Review: Iceland Saga Class 757-200 Gothenburg To Reykjavik

Review: Iceland Saga Class 757-200 Gothenburg To Reykjavik
What To Do During A Stopover In Iceland
Review: Icelandair Saga Class 757-200 Reykjavik to Gothenburg


Icelandair has always intrigued me. They’re based in one of the most remote countries in the world, with only 320,000 inhabitants. Yet, in June 2016 over 440,000 passengers flew with the airline. When I found a cheap roundtrip fare from Gothenburg, where I live (but not for much longer), I couldn’t resist my urge to visit to Iceland.

Iceland Flight 385
Gothenburg (GOT) to Reykjavik (KEF)
23 May 2016
Depart: 6:35AM
Arrive: 07:30AM
Duration: 2hr55min
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200
Seat: 4K (Saga Class)

Booking

I booked my tickets through Orbitz, where I found the offer. It’s always good to keep an eye out with Icelandair though, as I’ve sometimes stumbled across flights from Scandinavia from $120 roundtrip. In fact, my friends and I found a $300 economy roundtrip ticket from GOT to JFK in August, with two pieces of luggage included. Guess who’s going to New York soon? 😉

Airport & Boarding

We booked these flights insanely early… six months early. It helped us have something to look forward to after our final exams, but little did we know that our school would schedule our senior prom at 7:00pm the night before we left for Iceland (go figure).

I woke up at 4am after leaving prom at around 1am. Luckily, Sweden in May is light 21 hours a day, so we woke up to daylight and before I knew it I was in the SAS lounge.

Cool view from the lounge!
Cool view from the lounge!

Everything spiraled downhill from there, because I realized I’d forgotten quite a few things at home (don’t go on vacation the morning after prom, kids).

Rushing to the gate whilst recording!
Rushing to the gate whilst recording!

Rather hectically we made it to the gate, and I was among the last to board.

My aircraft for today - an Icelandair 757-200.
My aircraft for today – an Icelandair 757-200.

icelandair757atGOT2

Onboard

Icelandair’s Saga Class cabin extends up to six rows, but today it was only four. If you’re lucky, this means you can buy a premium economy ticket, but snag a Saga Class seat.

We settled down in the last row of Saga Class, with only one other person in our cabin. She was seated in row 2. The 2-2 configuration is similar to what you’ll find in US domestic first class. Given that the average Icelandair flight is probably 3-4 hours, that’s not a problem.

Saga Class!
Saga Class!


The seats look a lot like US domestic first class seats.

I actually found the seat to be very comfortable, and it felt much wider than your typical recliner. The legroom and armrests were great. Note that Icelandair only provide amenity kits on flights to the US, not on flights from the rest of Europe to Iceland.

The entertainment system had a large, HD touchscreen with plenty of viewing options.

There was a small, extendable area for our “morning shots”, which we were served by the purser. I’m a big juicer, so I loved the concept (and the flavor of the apple and ginger based juice).

Drink table with "morning shots".
Drink table with “morning shots”.

Pushback began at 6:30am, at which point the safety video began to play. A short taxi later, we spooled up the engines and blasted off runway 21.

'Twas a beautiful morning to fly!
‘Twas a beautiful morning to fly!

The seatbelt sign was turned off ten minutes later. At this point, the service began, starting with hot towels before our pre-ordered meals were brought out. The menu card was really cute, though not too useful in our case.

I loved the presentation of the food, and everything looked really thought through. I tried the duck, since I exempt myself from vegetarianism when I’m flying. That ended up being the only food I left, since I wasn’t keen on it. The rest was delicious – probably the best airplane breakfast I’ve had. The Icelandic inspiration behind the food was clear.

An Icelandair "cold" breakfast.
An Icelandair “cold” breakfast.

There was a tiny shrimp cocktail of sorts, yoghurt and musli, warm and fresh pastries, smoked salmon, brie and duck.

