After staying in Reykjavik and surrounding for four days I wanted to visit the North of Iceland as well. So I had booked a flight across the country to Akureyri on Flugfelag Islands who also call themselves Air Iceland as a second name. Air Iceland operates a fleet of six Fokker 50 aircraft and two Dash 8-100. Their home base is the City Airport of Reykjavik from where they operate four domestic routes. Besides, there are a few flights to Faroe Islands and to Greenland as well.
From Akureyri I would go even further North to the small Island of Grimsey, the only place where Iceland meets the Polar Circle – the main island of Iceland (what a wordplay!) is located south of it.
Thursday, 20 June 2010
Reykjavik (RKV) – Akureyri (AEY)
Airline: Flugfelag Islands – Air Iceland
Flight number: NY118
Scheduled departure time: 08:30
Scheduled arrival time: 09:15
Type of aircraft: Fokker 50
Registration: TF-JMO
This aircraft was built in 1990 and delivered as D-AFKK to DLT which later became Lufthansa CityLine. In 1996 it was transferred to Contact Air but was still flying around on behalf of Lufthansa. In 2004 the plane was sold to Flugfelag Islands – Air Iceland who now operate it on their domestic network.
Akureyri is the largest city in Iceland outside the Reykjavik-area. But with only 16,000 inhabitants it is still relatively small. Nevertheless, it is the gateway to the northern parts of the country, so Reykjavik-Akureyri is the most important route in Air Iceland’s network. There are up to eight daily flights in each direction. I had chosen this particular flight as it was scheduled to be the only one on that day operated by Dash 8-100, a type that is still missing in my log. But unfortunately, a few weeks after booking this service was upgraded to a Fokker 50, obviously due to the high demand.
Flight price for the return trip from Reykjavik to Akureyri and back was surprisingly cheap. I paid ISK 9,980.00 including all taxes which is about EUR 58.00. Booking had been made three months in advance.
I arrived at Reykjavik Airport by taxi at about 6:30 in the morning; quite early as I also wanted to do some spotting and explore the airport a bit. The small terminal building is designed in Air Iceland colours, the only airline that uses it regularly:
The small check-in hall was still deserted:
The whole Air Iceland fleet consisting of eight aircraft had spent the night at RKV and was present on the apron or in the maintenance hangar. Between 7:15 and 8:30, five flights would leave to all four domestic destinations, plus a second flight to Akureyri. Check-in on domestic flights officially starts (!) 30 minutes before departure and ends practically at departure time as the small gate area is just next to the check-in counters and there are no security checks for domestic flights in Iceland. The airport does have a small security area as well which is only used for international flights, for example to the Faroe Islands. I asked at one of the check-in counters if it was already possible to check in for my flight but I had to wait until the first flight to Akureyri would have left. The reason for this was the fact that they don’t work with individual baggage tags. Every piece of luggage just gets attached a small piece of paper with the three-letter code of the destination, but without name or flight number. So they can only check in one flight to a destination at the same time in order to avoid mixing up the luggage.
I had a coffee and a muffin in the small coffee shop. When it was time I proceeded to the check-in counters again where a friendly young lady took my luggage and printed my boarding pass which looked more like a supermarket receipt:
By the way: I didn’t carry two bags of 21 kg – I have no idea where these figures came from.
