Icelandair’s first A321LR, TF-IAA, at a gate at Stockholm Arlanda Airport following its inaugural revenue flight from KEF
Icelandair has, other than their domestic/feeder airline, long had an all-Boeing mainline fleet consisting of 737 MAX-8 and MAX-9, 757-200, 757-300, and 767 jetliners. That all changed on Dec. 10, 2024, when the airline placed an A321LR into service as TF-IAA, named Esia, per their protocol of naming aircraft after Icelandic volcanoes.
There’s a lot to unpack here, so this article will focus on the experience of the flight. We’ll do a follow-up story on the implications of the fleet change later on.
The A321LR interior prior to boarding at KEF. The interior seat trim is color-coded to the exterior accent color of each aircraft
The first impression was, unsurprisingly, of newness. It felt almost like you shouldn’t be in there, as it was so pristine. The new-airplane smell is a real thing. And it’s quite lovely.
Saga-class seats have very large IFE screens with amazing resolution
As I did this trip in a somewhat insane manner, flying sequentially from Seattle to Keflavik, Keflavik to Stockholm, then turning straight around and doing the return with only about 90 minutes in each airport, Icelandair was kind enough to seat me in their premium class – Saga – for the whole 22+ hour trip. I’ve done some crazy routes and some really long flights in my day, but never anything quite like this marathon. It was simultaneously the most idiotic thing I’ve ever done, and also ranked among the most fun things.
There was a small celebration at the departure gate at KEF, with both local and AvGeek reporters on hand
By the numbers, the trip covered was 9,896 miles over four flights spanning 22 hours and 15 minutes in the air, all packed into 27 hours of total travel time. All of this was really for the sake of KEF-ARN and back, with the new Airbus. I was on a Boeing 737 MAX-8 on SEA-KEF, the A321LR KEF-ARN and ARN-KEF, and a Boeing 757-200 KEF-SEA, allowing me to compare experiences across all of Icelandair’s active long-haul fleet options.
From left: Captain Sölvi Þórðarson and Captain Kári Kárason were the pilots on the inaugural revenue flight to Stockholm
Their 757s are nearing the end of their service lives, and as such are definitely in need of an upgrade. The MAX series is a great update, but the derivative 737s just don’t have the range and carrying capacity of those wonderful 757s; Boeing missed a huge opportunity when it stopped production in 2004 and failed to develop a replacement. In prior Icelandair coverage, we’d noted that the airline’s managment long hoped Boeing would come up with a direct replacement for the 757; that obviously has not come to be, and the age of the fleet left them with little choice than to consider Airbus’ offerings.
Icelandair’s first A321LR at the gate at ARN
So, in walks Airbus with their newest A321 derivatives, which are now the closest thing on the market to the 757 in terms of capabilities.
Make no mistake, the 737 MAX 8 and 9 are very comfortable and competent aircraft, but Airbus is several steps ahead of Boeing with their newer A321LR and just-released A321XLR. The MAX cabins are definitely quieter than their predecessor NG versions, but the Airbus is even quieter. The A321LR is also 30% more fuel-efficient than the aircraft it’s replacing.
Seating also feels more comfortable, even in the rear of the plane, although that’s more up to the airlines than the aircraft manufacturer.
The Airbus jets lack the 737 line’s voluminous space bins for overhead luggage storage, but they’re still up to task. Spending seven hours on a MAX, then transitioning straight to the new Airbus, then back to a 757 for another seven hours provided plenty of perspective.
The Saga cabin screens are ginormousI also liked the headrests. A lotPlenty of legroom hereAnd knee roomPlenty of room for even large-footed travelers
The only fiddly thing about the Saga seating was trying to find the power outlets on the Airbus, which are cleverly hidden under the center console. There are great little fold-out coat hooks on the seatbacks as well, which are quite handy for cold-weather trips.
The A321LR cabin was nice and bright, too
Unlike many domestic US carriers, Icelandair’s 187-seat A321LR doesn’t have a mid-cabin lavatory. Instead, they’re placed similarly to the Boeing layout of one up front for Saga class and three in the rear of the aircraft for everyone else.
Due to a technical glitch on the inaugural flight, the plane’s new-to-Icelandair Viasat’s Ka-band satellite internet wasn’t working. I did play around with the moving map and take note of the wide array of movie options. The 4K OLED touchscreens are quite sharp with smooth functionality and beautiful colors; it’s one of the nicest IFE screens I’ve seen.
The cabin ceiling lighting near the front entry door is quite fun
It will be sad, for many reasons, to see the venerable B757 fleet retire. But the replacement aircraft chosen by Icelandair is definitely up to the task, and surpasses those old jets in passenger comfort and fuel efficiency for the airline with its far more modern engines and avionics systems.
