Air Iceland Connect

Air Iceland Connect
IATA ICAO Callsign
NY FXI FAXI
Founded 1997
Hubs Reykjavík Airport
Focus cities Akureyri Airport
Frequent-flyer program Icelandair Saga Club
Fleet size 5
Destinations 13
Parent company Icelandair Group
Headquarters Reykjavík Airport
Reykjavík, Iceland
Key people Árni Gunnarsson
Website airiceland.is

Air Iceland Connect, formerly Flugfélag Íslands ehf. (Icelandic: Flugfélag Íslands), is a regional airline with its head office at Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, Iceland.[1] It operates scheduled services to domestic destinations across Iceland and to Greenland,Faroe Islands (operated by Atlantic Airways) and United Kingdom. Its main bases are Reykjavík Airport and Akureyri Airport.[2] It is a subsidiary of Icelandair Group.

History

The airline was formed in Akureyri by Tryggvi Helgason as Norðurflug, and was incorporated as Flugfélag Norðurlands on 1 May 1975. A reorganisation and merger of Icelandair Domestic and Norlandair (Flugfélag Norðurlands) resulted in the present name in 1997. It is wholly owned by Icelandair Group and had 226 employees in March 2007.[2]

In late 2011, Air Iceland acquired two Bombardier Dash 8-200 aircraft for delivery in early 2012. Upon delivery of these aircraft, Air Iceland sold its only Dash 8-100 series. It previously operated ATR 42 aircraft from 2000 to 2003.[3]

A fleet of 3 Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 aircraft replaced the airline's 5 Fokker 50 aircraft in 2015-16. Services using the new aircraft will include a route to Aberdeen on behalf of Icelandair started in March 2016 flying out of KEF.

In May 2017, Air Iceland announced it had rebranded as Air Iceland Connect. The airline said in a statement that it had decided to modify its name owing to a number of factors such as increased exposure to international markets and tourists, increased co-operation with Icelandair and to simplify marketing, as the company’s dual name system has meant a significant increase in costs and has caused some passengers inconvenience and led to misunderstandings.[4] Dropping the Icelandic name resulted in complaints about the attack on the Icelandic language.[5]

Destinations

Fleet

Air Iceland Connect Bombardier Dash 8-100
Air Iceland Connect Fokker 50

As of May 2016, the Air Iceland Connect fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[6]

Air Iceland Connect fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers - Notes
Bombardier Q200 2 — 37
Bomdardier Q400 3 — 74
Total 5 —

Among the destinations, most in Greenland and some in Iceland have runways less than 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) length. Dash 8-200 is the only aircraft type possessed by Air Iceland Connect compatible with such runways. The Q400s are currently used on flights to Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Kangerlussuaq, Narsarsuaq, Aberdeen and Belfast City (on behalf of Icelandair).

Accidents and incidents

References

  1. ↑ Home. Air Iceland Connect. Retrieved on 13 February 2011. "Air Iceland - Reykjavik airport - 101 Reykjavik"
  2. 1 2 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 58.
  3. 1 2 "Air Iceland fleet list". planespotters.net. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Air Iceland rebrands as Air Iceland Connect". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  5. ↑ "New English name for domestic flight company in Iceland faces criticism". Iceland Monitor. 26 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Uppfletting í loftfaraskrá". Samgöngustofa. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  7. ↑ "Íslensk vél brotlenti á flugvellinum í Nuuk - allir farþegar ómeiddir" [Icelandic aircraft crashed at the airport in Nuuk - all passengers unharme] (in Icelandic). 365. 4 March 2011.

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