I walked over to the small gate area which is also used as arrivals facility with a luggage belt:
Our aircraft, TF-JMO, was parked outside in front of the gate:
Boarding started 15 minutes before departure and all passengers walked the very short distance to the plane – no need for busses at this airport. One friendly middle-aged female flight attendant welcomed all passengers. I was the first one to enter the cabin:
The blue cloth seats were clean and tidy. The aircraft didn’t show anything of its Lufthansa background. From a passenger’s point of view, the Fokker 50 is a quite comfortable turboprop aircraft. I took my window seat in the last row and waited until the other seats filled up. There was not a single free seat on this flight – load factor 100%. No wonder they had upgraded it from the smaller Dash 8-100 to the Fokker 50. Passengers on that morning flight were a mixture of local business travellers and international tourists from all parts of the word. The flight attendant walked through the cabin and distributed a local Icelandic newspaper for free. After a manual safety demonstration we went off-block and taxied the short distance to runway 19 where we took off in southern direction:
The airport has got three active runways so you can take off practically in every direction. Some routes offer great views to the City of Reykjavik as the airport is so close to city centre. But this departure route unfortunately only offers views to an industrial area:
Besides, the weather wasn’t too good – it was extremely clouded so there weren’t any more good views outside for most of the remaining flight. I looked a bit through the in-flight magazine which was only in Icelandic language, so I didn’t understand too much. The flight attendant distributed free drinks (coffee, tea or water were available) and every passenger got a small piece of chocolate. Not bad for a flight time of only about 40 minutes. The flight attendant had to hurry to serve all passengers. The first officer made a very short announcement during flight and just informed us about the weather at Akureyri which was unfortunately not much better than at Reykjavik. When I got the next views to the ground we had already reached the green North of Iceland and were approaching Akureyri Airport:
.
.
We touched down on runway 01 and arrived on the apron shortly after where our Fokker 50 was the only aircraft present at that time.
Leaving TF-JMO:
.
The apron of the airport is right next to the beautiful fjord “Eyjafjoerdur”:
My trolley arrived quickly on the only luggage belt and I took a taxi to my hotel. The airport is only three kilometres away from downtown Akureyri, so it was a short ride.
I spent the remaining day exploring the City of Akureyri which I found very nice. Being so close to the Polar Circle, it never gets dark there during summer.
Hafnarstraeti, the main shopping road:
The church of Akureyri with a special architecture:
Colourful houses:
The botanic garden:
On the next day, a very special day-trip was on schedule which I was looking forward to. I would fly to the small Island of Grimsey which is located about 90 kilometres north of Akureyri, at the polar circle. Norlandair would take me there on one of their two DHC-6 Twin Otters which would be a new type of aircraft for me. The weather had improved a lot, it was a sunny day and since I had no luggage I decided to walk the three kilometres from my hotel to the airport.
Akureyri Airport from the distance:
And closer, with some modern art at the entrance gate:
It was still early for my flight and I decided to have a look at the surrounding as well. Flugfelag Islands maintenance hangar and the Norlandair headquarter:
I had realized an interesting building with an aircraft nose outside, quite far away from the terminal building, hidden behind the hangar and office buildings. At first I hesitated to walk that far but then I decided to do so anyway and I was not disappointed: it was a great aviation museum which I wouldn’t have expected here:
A friendly guy who managed the museum welcomed me and I had to sign a guest book. I was the only visitor at that time, and according to the number of signatures in the guest book, not many people come by here. A pity, as the museum is really worth a visit. But unfortunately it isn’t easy to find and they don’t do much advertising – at least I hadn’t seen any hint to it. Here are a few pictures from the museum:
Fokker F27, previously used by Icelandic coast guard:
.
Boeing B727 cockpit:
Aerospatiale Dauphin helicopter:
The guy from the museum encouraged me to go outside to the apron of the museum as well where a DC-3 in the present Icelandair colours was on display:
All in all, the museum is definitely a great place to visit. If you should ever get to Akureyri, don’t miss it out!
This is an aircraft with a long history. It was built in 1974 and delivered to OLT in Germany. After flying around in Sweden and Canada, the plane came to Iceland in 1987 as TF-JMC. Regional aviation in Iceland has had a lot of changes during the last decades so it was in service for Flugfelag Nordurlands and later Flugfelag Islands – Air Iceland. In 2008 the operations in the North of Iceland were taken over by Norlandair, together with two Twin Otters. This aircraft was one of them and got its current registration TF-NLC. It got its new red colours in April 2010.
I walked back to the terminal building which is small but very nice:
Norlandair is a small airline with its home base in Akureyri from where they serve three other destinations in the Northwest of Iceland. They operate a fleet of two DHC-6 Twin Otters. As far as I could see, one aircraft would be enough to operate the regular schedule, but they offer some charter flights as well. Besides, it might be useful to have a spare aircraft if you operate in such a remote place of the world. And these more than 30 years old aircraft can’t be really expensive.