In our next article, we’ll explore what these new aircraft mean for the fleet operations and potential route expansions.
N913AK on its takeoff roll from SEA on its inaugural revenue flight for Alaska Airlines on March 1, 2021 – Photo: Jeremy Dwyer Lindgren
On March 1 at 6:30 a.m., Alaska Airlines’ first Boeing 737 MAX 9 took to the skies from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on a flight to San Diego. That flight made Alaska the third U.S. carrier to place the MAX into service since the plane’s grounding was lifted at the end of 2020, and it was the first airline to place the plane into service that didn’t receive any of its orders prior to the grounding in March 2019.
What was it like? Alaska did invite the local news media and AvGeek outlets to cover the departure, but the event was tastefully subdued overall. The worst part? Getting up at 2:30 a.m. to get to the airport on time. The best part? The flight itself, of course. As we reviewed back in 2019 before the grounding, the MAX offers a fine passenger experience, even more so now that the tragic issues with the aircraft’s avionics have been sorted and certified.
The flight crew consisted of Alaska’s fleet captain and chief training pilot
During the standard preflight passenger briefing, the pilots commented on how much they liked flying the new aircraft, saying that Alaska did 50 hours of proving flights over 19,000 miles with that plane prior to putting it into line service, including several flights for employees. They also noted the MAX’s greater efficiency, saving 15% in fuel costs over the prior model.
As I experienced on Icelandair’s Max 8, the plane is noticeably quieter in the cabin than the NG-series planes the MAX replaces, even when seated near the engines
I flew in coach, seated in row 13 both ways, in the aisle southbound and at the window back to SEA. If you’re familiar with Alaska’s current 737 NG cabin configurations, the overall layout is the same, save for some nice detail improvements, including additional USB ports that are much more accessible, and a clever device holder in the seatbacks. All in all, the MAX 9 provides a very comfortable and surprisingly quiet passenger experience.
This was my first commercial flight in nearly 12 months, and the biggest change I noticed was how often the flight attendants came through the cabin to pick up trash. Well, that, and there were no hot meals, alcoholic beverages, or poured soft drinks offered – water and soda were dispensed in single-serving cans or bottles.
A nicely-designed adjustable device holder features prominently on the new coach seatbacks
Coach-class service during the times of COVID doesn’t look that much different than in times past
The additional USB port (seen on the right side of the seatback) is far more accessible than the older style, which remain in their original location below the folding tray
Alaska has orders to take delivery of 68 MAX 9s, with options for an additional 52, so the MAX plays a primary role in the airline’s plan to modernize its fleet. Alaska plans to eventually divest itself of most of the Airbus A319/320ceos it acquired as part of its acquisition of Virgin America, coming closer to being an all-Boeing airline once again, although it does look like they’ll hang onto the 10 A321neos in their fleet for now.
The outbound flight to San Diego was quite full, with plenty of AvGeeks and Alaska Air crew in evidence. The return flight was considerably less full, more in line with what I’m told are more normal passenger loads given current COVID concerns.
At the gate at SEA for an early-morning departure
Local Seattle news media provided live coverage of the inaugural
Gotta love those huge overhead Space Bins
Alaska is currently using N913AK on two daily roundtrip routes from Seattle; flights 482 and 539 to and from San Diego in the morning and early afternoon, and flights 398 and 705 to and from Las Angeles in the late afternoon and evening.
Here we are on the base turn over Elliott Bay in Seattle on the way back to SEA. The MAX’s engines are considerably larger than the NG.
A Qatar 777-300ER receives a water-cannon salute as it taxis to its gate at Sea-Tac Airport
Qatar Airways (QR) launched service from Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, to Seattle, Washington, on Jan. 29, 2021, two months ahead of schedule. It also marked the first new service to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Inaugural flights are always a joy to cover – you get to see other media colleagues and friends, there’s always a bit of a festival atmosphere, and, best of all, you get to go out onto the ramp at a busy international airport to take photos and enjoy the experience of being airside.
The 777 is an imposingly large aircraft
Qatar now serves the three largest cities on the U.S. West Coast: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. The Seattle service will be served by Boeing 777s with 42 seats in Qsuite business class and 312 seats in economy. The Qsuite seat layout is a 1-2-1 configuration, and economy is 3-4-3. Seattle service begins at four times weekly (Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), and is scheduled to switch to daily service on July 1.
A Qsuite was set up for the occasion – they are quite spacious
The food service was impeccable
Details included custom amenity kits
The new Seattle service will offer connections from the U.S. to global destinations in Africa, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, among others. The national carrier of the State of Qatar continues to rebuild its network, which currently stands at over 120 destinations with plans to increase to more than 130 by the end of March.
