Icelandair Boeing fleet grows in 2013, more next year

Icelandair has said that it will continue to maintain its growth next year as it has succeeded in doing in 2013. The airline added two ex-American Boeing 757 aircrafts in its fleet this year, and said that its growth in future will continue and will be even greater.  Icelandair expects three more such aircrafts to join its fleet even as it braces to introduce three new destinations. These new routes will be to Geneva in Switzerland, and Vancouver and Edmonton in Canada.

Icelandair said that its fleet comprised of 16 Boeing 757 aircrafts, 15 Boeing 200 aircrafts and one Boeing 300 aircraft in the year 2012. The airline acquired many of these aircrafts from Iberia Airline and subsequently equipped them with winglets. According to the airline, the addition of winglets has been beneficial for it as they have added around half an hour of possible flying time. The airline further said that bad weather diversions are now a thing of the past for most sectors.

Media reports cited Icelandair officials as saying that the airline has decided to grow its seat capacity by 17.7 percent in 2014. The airline is planning to allocate 4.3 percent added seats to new destinations, 7.2 percent to more European destinations and 6.2 percent to more North American destinations. The airline has predicted that Vancouver and Edmonton where it begins flight operations next year would have more than 80 percent connecting passengers.

Icelandair said that it has placed orders for 16 aircrafts – a mix of Boeing 737- 8 and Boeing 737-9 aircrafts. The first three Boeing 737-8 aircrafts are expected to be delivered in 2018, followed by four more and two Boeing 737-9 aircrafts in 2019.