The name “Norlandair” is well-known in Icelandic aviation, going back until 1974. But later they were merged with Air Iceland and the name disappeared. In 2008, a new Norlandair was founded, taking over the Twin Otter activities at Akureyri from Air Iceland again. Ticket sales and ground handling are still done by Air Iceland, though.
I had booked my flight from Akureyri to the Island of Grimsey three months in advance on Air Iceland’s web page and paid ISK 14,590.00 which is about EUR 85.00 for the return flight. Again less that I would have expected for such a flight. There is one flight per day during summer. The flights are offered by travel agencies in Akureyri as well, usually as day tours. The aircraft stays on the island for 90 minutes which isn’t really long for a visit but I guess it is a compromise between sensible airline operations and touristic needs.
The check-in counters were still deserted:
But when the check-in agent saw me arriving, she came from the office to the counter and printed my boarding pass. I got seat number 4A. I was somehow surprised that there were pre-assigned seats at all – I would have expected free seating. I walked over to the small snack bar which is also the gate area (there is only one gate):
The aircraft had already arrived from its previous tour 1.5 hours before our departure to the Island of Grimsey and was present on the apron:
Boarding started 10 minutes before scheduled departure and passengers walked to the aircraft. The cabin is equipped with a 1-2 seating layout:
Everything inside looks very traditional, but then again the aircraft is 36 years old. There were 12 passengers on board, load factor 63%. Most of them were tourists but there was a local family as well. There was no flight attendant on that flight, so the first officer made a welcome announcement and performed the safety demonstration. Soon we were on our way to runway 01. Taking off into northern direction:
The City of Akureyri:
.
We were heading North, always above the fjord “Eyjafjoerdur”:
The mountains in the background are still covered with snow:
In-flight cockpit picture:
The village of Hauganes:
The Island of Hrisey, located in Eyjafjoerdur:
Crossing snow-capped mountains:
Leaving Icelandic mainland:
.
We were flying across the open sea for a short time. But soon the Island of Grimsey came into sight:
The coastline of Grimsey and the small fishing village:
We touched down on the only runway of the small airport. It didn’t surprise me that there was no other aircraft around.
Terminal building of the Airport of Grimsey:
TF-NLC parked on the apron, waiting for its departure back to Akureyri in 1.5 hours:
A middle-aged lady managed the airport. She was check-in agent, ramp agent, luggage handler and information counter in one person. Besides, she also managed the post office of the island which is located in the terminal building. With only one daily Twin Otter flight during summer (during winter there are only three flights per week) there is no need for more employees. The agent was extremely friendly and helpful. She provided information about guesthouses for two travellers who wanted to stay on the island for several days. The day-tourists were asked if anybody needed a guide, but most people preferred to walk around on their own. The island is only about four kilometres long and two kilometres wide, so you can’t really get lost. The agent told us where to go to cross the Polar Circle that goes through the island and where to see the puffins, a kind of birds that is typical for Iceland.
The airport from some distance:
Coastline:
Icelandic mainland is visible in the distance:
Puffins:
90 minutes passed by quickly. I would also have liked to visit the small village that has got only 70 inhabitants but there was no more time left.
I checked in for my return flight and got my boarding pass, again seat number 4A, and an Arctic Circle certificate, signed by the captain:
Now I know what the captain was doing during the 90 minutes layover: signing all those certificates!
Passengers on the return flight were the day-tourists (including me) together with some island inhabitants who use this flight as a gateway for going practically everywhere. Besides there were two craftsmen in their working dress who had obviously done a job on the island. All of them got the Arctic Circle certificate as well. The two craftsmen seemed to be a bit surprised but took it anyway.
There were still some minutes left until departure and I was standing outside. The agent approached me and asked me if I needed some more information. We talked a bit about life on the island and about her job. Very nice indeed.
Boarding started soon. The agent didn’t check the boarding passes – obviously she remembered her passengers. This time there were 17 passengers on board, so only two free seats. Load factor 89%. We were up in the air again soon. The airport seen from above:
The coastline and the way I had walked an hour before:
Leaving Grimsey:
Reaching Icelandic mainland again:
.