Once the trays were cleared, I decided to try out the recline. It felt similar to your typical recliner at home and was comfortable enough. My post-prom sleep deprivation was starting to get to me at this point, so perhaps that added to my sensation of Saga Class seat induced drowsiness.

Throughout the flight the service was hospitable and charming. The purser did an especially good job, and she wore an authentic smile as she went about her work.

I loved the crew!
The crew was great!

One thing I love about Icelandair is that their entire cabins are filled with witty Icelandic phrases. It adds a personal and cultural touch that conveys an appreciated attention to detail.

icelandair pillow

I rarely use the IFE when I fly, as I prefer to work or listen to podcasts/audiobooks. I often get drowsy when I try to read on planes, so audiobooks work well. On this flight I started listening to Tony Robbins’s latest book after hearing him talk about it on the Tim Ferriss podcast – it made great entertainment, especially since the Icelandair headphones are almost Bose Quality, and had great noise cancelation.

There is also free Wi-Fi with an impressive connection speed!

The views as we flew in over the eastern coast of Iceland were among the best I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t believe I’d be landing on that island soon!

Iceland!
Iceland!

Around 30 minutes before landing I requested a coffee, which the purser gladly served. It came with some tasty Icelandic chocolates.

Pre-arrival coffee.
Pre-arrival coffee.

We soon started our decent toward Keflavik and landed right on schedule. The weather wasn’t great, but I still enjoyed the views on approach. Something about the low clouds made the landscape all the more dramatic.

After a short taxi, we pulled into a bus gate and got to take an awesome nature colored bus to the terminal. My trip to Iceland was off to a good start!

Parked at KEF.
Parked at KEF.

Bottom Line

In conclusion, I had a brilliant flight with Icelandair. Almost every aspect exceeded my expectations.

The food was delicious and well presented. The seat was comfortable, and although nothing revolutionary, it’s by far the best business class product you can fly to Iceland. The service was warm and there was free Wi-Fi, which is a great perk. I wouldn’t hesitate to fly Icelandair again, and I look forward to trying their economy class soon.

For those interested, here’s my full video review of the flight.

Have you flown Icelandair before? If so, what did you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Conversations (42)
The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.
Comment as a member

Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.

Type your response here.

If you'd like to participate in the discussion, please adhere to our commenting guidelines. Anyone can comment, and your email address will not be published. Register to save your unique username and earn special OMAAT reputation perks!

