After a nice layover in Reykjavík, it was time to fly to San Francisco on Icelandair, my first ever flight on the carrier. While service was extremely pleasant onboard, the “Saga Premium” (business class) seat is more akin to premium economy than a true business class seat.
I knew what I was getting into: the seat was hardly a surprise. At the same time, I simply cannot sleep on this kind of seat, so I was awake the entire 8.5 hour journey to San Francisco. Be advised that you’ll get a nice blanket and pillow, but recline is quite limited and legroom not overly generous. Think domestic first class seat in the USA.
Unfortunately, I blundered in failing to pre-order a meal for this flight. I was really looking forward to trying Icelandic lamb, but wound up with a choice between a cold tapas platter or beef short ribs. The short ribs were tasty, but I thought the food was underwhelming onboard. An on-demand snack menu was available for the rest of the flight as well as anything (left) from the economy class menu.
I was looking forward to high speed internet onboard this flight and it did work well…for the first two hours. Then it cut off and remained off for the rest of the flight. With a fairly limited IFE library, I actually had a few moments to pull out a book in read.
That’s not because I did not have work to do, but because the in-seat power port did not generate enough juice to keep my laptop charge. Eventually I found a workaround that at least slowed the drain (I’ll address that in another post), but by then it was too late…I was already nearly dead.
I won’t say it made up for everything, but service was very nice, especially by flight attendant Lara. She was kind and attentive. I really appreciated her wonderful smile and her dutiful monitoring of the cabin throughout the flight.
CONCLUSION
I likely won’t be returning to Icelandair for a transatlantic flight. Although I was happy to try it, the seat simply does not cut it and the in-seat power and wi-fi issues were very annoying. But I appreciated the great service onboard and would not advise against Icelandair if a convenient nonstop option.
I’ve wondered a few times about using Icelandair from the UK to Canada but these days the fare is not enough less to warrent what is premium economy and not business class by any stretch of the imagination. Couple that with their ancient fleet apart from their grounded 7M8s – which I won’t be traveling on and it’s a non-starter for me.
I know it’s not a flat bed, but it’s not really like PE either. These business class seats are a lot wider and have a lot more personal space than a PE seat – I think it’s an unfair comparison.
What was the pricing like? Measured against TATL business class, it is not competitive, but it could be a really competitive PE product depending on how its priced.
A nice airline, flew with them last week to Frankfurt….yes not a full business class product but a good price and service ..
I flew MSP/KEF on one of their 757’s. Saga class consisted of economy (3×3) seats with the middle seat folded down.
I flew the 767 round trip in July from IAD to KEf.. The seats are very hard. I sat on my blanket. The cabin was extremely hot – no personal air vents. The food was awful – not edible. I did special order the lamb on the return flight to the US. It was so tough I could not eat it. I have also flown Virgin Atlantic’s Premium Economy on the A330. It is a much better seat than Icelandair Business Class, but the food is as bad as Icelandair. The only 2 positives of Icelandair is they have very good flight attendants and the Saga lounge in KEF is nice; however, the boarding process at KEF is total chaos – no early boarding for business class and long lines. I will never fly Icelandair again.
Agree with you on the Saga Lounge – I was impressed but boarding was a nasty free-for-all and a bus gate. Two strikes. Great service onboard. Food was edible, but not great.
I think that’s just it, Justin: thsi is (and to people who watch such things, always has been) a PE experience. Wider seats than most PE, but mid-level food, no lie-flat, no aisle access for all…it’s PE no matter what you call it. That said, the pricing seems good often.
Also: I couldn’t power my laptop in Cathay Pacific long haul business class. So it’s not surprising to me that IcelandAir couldn’t deliver enough juice for you either.
Considering this aircraft used to be a 2-2-2 config in business… It looks quite roomy
Aside from everything else, that pizza does look tasty.