Looks cold:
The village of Kljastroend:
The village of Svalbardeyri:
Farms:
Pilots preparing for landing:
This time we approached Akureyri Airport from the North:
Touch-down was on runway 19. After coming to stand on the apron, all passengers left TF-NLC through the door in the rear:
And here is a final picture of TF-NLC, taken on the next day:
I shared a taxi with a tourist from Thailand I had already met on the island and we went to Akureyri city centre.
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Akureyri (AEY) – Reykjavik (RKV)
Airline: Flugfelag Islands – Air Iceland
Flight number: NY 133
Scheduled departure time: 12:40
Scheduled arrival time: 13:25
Type of aircraft: Fokker 50
Registration: TF-JMN
This aircraft was built in 1991 and delivered as D-AFKN to DLT which later became Lufthansa CityLine. In 1997 it was transferred to Contact Air but was still flying around on behalf of Lufthansa. In 2004 the plane was sold to Flugfelag Islands – Air Iceland who now operate it on their domestic network.
On the next morning I returned to the airport by taxi where I arrived about two hours before my flight. Check-in was already possible as there was no other flight to Reykjavik before.
The only regular scheduled flights at Akureyri are Air Iceland’s flights to Reykjavik with Fokker 50 and Dash 8 plus Norlandair’s Twin Otter operations. Besides, there is a weekly service to CPH during high season in summer, operated by Iceland Express B737 in a V-pattern (the aircraft is flying KEF-CPH-AEY-CPH-KEF). This flight on Saturday must be the highlight of the week for the small airport. Today was obviously the first flight of the season. The B737 would arrive in three hours and ground crew was busy on the apron, testing the equipment for larger aircraft that wasn’t needed for the Fokker 50 or the Dash. They were driving around the stair trucks and moving stairs and luggage loading equipment up and down.
Air Iceland car with a nice local picture on it, showing the church of Akureyri:
The aircraft for my flight arrived from Reykjavik on time:
.
It was TF-JMN, a different aircraft than on my outbound flight. But ironically, that would only be my third Fokker 50 flight ever, but the second one on this aircraft. The first one had been in 1996 when this bird was still flying for LH, on a STR-FRA flight.
The flight from Reykjavik had been completely full with 50 passengers. Among them was a complete Iceland Express crew who would take over the B737 for CPH here.
Boarding for my flight to RKV started five minutes before scheduled departure time. Airside view of Akureyri Airport:
Impressive propeller:
I was greeted by the female flight attendant and took my window seat. This time there were about 45 passengers on board, load factor 90%. After safety demonstration by the flight attendant we taxied on the runway (there is no taxiway), turned around and took off in northern direction. Akureyri Airport:
The City of Akureyri:
Downtown Akureyri:
The church of Akureyri:
Housing area:
Above the mountains:
Unfortunately it was clouded so I wouldn’t see much of the Icelandic highlands once again. The flight attendant performed her drinks service and distributed chocolate. The first officer informed us about our flight route and the weather, this time a bit more detailed than on the outbound flight. The remaining flight was uneventful.
Soon we were close to Reykjavik again:
A ship is crossing our way:
Small islands north of Reykjavik:
Downtown Reykjavik:
.
We had flown in from the North and were now passing by Reykjavik Airport to approach from the South:
.
Final approach:
.
Touch-down was on runway 01. The aircraft taxied to a parking position in front of the terminal building where all passengers left. Bye-bye, TF-JMN:
I collected my luggage and walked the short distance to the central bus station (an advantage of city airports) where I took a bus to Keflavik. I would spend there one more night before flying home to Germany.
Conclusion: I really enjoyed my excursion to the North of Iceland – I got to like this area a lot. Akureyri is a nice small city and the surrounding is beautiful. The Island of Grimsey is very nice as well. I would like to stay there longer than just 1.5 hours, so there is a reason to return.
Air Iceland offers a very good product with reliable flight schedules and friendly employees in the air and on the ground. Their fares are quite competitive; value for money is excellent if you book early in advance. I would definitely fly them again when visiting Iceland in the future.