Before the inaugural event, I had the opportunity to chat on the phone with Mark Drusch, SVP of Revenue Management, Alliances and Strategy at Qatar Airways, who’s based in Doha.
“We understand that there are Somalis in Seattle who want to go home we know where our customers need to fly. We have flown a robust schedule even in the depths of covid, so we’ve had our finger on the pulse of the market and have been able to accurately gauge the movements that are required,” he said, citing strong pent-up demand for travel to East Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
Further, covid has opened up a wave of interest in travel to exotic/under-visited destinations. “We have got a massive developing market between the U.S. and more exotic beach destinations like the Seychelles,” Drusch said. ‘People want to go someplace a little more isolated, and that market has developed quite nicely.”
He also cited the attractiveness for the airline of the strong business environment in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. “This area has not had a problem during the pandemic,” he said, adding that “the Pacific Northwest will rebound faster because of the kinds of businesses we have up here.”
The 77W’s cargo hold was filled with containers. Qatar flies the large jets, in part, to maximize its cargo-handling opportunities.
Cargo is the one aviation sector that has seen growth since the emergence of COVID-19. “Our cargo market has just boomed during the pandemic. We are the largest passenger/freighter operation in the world, we were experts already in carrying cargo on freighters and passenger planes, and we’re flying the 773, which has lots of cargo capacity.”
Asked if Qatar sees itself as being in competition with Emirates for connecting passenger traffic, Drush said, “Lets be honest – the airline industry is very competitive, but we’ve been different than Emirates – they’ve pulled back from the U.S. and Europe. We’ve continued to be in the market for our customers; in the middle of covid we repatriated almost 2 million people.”
The 777-300 cockpit is also quite spacious
Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Alaska Mileage Plan members can now earn frequent flyer miles on both carriers. Beginning March 31, 2021, members can also redeem frequent flyer miles on both carriers’ full networks and elite oneworld Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald status perks, including lounge access.
The departing flight also got a water-cannon salute
Headed back out on the nearly 14-hour flight from SEA-DOH
Of interest to those in the Pacific Northwest who are Alaska Airlines frequent fliers, Qatar is part of the oneworld alliance, which Alaska recently joined. Alaska Airlines will connect customers from the U.S. West Coast to Doha and beyond via its other hubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco, complementing existing strategic partnerships with JetBlue and oneworld carrier American Airlines.
For years, I have been told that AirlineReporter needs to do their own podcast. Sigh. Why? I just couldn’t imagine adding on something else. Having to get guests, come up with scripts, and the worst part — editing the audio! I have often asked our writers if they might have an interest, but no takers. Well, I am finally giving in and I have created our very first podcast, called Plane Talking with Mom. So what makes this podcast different?
#1 I talk about airplanes with my mom — 100% exclusive. No one else has my mom talking about planes.
#2 I am not editing crap (and you can tell). You get everything. All the ’œums’ and ’œuhs,’ the mess ups.
#3 My mom doesn’t even like airplanes. So many podcasts have experts or at least people who are interested in talking about the topic. Booooooring. Hear directly from a person who might care the least, and doesn’t even like to fly.
Some reviews are already in…
“It was interesting… at least you and your mom had a nice time” – My Wife
“(It’s) purrr (fect)” – My Cat (aka #A380cat)
“What… I… listened to is… the… nice… podcast… will… listen… again” – My Friend Nick
“The combination of airplanes, birds, and moms is a real winner. A++” – David P Brown
Give it a listen… it is the best podcast we have ever done!!! Oh yea, it is not actually up at any of the places you normally listen to podcasts, so you just have to listen to it via our site.
So… what do you think (remember my mom will be reading the comments too)? But before you make any comment, make sure you listen to the end…
Late last year we spent a fun couple of days flying long-haul with Finnair and interviewing the head of their flagship Airbus A350 fleet. But we never actually flew the A350 ourselves, since Finnair’s US routes were all handled by their older A330s. That changed a month ago, when Finnair re-launched flights to LAX after a long hiatus and gave the honor to the A350. Obviously we weren’t going to miss the chance to cover the inaugural, and the folks at Finnair gave us the chance.
The onboard product lived up to the hype, with universal aisle access, lie-flat seats, Nordic style, and even a northern lights simulation on the ceiling. And it was just as fun covering Finnair’s pre-flight festivities on the ground. Clearly this route was a big deal for the Finnair team, getting the honorific flight numbers AY01 and AY02.
Read on for the full scoop on Finnair’s (re)inaugural celebration of its service from Los Angeles to Helsinki.