  1. Loading comments…
Recent Comments
The latest from the OMAAT community.

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Kelsey Guest

Firstly, I must implore you, under no circumstance should you fly with Icelandair. In my 23 years of life, I have never suffered such indignity, discourtasy, and injustice. And I am about to tell you why. Not only is their staff rude and happy to disregard what they deem to be an insignificant woman, but they simply refuse to take responsibility for their mistakes. In fact, I might add that they have the gall to blame their clearly undervalued customers for, once again, their mistakes. I am a responsible college student working towards medical school, I work in the surgery department at my local hospital, and I used to pay my way through college by working at coffee shops and cafes. I am no stranger to kindness, hard work, and customer service. So believe me when I say Icelandair has zero understanding of the way America works. I bought a ticket from Denver to London flying via Icelandair for myself and my best friend. That ticket was my Christmas present to her, so this trip meant a lot to us. However, unfortunately on the day of departure, the Denver airport was suffering delays across the board due to high winds. So when my connecting flight was delayed for three hours, I got to the airport with scarcely an hour before my Icelandair departure time. But luckily my friend and I managed to check in and run to the assigned gate ten minutes before departure. But instead of finding someone waiting for the two passengers that were sweating with effort to make that flight, the doors had been closed early and the gate had been abandoned. I tried everything in my power to get the attention of any gate attendant to receive assistance but I was turned away by every individual. While even going as far as to knock on the gate door, it wasn’t until the plane was backing out of the gate (five minutes prior to the scheduled departure time) that two women representing Icelandair appeared from the gate door. I can’t say why one of them couldn’t have stayed at the gate desk to offer help to people in need but regardless, they flat out refused to help me when I asked about our flight, and told me to call Iceland directly before they walked away. I find it hard to believe that the flight put so much importance on leaving early that they left two customers, who were clearly on their way (as we had checked in) but that is exactly what happened. Perhaps it is within the rights of airline staff to make such decisions, however, it is in bad faith and any airline would be happy to reschedule their forgotten customers on the next available flight (especially when taking the wind-related delays into consideration). Any airline aside from Icelandair actually. I called Icelandair, waited an hour to get a hold of a representative, only to be told that it was my fault for missing my flight. I politely argued that not only were there severe delays at the Denver airport, but the plane left early. And instead of an apology, or an offer for the next flight, I was told it is a requirement to check in at the gate an hour early. I then replied by saying we checked in to the airport an hour early, and it doesn’t say on my ticket, your website, or in my email confirmation to be at the gate an hour early. I suppose the customer representative realized they were conveying empty information to defend themselves against blame, and rebutted with “It is common sense to be on time for your flight.”. I was so shocked that I immediately asked to talk with a supervisor. But not much to my surprise, there was no supervisor present. But I suppose in an effort to cover for their mistake, I was put on hold and then offered the next flight to London….if I would pay an extra $1,200 per ticket. And she made sure to cut me off by saying “that is all they can do” for me. I of course refused and asked to be compensated if they could not get me on another flight without fee. Of course, they would not refund me for my already purchased tickets at all and told me to contact the carrier for my connecting flight which had been delayed for three hours since it was their fault I missed the plane, not theirs. Once that conversation was over, and I knew I wasn’t making it for my trip to London, I prioritized getting home instead. I had to find lodgings for the night and pay for another flight home. So then on top of losing all my money for a flight I couldn’t get, my hotels I didn’t stay at, my reservations I missed, my theater tickets that went to waste, the car that didn’t get used, the time off work I had to take (that’s not easy to get when you work in surgery), and more...my friend and I forked out more money just to get home safely. Of course I didn’t drop this issue, however, and after getting home and contacting my connecting flight carrier, I called Icelandair again. I had to wait an hour on the phone that time as well, so I think I must not be the only one having issues if its an hour wait time. This time I was told, they could still do nothing. So I brought up the plane leaving early again and was suddenly put on hold...again. It seems like when they think they could possibly get caught in their wrong-doings, they frantically look for a way around it by putting people on hold and looking for a terrible solution. I was then told I could receive an offer to be refunded for “airport taxes” and that “it wasn’t much” plus it would take 3-5 weeks, and I’d have to file the claim on my own via their website. Knowing I wasn’t going to get anywhere I finally gave up in utter defeat and exhaustion. I know life isn’t fair sometimes but I stood outside holding my phone knowing I had just been wronged. Thank you for taking the time to read my review, I know it is quite the story. But I truly feel the need to inform people of the stance Icelandair takes towards customer service. Please learn from my experience. I know that any other airline such as Southwest, United, JetBlue, American, Delta, etcetera would have gladly helped or guided their customers through such a traumatic event. I honestly don’t know how this airline is still in business if they treat everyone the way they treated me. But what I do know is that I am never offering my business to these people again, and I don’t think you should either.

0
‼ 0
MAKP Member

@reza 1 lavatory just behind the cockpit. Then you have one behind SAGA class right next to first row economy comfort, if you site in economy comfort at the door, you dont have much privacy, people stretch there legs or wait for the can to be free. Or check out; http://www.icelandair.us/information/about-icelandair/our-fleet/boeing-757-200/

0
‼ 0
reza New Member

When sitting on row 1-3, is that the lavatory on the right??

0
‼ 0
Melbcollege Member

@Daniel very good review! Well done! I enjoyed reading it! Keep it up! A lot of momery with Icelandic air flights!

0
‼ 0
Aaron Diamond

Why are people getting so worked up about other people getting so worked up?

0
‼ 0

Save posts to read later

Saving posts is a member feature. Become an OMAAT member to build a reading list you can come back to from any device.

Become a member