The Twin Otter flight with Norlandair was something special I wouldn’t want to have missed. Flying in low altitude across the beautiful landscape to the Island of Grimsey was just great. It was like a sightseeing flight, but on a scheduled service.
Thanks for reading my report. Questions and comments are always appreciated.
Palmjet From United Kingdom, joined Nov 2001, 787 posts, RR: 16 Reply 1, posted (1 year 10 months 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 8444 times:
Wow - great report and pics. I was in Reykjavik in early June - about 3 weeks before you but sadly, did not do any domestic flights. I saw a couple of Air Iceland flights come in whilst I was there, and again from the viewing platform in the bell tower of the Hallsgrimkirkja - looks like a great little operation. I was also pleased to see and photograph a newly delivered Air Greenland Dash 8 - 100, when we were leaving KEF. I really enjoyed Iceland as well, and it's a place I'd certainly return to. Thanks for posting your report(s).
Ozark Airlines - When Three Swallows Would Get You There
akhmad From Netherlands, joined Sep 2005, 1950 posts, RR: 53 Reply 2, posted (1 year 10 months 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 8273 times:
Christoph,
Fantastic report with interesting airlines and lovely airports. The Iceland's domestic airports remind me at the romantic flying experience when strict security control was barely enforced and therefore you can freely navigate between the departure and arrival area.
The lady who manages Grimsey impresses me most. She keeps her act together without losing her friendliness and being accomodating to everyone's needs.
I enjoyed your report very much. Thanks for sharing.
FlyingFinn76 From Finland, joined Jun 2009, 1477 posts, RR: 40 Reply 4, posted (1 year 10 months 4 days ago) and read 8027 times:
Hi Christoph!
What a very different and nice report of something that is not often covered here! This is just giving me more reasons to try to put my long-planned Iceland trip into action. Let's see if I can do it.
Grimsey looks like a very cosy little island, although I'm not sure if there'd be enough to see and do for a longer stay...
Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter): This aircraft was built in 1990 and delivered as D-AFKK to DLT which later became Lufthansa CityLine. In 1996 it was transferred to Contact Air but was still flying around on behalf of Lufthansa.
So did you enjoy your time with it?
Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter): So they can only check in one flight to a destination at the same time in order to avoid mixing up the luggage.
Heh, I was once checking in very early for an SK flight MXP-CPH - the agent refused to take my luggage yet as "there is an earlier flight to Copenhagen, your luggage might end up on it if you check it already". Somehow I thought a large international airport like Malpensa would have a bit more sophisticated systems than that, but she was probably just giving me some bs anyway...
Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter): I checked in for my return flight and got my boarding pass, again seat number 4A, and an Arctic Circle certificate, signed by the captain:
How come we never get these in Finland? I'd own quite a few by now
Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter): It was TF-JMN, a different aircraft than on my outbound flight. But ironically, that would only be my third Fokker 50 flight ever, but the second one on this aircraft. The first one had been in 1996 when this bird was still flying for LH, on a STR-FRA flight.
Well, let me tell you something: this bird spent half a year or so leased to airBaltic 2009-2010, during the time I logged six flights with her! Nice to see it back to its native Iceland, though. The cabin shots do bring back memories.
whisperjet From Germany, joined Nov 2007, 533 posts, RR: 10 Reply 5, posted (1 year 10 months 4 days ago) and read 8022 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW PHOTO SCREENER
Hi Christoph,
great trip report to read, especially because I did the same trip just one week before you.
The flight from Akureyri to Grímsey is certainly an exciting experience. I have been lucky to have the seat right behind the cockpit so that I could take some cokpitshots. The plane for my flights was TF-NLD which has a different interior design.
Contact Air From Germany, joined Apr 2001, 1154 posts, RR: 16 Reply 8, posted (1 year 10 months 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 7152 times:
Hi and thanks a lot to all of you for your nice replies!
Quoting Palmjet (Reply 1): I saw a couple of Air Iceland flights come in whilst I was there, and again from the viewing platform in the bell tower of the Hallsgrimkirkja - looks like a great little operation.
Yes, with RKV being that close to city centre, you can get amazing views.
Quoting Palmjet (Reply 1): I was also pleased to see and photograph a newly delivered Air Greenland Dash 8 - 100, when we were leaving KEF.
