugfélag, although smaller, would have gained the upper hand. A holding company called Flugleiðir was created, which combined the two companies and began to streamline staff and operations. At the time of the merger, two thirds of the passenger traffic of the airline were international transatlantic crossings, and Flugfélag's fleet of DC-3s and 727s was enlarged by DC-8s
Douglas DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
of Loftleiðir. In 1979, Flugfélag bought all of Loftleiðir's assets in Flugleiðir, and the airline became known by today's Icelandair.
Post-merger Icelandair
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
s, which were also deployed on European routes. The European hub at Luxemburg-Findel Airport had been taken over from Loftleiðir. Passenger count topped one million in 1995 as the company's business grew on a reputation as a "backpacker airline", similar to Loftleiðir, which had been referred to as "Hippie Airline" since the late 1960s. In the same year, it was begun to dismantle the Luxemburg hub in favor of today's decentralized European network, linking the largest cities non-stop to Reykjavík.
In 1997 the domestic operations of Icelandair, part of which had previously been operated under the Flugfélag Nordurlands branding, were combined with small airline Nordurflug to form the Air Iceland
Air Iceland
Air Iceland is a regional airline with its head office on the property of Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, Iceland. It operates scheduled services to domestic destinations and to Greenland. Its main bases are Reykjavík Airport and Akureyri Airport...
subsidiary, allowing mainline Icelandair to fully concentrate on international flights since then. In 1999, a new aircraft livery was introduced, as part of an image campaign designed to retire Icelandair's "backpacker" label in favor of an emphasis on business travel. From 2001, the Icelandair hub was moved to Keflavík International Airport
Keflavík International Airport
-Cargo airlines:-Ground transport:Transport between the airport and Reykjavik city is by road only. The distance is 50 km. A new fast freeway was opened 2008. The buses have a timetable adapted to the flight schedule. They go to and from the Reykjavik bus terminal, taking around 45 minutes...
. As Icelandair particularly focusses on flights to North America, the company was significantly affected by the airspace closure
Operation Yellow Ribbon
Operation Yellow Ribbon was commenced by Transport Canada to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. Canada’s goal was to ensure that potentially destructive air traffic be removed from U.S. airspace as quickly as possible, and away from...
following the September 11 attacks in the same year.
The Flugleiðir holding was reorganized as Icelandair Group
Icelandair Group
Icelandair Group hf is an Icelandic travel industry corporation, the owner of the airline Icelandair and numerous other travel industry companies...
(for aviation business) and FL Group (for non-aviation finance and investment business) between 2002 and 2005, with Icelandair becoming the largest and most important of eleven subsidiaries. The wet-lease and charter department, which was founded in 2003, was named Loftleiðir Icelandic, thus re-introducing a familiar name.
Developments since 2005
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
was plagued with and the difficult financial situation Icelandair was in following the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis, it was announced in May 2011 that purchase rights of three of these planes had been transferred to Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA , trading as Norwegian, is the second-largest airline in Scandinavia. In 2010, it transported 13.0 million people. As of October 2011, Norwegian operates a total fleet of 62 aircraft; 17 Boeing 737-300s and 45 Boeing 737-800s...
.
Icelandair was hit hard by the air traffic restrictions following the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull
2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull
The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were volcanic events at Eyjafjöll in Iceland which, although relatively small for volcanic eruptions, caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe over an initial period of six days in April 2010. Additional localised disruption...
, which resulted in large parts of the European airspace being closed down
Air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption
In response to concerns that volcanic ash ejected during the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland would damage aircraft engines, the controlled airspace of many European countries was closed to instrument flight rules traffic, resulting in the largest air-traffic shut-down since World War II...
. The air travel disruption coincided with the start of the important summer season for the company. The in-house crisis management organization began advance the situation once the scale had become known, which was backed by triple-daily crisis meetings at the airline's headquarters. Icelandair tried to operate as many passenger flights as possible, keeping its hub at Keflavík open and diverting European flights to airports that were still open, like Glasgow Prestwick Airport or Trondheim Airport
Trondheim Airport, Værnes
Trondheim Airport, Værnes is an international airport located in Stjørdal, east of Trondheim, Norway. Operated by the state-owned Avinor, it shares facilities with Værnes Air Station of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. In 2010, the airport had 3,521,734 passengers and 55,747 air movements,...
. The eventual closure of Keflavík due to the volcanic ash cloud coincided with an improvement of the situation towards Europe, which allowed Icelandair to move its headquarteres with 200 staff to Prestwick and operate flights from there for ten days, with shuttle flights to Iceland's Akureyri Airport and round-the-clock bus shuttles onwards to Reykjavík.
In the aftermath of the eruption, the government of Iceland launched the successful "Inspired by Iceland" campaign to regain confidence in travelling to Iceland for tourists and business people, of which Icelandair was a leading participant and initiator.
