Icelandair is the 12th largest operator between the US/Canada and Europe by non-stop flights this summer. It has 15 routes and up to 19 daily departures. The B737 MAX 8 now has 40% of flights, twice as many as the B757-200ER, previously its mainstay. The B767-300ER, B757-300, and B737 MAX 9 are also used. If the two MAX variants are totaled, they have 53% of all transatlantic flights.

While much can change between now and summer 2023, AeroRoutes shows that Icelandair will increase the newly introduced Keflavik to Raleigh Durham to 5x weekly from May 29th, 2023, while Baltimore – now also served by PLAY – will rise to 1x daily from June 1st.

15 North American routes

The latest data from Cirium shows that Icelandair has 3,068 North America departures this summer. That's 89% of what it had in summer 2019, partly because its network has reduced from 19 destinations to 15.

No more are Anchorage, Edmonton, Kansas City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, or Tampa served. Offsetting them are Baltimore and Raleigh Durham. Icelandair linked Baltimore for years until January 2008, then May 2018-January 2019, and resumed in May 2022, the same month that Raleigh Durham took off.

Icelandair B757
While use of the B757-200ER has inevitably reduced significantly, it is still Icelandair's second most-used type transatlantically. Photo: Cityswift via Flickr.

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What routes does it have?

Across the whole summer, Icelandair has more flights between Keflavik and Boston than any other route, as shown below. It is one of the few routes to have more flights than pre-pandemic, up as they are by a whopping 39%. It now has up to 3x daily Boston services, joining a new 1x daily by PLAY.

Note that the aircraft listed below are in order of the number of flights. For example, the B737 MAX 8 is the core type to Boston, but the B767-300ER is also used. Some routes see particular types very infrequently. For example, the B757-200ER is scheduled to Chicago just twice (August 3rd and October 16th).

  • Boston: up to 3x daily; B737 MAX 8 and B767-300ER
  • JFK: up to 2x daily; B767-300ER, B737 MAX 8, B737 MAX 9
  • Seattle: up to 2x daily; B757-200ER, B737 MAX 9, B767-300ER
  • Chicago O'Hare: up to 2x daily; B757-300, B737 MAX 8, B757-200ER
  • Toronto: up to 2x daily; B737 MAX 8, B737 MAX 9, B757-300, B757-200ER
  • Washington Dulles: up to 2x daily; B757-300, B767-300ER, B737 MAX 8, B757-200ER
  • Newark: 1x daily; B737 MAX 8 and MAX 9
  • Denver: up to 1x daily; B757-200ER
  • Minneapolis: up to 1x daily; B737 MAX 8 and MAX 9
  • Raleigh Durham: 4x weekly; B737 MAX 8 and MAX 9
  • Vancouver: 4x weekly; B757-200ER
  • Baltimore: up to 4x weekly; B737 MAX 8 and MAX 9
  • Portland (Oregon): up to 4x weekly; B757-200ER
  • Orlando International: resumes September 15th; up to 4x weekly; B737 MAX 9, B757-200ER, B737 MAX 8
  • Montréal: runs until September 18th; 3x weekly; B737 MAX 8
Icelandair's summer 2022 transatlantic network.
Icelandair's transatlantic network. Image: GCMap.

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The MAX now operates half of the flights

Three years ago, in summer 2019, two-thirds of Icelandair's transatlantic operation was by the B757-200ER. The rest of the flights were by the B767-300ER and B757-300.

While entirely predictable, the MAX has become the preeminent type, with 53% of all US/Canada services. The B757-200ER has, by and large, been relegated to the longer routes, with Denver, Portland, and Vancouver exclusively by it this summer

  1. B737 MAX 8: 40.3% of all Icelandair's US/Canada flights this summer
  2. B757-200ER: 20.7%
  3. B767-300ER: 17.0%
  4. B737 MAX 9: 12.7%
  5. B757-300: 9.3%

What is the longest B737 MAX route you've flown? Let us know in the comments.