Iceland, unlike the local airline/nutrition company, has a long-term fleet consisting of 737 Max-8 and Max-9, 757-200, 757-300, and 767 Jetliners. It all changed on December 10, 2024, when the A321LR airline was placed in the service like TF-AIA, named thisAccording to their protocol from naming aircraft after the Icelandic volcanoes.
There is a lot to empty it here, so this article will focus on the flight experience. We will make a follow -up story about the repercussions of the fleet at a later time.
The first impression, which was not surprising, was modernity. It looked like you should not be there, because it was very primitive. The smell of the new bird is a real thing. It is very beautiful.
As I did on this trip in a somewhat crazy manner, flying successively from Seattle to Kivlavric, and how to Stockholm, then continue straight and return with only about 90 minutes at each airport, Iceland was kind enough to bow in its excellent class – SAGA – for only 22+ hours. I have done some crazy roads and some of them truly Long trips on my daily, but nothing like this marathon. At the same time it was the most stupid things I have ever done, as I ranked among the most fun things.
With numbers, the covered trip was 9,896 miles on four trips that span 22 hours and 15 minutes in the air, all packed in 27 hours of the total travel time. All of this was really for how to come and return, with the new Airbus. You are on a Boeing 737 MAX-8 plane on SEA-KEF, A321LR KEF-Arn, ARN-KEF, and Boeing 757-200 KEF-SEA, allowing me to compare experiments through all long ICELANDAIR fleet options.
I have reviewed Iceland 757and 737 MaxAnd DHC-8 The service in the past, and those notes are still valid.
757 approaches the end of their service life, and therefore it certainly needs to be upgraded. Max Series is a great update, but 737s derivatives only have the range and capacity of the wonderful 757s; Boeing missed a great opportunity when production stopped in 2004 and failed to develop an alternative. In the previous icelandair coverage, we noticed that the airline management had long been hoping for a direct alternative to 757; It is clear that this was not, and the fleet left a great choice of looking at the Airbus offers.
So, at Walks Airbus with the latest A321 derivatives, which are now the closest thing on the market to 757 in terms of capabilities.
Don’t make mistakes, 737 Max 8 and 9 is a very comfortable and special plane, but Airbus is several steps before Boeing with the latest A321LR and A321xlr. Max Cabins is definitely quieter than NG copies, but Airbus is quieter. A321LR is also 30 % more than fuel efficiency than the plane that replaces it.
Sitting also feels more comfortable, even at the back of the plane, although it is more up to the airlines than the aircraft manufacturer.
Airbus lacks huge space boxes in 737 to store upper luggage, but they are still at the level of the task. Spend seven hours on the maximum, then move directly to the new Airbus, then return to 757 for another seven hours, presented a lot of perspective.
The only pleasant thing in the epic seats was to try to find power outlets on Airbus, which are intelligently hidden under the central console. There are small kinds of good coat on seats, which are completely beneficial for cold weather trips.
Unlike many transportation companies in the local United States, the A321LR does not contain 187 seats of iCelandair on the midfield gunman. Instead, it is placed similar to the Boeing planning for one of the SAGA category and three in the back of the plane for everyone.
Since there is a technical defect on the opening flight, the new satellite of the Ka-Pand Satellite Internet plane was not working. I played with the animated map and note a wide range of film options. 4K OLED touch screen with smooth functions and beautiful colors; It is one of the most beautiful IFE screens you saw.
It will be sad, for many reasons, seeing the esteemed B757 fleet retires. But the alternative aircraft chosen by Iceland at the level of the mission, and those old aircraft exceed the comfort of passengers and fuel efficiency of the airline with its engines and the most modern aviation electronics systems.
In our next article, we will explore what these new aircraft for fleet operations and potential road expansions mean.