When the Grímsvötn
Grímsvötn
The Grímsvötn sub-glacial lakes and the volcano of the same name are in South-East Iceland. They are in the highlands of Iceland at the northwestern side of the Vatnajökull ice-cap. The lakes are at , at an elevation of...
volcano erupted in 2011, Icelandair once again had to cope with airspace closures in Europe, though this time to a lesser extent due to a higher level of political preparedness. Weekly newspaper The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
claimed that Icelandair could even take advantage when catering for disaster tourists
Disaster tourism
Disaster tourism is the act of traveling to a disaster area as a matter of curiosity. The behavior can be a nuisance if it hinders rescue, relief, and recovery operations.If not done because of pure curiosity, it can be cataloged as disaster learning....
.
In February 2011 Icelandair was chosen "The Knowledge Company" of the year and Icelandair CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Birkir Hólm Guðnason
Birkir Hólm Guðnason
Birkir Hólm Guðnason is an Icelandic business leader, currently the CEO of Icelandair, the flag carrier airline in Iceland.-Biography:...
was picked as "Man of the Year" in the Icelandic business community. In both categories the panel of judges of the Association of Economists and Business Graduates in Iceland said that "the fine results of the company in the previous year showed both a high degree of skill and specialist knowledge within the company as well as excellent leadership." In October of the same year, the airline was awarded the title "Marketing Firm of the Year in Iceland", by a judging panel from IMARK, the Marketing Association in Iceland.
After having launched scheduled flights to Washington D.C. in the 2011, Denver was announced as new U.S. destination for 2012, bringing the total number of cities served in the country up to seven, along with Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Minneapolis, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Orlando
Orlando
Orlando is a major city in the U.S. state of Florida.Orlando may also refer to-Places:* in Florida** Orlando, a major city** Greater Orlando, the 27th-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and Seattle. Also in 2012, Icelandair plans to resume domestic services, with regular flights to link Akureyri
Akureyri
Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....
to its Keflavík hub.
Inflight service
Icelandair offers three booking classes: Economy, Economy Comfort and Saga Class (the latter being equivalent to business classBusiness class
Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names which vary by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between economy class and first class, but many airlines now...
). Free meals are only available in Economy Comfort and Saga Class, and a buy on board
Buy on board
In commercial flight, buy on board is a system where food or beverages are paid for on board; often food or beverages are not included in the ticket price for certain fare classes....
service is provided for Economy Class passengers.
Some of Icelandair's aircraft are equipped with a free of charge AVOD
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
in-flight entertainment
In-flight Entertainment
In-flight entertainment refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. In 1936, the airship Hindenburg offered passengers a piano, lounge, dining room, smoking room, and bar during the 2½ day flight between Europe and America...
system that includes seatback, touch-screen monitors for each passenger. The airline claims to be especially children-friendly. As such, free meals, blankets, pillows and headsets are provided, and the inflight system hosts a selection of children movies.
Icelandair Info, the inflight magazine
Inflight magazine
An Inflight magazine is a free magazine distributed via the seats of an airplane by an airline company.The first inflight magazine was that of Pan American World Airways; now most airlines are distributing magazines...
of Icelandair, is printed four times a year in Icelandic and English. First published in 2008, it is also the product catalogue for the airline's Saga Shop. The frequent flyer program
Frequent flyer program
A frequent flyer program is a loyalty program offered by many airlines. Typically, airline customers enrolled in the program accumulate frequent flyer miles corresponding to the distance flown on that airline or its partners. There are other ways to accumulate miles...
of the airline is called Saga Club.
Destinations
Additional destinations are offered on the basis of codeshare agreements with Scandinavian Airlines, FinnairFinnair
Finnair Plc is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters on the grounds of Helsinki Airport in Vantaa, Finland, and its main hub at Helsinki Airport. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both the domestic and international air travel markets in Finland. The largest...
, JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways Corporation is an American low-cost airline. The company is headquartered in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. Its main base is John F. Kennedy International Airport, also in Queens....
and Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is an airline based in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac, Washington in the United States. The airline originated in 1932 as McGee Airways. After many mergers with and acquisitions of other airlines, including Star Air Service, it became known as Alaska Airlines in 1944...
.
Fleet
| Aircraft | In Service | Passengers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | ||||
| Boeing 757-200 Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration... |
13 | 22 0 |
167 200 |
189 200 |
||
| Boeing 757-300 Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration... |
1 | 18 | 210 | 228 | ||
| Cargo Fleet | ||||||
| Boeing 757-200F Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration... |
5 | N/A | ||||
| Total | 19 | |||||
Fleet history
Over the years, the airline operated the following aircraft types:| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing 727 Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced... |
||
| Boeing 737-300 | ||
| Boeing 737-400 | ||
| Boeing 757-200 | ||
| Boeing 757-300 | ||
| Boeing 767-300 | ||
| Douglas DC-3 Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made... Douglas C-47 Skytrain |
||
| Douglas DC-4 Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role... |
||
| Douglas DC-6 Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range... |
||
| Douglas DC-8 Douglas DC-8 The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company... |
||
| Douglas DC-10 | ||
| Fokker F27 Friendship | ||
| Fokker 50 | ||
| Vickers Viscount Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world... |
||
Accidents and incidents
- On 29 May 1947, a Flugfélag Islands (as the airline was known at that time) Douglas C-47 Skytrain (registeredAircraft registrationAn aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
TF-ISI) crashed near Hjedinsfjordur during a scheduled domestic flight from Reykjavík to AkureyriAkureyriAkureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....
