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My two-flight journey with Icelandair began at Denver International Airport (DEN), with a brief layover at Keflavik International Airport (KEF) near Reykjavik, where I boarded the second leg to Copenhagen (CPH). Both flights were aboard Icelandair Boeing 757s — the first, on a 757-200 registered TF-FIT and dubbed “Helgafell” after the 240-foot-high mountain in Iceland. The second was aboard a larger 757-300 — the only one in the Icelandair fleet — registered TF-FIX and dubbed “Hengill” after an Icelandic volcano. Here’s what the business-class experience was like.
In This Post
Booking
Due to the last-minute nature of my trip, I decided to book my flights in a non-conventional way to save the most money since prices were pretty high for my travel dates. First, I booked the Denver to Reykjavik leg by redeeming 50,000 Alaska miles and paying $100.10 in taxes with The Platinum Card from American Express. I then booked the second leg from Reykjavik to Copenhagen through American Express Travel (with the same card) for a total of $638.20, which allowed me to earn 5x Membership Rewards, — or, in this case, 3,191 MR points. Alternatively, I could have used a travel credit card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which would have given me 3x points or 2x points for the travel purchase, respectively.
Denver to Reykjavik
Icelandair calls its business class Saga, which I think might be the best name for a business-class product out there. I checked in online the day before my flight, then printed my boarding pass when I arrived at DEN. I did not check any luggage.
While Icelandair does not have a Saga Lounge at DEN, business-class passengers can still use the United Airlines lounge. The only problem is the United lounge isn’t in the same concourse as Icelandair, so Saga passengers have to get on a train to Concourse B, where the two United lounges are located. Aside from that, the United lounges in Denver are pretty dull and haven’t been upgraded to feature the new Polaris branding. There’s not much to be had in terms of premium freebies, so after a couple of Budweisers — one of two mediocre free beers available for lounge visitors — I boarded the train back to Concourse A for my flight.
Like many international airports, DEN has some shared-use gates for international flights — mine departed from one with Delta signage — but considering there’s only one daily flight, there’s no reason Icelandair needs a dedicated gate. The boarding process was business as usual, with Saga passengers invited to board first, followed by economy passengers. We departed on time at 5:20pm.
Cabin and Seat
The Saga cabin on this 757-200 had 16 seats arranged in a 2-2 configuration. Only six of the Saga seats were occupied, including mine. Icelandair’s Saga seats were manufactured by Aviointeriors and the carrier has been using its Andromeda model since 2007. In spite of looking a little outdated, they were very comfortable, maybe because they were so well broken in.
Prior to my trip, I chose a window seat, 3A. I always like to sit on the north-facing side of the plane whenever I’m flying over the Atlantic at night, in hopes of seeing the aurora borealis. I’ve never seen a brilliant display, but I did see a single fairly bright flare during this flight. Speaking of the northern lights, Icelandair has a plane named Hekla Aurora that’s beautifully painted in a special livery in their honor.
Amenities
At my seat, I found an amenity kit, pillow and the softest duvet I’ve ever received on a plane — I seriously considered stuffing it in my backpack. I loved that the pillow and duvet had Icelandic words embroidered on them. Once settled in, I moved the amenities to the empty aisle seat next to me, 3C, to keep them within easy reach, since there were no storage compartments at my seat other than the overhead bins.
Wi-Fi is provided by Global Eagle, and while I didn’t spend a lot of time online, I thought it was sufficient for posting things to Facebook and Twitter. I fly Southwest pretty frequently, which also uses Global Eagle, and found the experience was pretty similar in terms of speed and capabilities.
The IFE system only offered 52 movies, nine of which were labeled as blockbuster films, and four of which were in the Icelandic language.
Food and Beverage
We were offered a pre-flight drink, so I chose Champagne, because why not?
During the post-departure beverage service, I saw that the airline offered an Icelandic beer. I had never had one, so I ordered a Gull lager, which only carried a 2.75-star rating out of five on Beer Advocate. I was also served a small bowl of caramel popcorn, which I found to be a delicious and refreshing alternative to the typical nuts offered by other airlines.
Icelandair does allow Saga passengers to pre-order their meals, but I opted not to do that this time around. For dinner, the appetizer, main and dessert courses were all served together on the same tray. I chose a shrimp appetizer with a pork chop main course, paired with a sauvignon blanc.
I really enjoyed the shrimp, but found the pork chop to be very dry and bland. There was no salt or pepper placed on my tray either. The pork chop was served with Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes and pecans.
The dessert was a coconut-crusted chocolate brownie, which was just the perfect mix of cake and fudge. I finished dinner at 1:15am Reykjavik time, while continuing to watch the sunset to the west. At this point, we were about five hours from landing in Iceland. I did not partake of the coffee service following dinner because I wanted to sleep at least a couple of hours.
I never sleep well on planes, but I made the attempt and extended the seat into lie-flat mode. Being exhausted after a few glasses of wine, I found it very easy to relax under that velvety-soft duvet.
For breakfast, we were served a hot ham-and-cheese croissant with grapes and strawberries along with coffee and orange juice.
Reykjavik to Copenhagen
When we landed at KEF, it was cloudy, drizzly and dark outside. Our plane parked at a remote spot and we disembarked by air stairs, which I always find sort of fun and unique. We boarded buses back to the main terminal, where we lined up for customs and border protection checks. Once I got through the passport check, I saw that my next flight would begin boarding very shortly, so I didn’t get to have a good look at the Saga Lounge there — since my brief visit, however, a new Saga Lounge has opened. Boarding took place on the lower floor of the terminal, where we lined up to board buses out to the plane.
Upon boarding this 757-300, I didn’t notice much of a difference from the 757-200 I was just on other than the shape of the overhead bins and an extra row of Saga seats. The lighting also looked more modern, with LEDs. On this flight, there were no amenity kits or blankets waiting for us, but we were given pillows and headphones.
Food and Beverage
After departing, we were served a British-style breakfast of scrambled eggs, link sausages, tomatoes, beans and yogurt. Following breakfast on this four-hour flight, I focused on getting a little more shut-eye — it was roughly midnight back home in Denver and I was starting to feel it.
We landed on time and taxied to our gate, where we disembarked via jet bridge.
Overall Impression
Overall, my two Icelandair flights were fine — nothing really stood out as spectacular and nothing bad happened as to deserve negative points. Icelandair markets low-cost flights from the US to Europe with a connection in Reykjavik, and the carrier definitely delivered.
Source: thepointsguy.com