A really special bird! I also saw one of them from the distance at KEF, but was not able to take a picture as it was gone when I came closer.
Quoting akhmad (Reply 2): The Iceland's domestic airports remind me at the romantic flying experience when strict security control was barely enforced and therefore you can freely navigate between the departure and arrival area.
Me too. I enjoyed this a lot that there is still a place where tight security measures seem to be not necessary and you are free to walk around, take pictures and no-one will stop you.
Quoting akhmad (Reply 2): The lady who manages Grimsey impresses me most. She keeps her act together without losing her friendliness and being accomodating to everyone's needs.
Yes, she is doing an excellent job which must be so much different from working on a large hub airport. The small airport might be more relaxed, but she has to solve all problems on her own.
Quoting 767747 (Reply 3): Nice to read about your trip in Iceland. I really enjoyed visiting that country; would love to go back and visit. Nice photos from your roundtrip!
Thank you, Matthew, for your comment!
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 4): This is just giving me more reasons to try to put my long-planned Iceland trip into action. Let's see if I can do it.
It would be nice to read an Iceland report from your side as well.
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 4): Grimsey looks like a very cosy little island, although I'm not sure if there'd be enough to see and do for a longer stay...
I agree, I wouldn't have to stay there for three weeks. But about two days would be nice. At least it must be very relaxing.
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 4): Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter):
This aircraft was built in 1990 and delivered as D-AFKK to DLT which later became Lufthansa CityLine. In 1996 it was transferred to Contact Air but was still flying around on behalf of Lufthansa.
So did you enjoy your time with it?
Of course!
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 4): Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter):
I checked in for my return flight and got my boarding pass, again seat number 4A, and an Arctic Circle certificate, signed by the captain:
How come we never get these in Finland? I'd own quite a few by now
And Finnair / FinnComm pilots would be very busy, filling out all these certificates every day... In Finnland, large parts of the country are North of the Polar Circle, but in Iceland it is only Grimsey, so it is not too much work for the crews.
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 4): Well, let me tell you something: this bird spent half a year or so leased to airBaltic 2009-2010, during the time I logged six flights with her! Nice to see it back to its native Iceland, though. The cabin shots do bring back memories.
Wow, Air Baltic really offers a lot of variety to their passengers. I must try them out once, too.
Quoting whisperjet (Reply 5): especially because I did the same trip just one week before you.
Hi Stefan, what a coincidence!
Quoting whisperjet (Reply 5): Hope you don't mind me posting the pictures.
I don't mind at all - I enjoyed your pictures a lot. Your cockpit-view pictures are amazing! And I find it also interesting to see the different interior of TF-NLD. I have to say it looks a bit more modern than TF-NLC, although both aircraft are of about the same age.
Quoting eaa3 (Reply 6): Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter):
By the way: I didn’t carry two bags of 21 kg – I have no idea where these figures came from.
I think it means you have bag nr. 2 of 21 or something.
Maybe - although I didn't see them attaching any numbers to the pieces of luggage.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 7): I like these rural routings, you know.
A plane type also still missing in my log.
Hi Markus! Yes, both of us seem to be a fan of exotic routings. The Twin Otter is difficult to get in Central Europe, but I'm sure you will find a way once.
Thule From United States of America, joined Feb 2009, 94 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (1 year 10 months 2 days 14 hours ago) and read 6908 times:
Great to see this one Christoph! I enjoyed my lone F50 flight while I was there last summer, so it's good to see that again along with the Twin Otter which I'm itching to hop on.
Dash-8 flights, with both Air Iceland and Air Greenland, are now a must-do for the both of us!
CrimsonNL From Netherlands, joined Dec 2007, 1422 posts, RR: 43 Reply 10, posted (1 year 10 months 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 6765 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW CHAT OPERATOR
Hello Christoph! Awesome report! I love the pictures of the RKV terminal, they really take me back. This really makes me want to go to Iceland again! I did RKV-VEY on NY in February 08, on the Dash-8. However I'd love to try the Twotter and visit Akureyri!
infodesk From Switzerland, joined May 2006, 976 posts, RR: 24 Reply 12, posted (1 year 10 months 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 6349 times:
Hi Christoph,
What a truly fantastic report about some really unusual flights.
Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter): Check-in on domestic flights officially starts (!) 30 minutes before departure
If only it were always this simple!
Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter): printed my boarding pass which looked more like a supermarket receipt:
I'd have been a bit disappointed with that......
Akureyri looks so pretty with all those coloured buildings, although I guess when the weather is that miserable I'd want to paint my house a bright colour too.
It was a real bonus stumbling upon the museum, the DC-3 is beautiful in the Air Iceland colours.
And as for the twin otter to Grimsey, a really special experience from start to finish. Your window shots are breathtaking.
Thanks for sharing with us & happy flying
Infodesk
"Do nothing in haste, look well to each step and from the beginning think what may be the end" - Edward Whymper
Contact Air From Germany, joined Apr 2001, 1154 posts, RR: 16 Reply 13, posted (1 year 10 months 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 6236 times:
Nice to read some more comments - thanks a lot to all of you!
.
Quoting Thule (Reply 9): Dash-8 flights, with both Air Iceland and Air Greenland, are now a must-do for the both of us!
I agree! Air Greenland is even a bit more special, plus I have never been to Greenland, so this might be an interesting combination for a future Iceland visit.
Quoting CrimsonNL (Reply 10): I love the pictures of the RKV terminal, they really take me back. This really makes me want to go to Iceland again! I did RKV-VEY on NY in February 08, on the Dash-8.
Sound great! I had also looked at VEY (Vestmannaeyjar Islands) as an alternative, but finally decided vor Akureyri and Grimsey.
Quoting CrimsonNL (Reply 10): However I'd love to try the Twotter and visit Akureyri!
So there is a reason to go back to Iceland for both of us.
.
Quoting oa260 (Reply 11): Great report and nice pics something unique to see.
Thanks for the insight
Thank you, Philip!
.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 12): Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter):
Check-in on domestic flights officially starts (!) 30 minutes before departure
If only it were always this simple!
Yes, it was a nice experience - seemed to be so far away from the larger airports in Central Europe.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 12): Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter):
printed my boarding pass which looked more like a supermarket receipt:
I'd have been a bit disappointed with that......
Me too - somehow doesn't fit to the traditional experience of flying that Air Iceland offers. But I guess they have to keep to modern times as well.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 12): Akureyri looks so pretty with all those coloured buildings, although I guess when the weather is that miserable I'd want to paint my house a bright colour too.
Yes, during winter the colourful houses must be a nice contrast to the snowy weather and the darkness.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 12): It was a real bonus stumbling upon the museum, the DC-3 is beautiful in the Air Iceland colours.
Indeed, the DC-3 on the apron was a nice surprise.
Contact Air From Germany, joined Apr 2001, 1154 posts, RR: 16 Reply 15, posted (1 year 10 months 2 hours ago) and read 5881 times:
Hi Pieter and thank you very much for your nice reply!
.
Quoting MH017 (Reply 14): Did you notice, the DHT also sports a Greenland flag, besides the Icelandic one ?
I have to admit that I hand't realized it, but now as you mention it: yes, it is the Greenland flag. Interesting, as Norlandair doesn't have any scheduled flights to Greenland. But they advertise expedition flights to Greenland on their web page, so obviously they see Greenland as part of their network as well.
eaa3 From United States of America, joined Sep 2007, 870 posts, RR: 0 Reply 16, posted (1 year 9 months 4 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 5787 times:
An interesting note about that helicopter. It was active until a couple of years ago when it crashed in the ocean after an engine failure. It was hovering low over the ocean just a couple hundred meters of shore doing a rescue exercise and there were rescue boats close by. No one died or was hurt. The pilots were able to "land" it on the ocean smoothly where the airbags kept it afloat for a while, although it flipped over in the ocean, and then a rescue tug came and attatched a cable to it and brought it back to shore. And that is why an otherwise operational helicopter is in that museum.
The777Man From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 5546 posts, RR: 58 Reply 17, posted (1 year 9 months 4 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 5744 times:
Hi Chtistoph!
