Aberdeen International Airport in Scotland has received a boost after Icelandair announced a new year-round service between the Granite City and Reykjavik.
The new route will be operated by the group’s Air Iceland subsidiary and will run four-times-weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, operated by Bombardier Q400 aircraft in two-class configuration.
Operations will commence on March 9, 2016 and will depart Reykjavik Keflavik Airport at 08:00am, arriving into Aberdeen at 11:50am. The return leg will depart the Scottish city at 13:10pm, arriving back into the Icelandic capital at 15:00pm.
Aberdeen Airport managing director Carol Benzie said: "We're thrilled to welcome Icelandair to Aberdeen, our first direct flight to Iceland.
"The decision to commence the service from the north east is fantastic news for both leisure and business travellers wanting to reach Reykjavik, and of course the extensive number of onward connections to the US and Canada now available."
Aberdeen, who hosted Routes Europe earlier this year, will become the second Scottish destination for Icelandair, after Glasgow. The carrier also operates UK flights to London Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham, all of which connect into the airline’s North American network.
Birkir Holm Gudnason, Icelandair CEO, said: "We see great opportunities in connecting this market to our route network of North American destinations. Travel times will be shortened and we're confident customers will appreciate the easy connections in our hub in Iceland."
Icelandair travels to 15 destinations in North America including New York, Seattle, Toronto and recently announced Chicago starting in 2016.
“It is a pleasure to be able to announce Aberdeen on the same year as we celebrate 70 years of flying to Scotland,” added Birkir Holm Gudnason.
In February next year, Icelandair will increase services between Reykjavik and Birmingham from twice-weekly to four-times-weekly.
Despite a dip in available seat capacity between 2008 and 2009, Icelandair has registered a steady growth ever since, due to an increase in destinations throughout Europe and North America. Between 2012 and 2014, the airline reported a considerable amount of growth after introducing destinations such as Newark Liberty, London Gatwick and the reintroduction of Zurich after a 7 year hiatus, and increasing capacity to destinations including Toronto, Munich, Seattle and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
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