, killing the 21 passengers and four crew on board. To date, this remains the worst aviation accident in Iceland. - On 31 January 1951, the 17 passengers and three crew members on board another C-47 (registered TF-ISG) were killed when the aircraft crashed into the sea off the Icelandic coast near HafnarfjörðurHafnarfjörðurHafnarfjörður is a port town and municipality located on the south-west coast of Iceland, about 10 km south of Reykjavík....
. The pilots were attempting to land the airplane at Reykjavík AirportReykjavík AirportReykjavík Airport Reykjavík Airport Reykjavík Airport (Icelandic: Reykjavíkurflugvöllur, is the chiefly domestic airport serving Reykjavík, Iceland. The airport lies two kilometres from Reykjavík's city centre. Possessing rather short runways, it normally only serves flights within Iceland and to...
in heavy snowfalls following a flight from Vestmannaeyjar, when radar contact was lost. - On 14 April 1963, a Vickers ViscountVickers ViscountThe Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
(registered TF-ISU) crashed on approach of Oslo-Fornebu AirportOslo Airport, FornebuOslo Airport, Fornebu was the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one...
. All 12 people on board were killed. - On 26 September 1970, a Flugfélag Fokker F-27 Friendship (registered TF-FIL) crashed into a mountain near VágarVágarVágar is one of the 18 islands in the archipelago of the Faroe Islands and the most westerly of the large islands. With a size of 178 km² , it ranks number three, behind Streymoy and Eysturoy....
, Faroe IslandsFaroe IslandsThe Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
while approaching Vágar AirportVágar AirportVágar Airport is the only airport in the Faroe Islands, a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and is located east of Sørvágur. Due to the Faroe Islands' rather anomalous status, the airport is not fully subject to the rules of the European Union...
following a scheduled passenger flight from BergenBergenBergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, in what is known a controlled flight into terrainControlled flight into terrainControlled flight into terrain describes an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, water, or an obstacle. The term was coined by engineers at Boeing in the late 1970s...
. Of the 34 people on board, seven passengers and one crew member were killed. - The disaster of Flight LL 001 (a LoftleiðirLoftleiðirLoftleiðir HF, internationally known as Icelandic Airlines or Loftleiðir Icelandic, was a private Icelandic airline headquartered on the grounds of Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, which operated mostly trans-atlantic flights linking Europe and America, pioneering the low-cost flight business...
flight number, but the company had merged with Flugfélag at that time) with its 183 fatalities marks the by far worst accident in the history of Icelandic aviation. On 15 November 1978, the Douglas DC-8Douglas DC-8The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
(registered TF-FLA) missed the runway upon approach of Colombo AirportBandaranaike International AirportBandaranaike International Airport is Sri Lanka's only international airport at the moment. Mattala International Airport, when it gets built will be the second International Airport of Sri Lanka. It is located in Katunayake, north of Colombo...
in Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
during a chartered HajjHajjThe Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
pilgrimage flight from JeddahJeddahJeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
and crashed. 74 passengers and 5 crew members survived the accident. - On 22 January 2002, the crew of Icelandair Flight 315, a Boeing 757-200 registered TF-FIO with 75 passengers on board, unintentionally entered a series of extreme manoeuvres during a go-aroundGo-aroundA go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach.- Origin of the term :The term arises from the traditional use of traffic patterns at airfields. A landing aircraft will first join the circuit pattern and prepare for landing in an orderly fashion...
from a low altitude following an unstabilised approach into Oslo Airport, GardermoenOslo Airport, GardermoenOslo Airport, Gardermoen is the principal airport serving Oslo, Norway. It acts as the main domestic hub and international airport for Norway, and the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries. A hub for Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and a focus city for Widerøe, it is...
. During the incident the aircraft was subjected to load factors in excess of the design limits, culminating in a dive followed by a +3.59 gG-forceThe g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
pull up manoeuvre clearing the ground by only 321 ft. The speed limit for the flapFlap (aircraft)Flaps are normally hinged surfaces mounted on the trailing edges of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft to reduce the speed an aircraft can be safely flown at and to increase the angle of descent for landing without increasing air speed. They shorten takeoff and landing distances as well as...
configuration was also exceeded. Control was regained and a second approach was flown with the aircraft landing safely. The airliner was permitted to proceed on its subsequent scheduled flights without a technical inspection being conducted until 13 March of that year when its manufacturer BoeingBoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
recommended further maintenance work after having evaluated the Flight Data RecorderFlight data recorderA flight data recorder is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters...
. The Accident Investigation Board Norway, which led the investigation into the incident, made four safety recommendations, including one to the wider aviation community on operational procedures regarding discontinued approaches.