Excellent report with great pictures! Something very different! I have been to Iceland but just to Reykjavik and then a tour by car/bus of the southern part of the island. It was a while ago, 1987, but I did fly some interesting aircraft to/from Iceland: 727-100 and DC-8-61/3!
An interesting note about that helicopter. It was active until a couple of years ago when it crashed in the ocean after an engine failure. It was hovering low over the ocean just a couple hundred meters of shore doing a rescue exercise and there were rescue boats close by. No one died or was hurt. The pilots were able to "land" it on the ocean smoothly where the airbags kept it afloat for a while, although it flipped over in the ocean, and then a rescue tug came and attatched a cable to it and brought it back to shore. And that is why an otherwise operational helicopter is in that museum.
Interesting story - good that nobody was injured. Thanks for the additional information!
.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 17): I have been to Iceland but just to Reykjavik and then a tour by car/bus of the southern part of the island.
I liked this part of Iceland very much as well as many of the famous natural sights like the geysers and waterfalls can be found there.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 17): It was a while ago, 1987, but I did fly some interesting aircraft to/from Iceland: 727-100 and DC-8-61/3!
Now that sounds really classy - the good old days...
ODAFZ From Greece, joined Jul 2004, 337 posts, RR: 6 Reply 19, posted (1 year 9 months 3 weeks 4 days 14 hours ago) and read 5215 times:
I read both of your reports on STR-TXL-KEF-TXL-STR and this one.
And i must confide I turned a little green in jealousy reading them.
Thank you for a very nice and outstanding review and for giving us an insight on the beauty of Iceland.Looking forward to other trip reports
Christian
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 5390 posts, RR: 81 Reply 20, posted (1 year 9 months 3 weeks 3 days 4 hours ago) and read 5030 times:
Hi Christoph,
very enjoyable report with many great pictures. The scenery is awesome, I really need to visit Iceland one day.
Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter):
This aircraft was built in 1990 and delivered as D-AFKK to DLT which later became Lufthansa CityLine. In 1996 it was transferred to Contact Air but was still flying around on behalf of Lufthansa.
I flew DRS-MUC on that bird in early 2003, nice to see it again.
Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter): I had chosen this particular flight as it was scheduled to be the only one on that day operated by Dash 8-100, a type that is still missing in my log. But unfortunately, a few weeks after booking this service was upgraded to a Fokker 50, obviously due to the high demand.
That's bad indeed, these kind of aircraft changes are very frustrating.
Contact Air From Germany, joined Apr 2001, 1154 posts, RR: 16 Reply 21, posted (1 year 9 months 3 weeks 2 hours ago) and read 4774 times:
Hi Christian and PH, thank you very much for your nice feedback!
Quoting ODAFZ (Reply 19): Thank you for a very nice and outstanding review and for giving us an insight on the beauty of Iceland.
Thanks to you! Yes, Iceland is really something special.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 20): I flew DRS-MUC on that bird in early 2003, nice to see it again.
Those were the days when LH domestic flights were still served by Fokker 50...
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 20): Quoting Contact Air (Thread starter):
I had chosen this particular flight as it was scheduled to be the only one on that day operated by Dash 8-100, a type that is still missing in my log. But unfortunately, a few weeks after booking this service was upgraded to a Fokker 50, obviously due to the high demand.
That's bad indeed, these kind of aircraft changes are very frustrating.
It is. But at least I don't have to "blame" myself as all other flights on that day were operated by the Fokker 50 as well in the end and the flight time of the flight I had booked was good for an early start so I still had plenty of time at Akureyri on that day which was nice as well.
Sponsor Message: 
From Germany, joined Apr 2001, 1154 posts, 
From United Kingdom, joined Nov 2001, 787 posts, 
From Netherlands, joined Sep 2005, 1950 posts, 
From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 1518 posts, 
From Finland, joined Jun 2009, 1477 posts, 
From Norway, joined Sep 2003, 3752 posts, 
From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 22994 posts, 
From Switzerland, joined May 2006, 976 posts, 
From Greece, joined Jul 2004, 337 posts, 
Sponsor Message: 
Printer friendly format
