Icelandair says business from RDU is so good it will fly year-round, even in winter
Triangle travelers will be able to fly nonstop to Iceland in any season this coming year.
Icelandair, which began flying nonstop between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Reykjavik last May, says it will fly year around from the Triangle through the 2024 winter season. The airline had been flying seasonally from RDU, taking a break during the coldest winter months.
But business has been good. The airline caters not only to travelers who want to visit Iceland but also offers connecting flights through Keflavik Airport to more than two dozen cities in Europe. The airline offers extended layovers in Iceland for travelers who want to visit both in one trip.
Arriving on Icelandair’s first flight to RDU last May, company president and CEO Bogi Nils Bogason said the airline often begins in a new market on a seasonal basis.
“But our strategy is always — and the plan is — to extend the season gradually, and hopefully in a few years time it will be a whole-year service,” Bogason said in an interview.
Icelandair initially planned to stop flying from RDU at the end of October, then announced in August that it would extend its service through the holidays. After a two-month break, it has now resumed nonstop flights from North Carolina.
Usually when Icelandair enters a new market, it takes some time to fill its planes, said Tomas Ingason, the company’s chief revenue officer.
“However, with RDU, sales have been commensurate with more established gateways resulting in one of the strongest new routes in the history of Icelandair,” Ingason wrote in an email. “With the demand so strong and growing, we felt that RDU was ready for year-round service. We are extremely thankful and humbled by this good reception.”
Ingason said about 40% of RDU passengers have been visiting Iceland only, with another 10% making an extended layover on their way across the Atlantic.
Icelandair flies to and from RDU on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The carrier will continue to operate four days a week through the winter season, it said Tuesday.
The RDU announcement is part of a larger expansion of the airline’s schedule next winter, including the first year-round service from Baltimore and Vancouver.
RDU is one of 14 North American airports that Icelandair serves. Bogason said the airline was attracted to the Triangle because of its demographics and growing population, comparing it with other U.S. cities where it had been successful, including Boston, Denver and Seattle.
Icelandair is one of three airlines that offer trans-Atlantic flights from RDU. The others are American, which flies daily to London Heathrow Airport, and Delta, which flies daily to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
This story was originally published March 21, 2023 at 3:32 PM.
