On the day of departure, we headed back to Keflavik via the FlyBus again, arriving at the airport slightly less than 2hrs before our 1105am departure. We were flying Saga Class today, which is the Business Class equivalent at Icelandair. There is a dedicated Saga Premium check-in desk.
Baggage were priority tagged and boarding pass issued.
Security was a breeze was there was Fast Track line for Saga Class passengers. Apparently not all airlines offer it.
Departure hall after security was bright and airy with shops and eateries.
FIDS
Tarmac views. It was predominantly narrowbodies at KEF. Wonder when will the ME3 airlines send their widebodies here.
It was a bit of trek to Icelandair's lounge for premium pax, Saga Lounge. It was located nearer to the C gates at the satellite building than at the main building A gates which my flight would be departing from. Up the escalator to the lounge.
A grand entrance into the lounge.
Near the lounge entrance was the buffet area. It was still mainly breakfast food on offer.
Wide range of beverages available.
Lounge was pretty empty at this time of the day, with various seating options available. Design was understandably very Scandic.
A huge boulder in the middle of the lounge.
Loved the ambience of the lounge.
There were also coffee and tap water stations throughout the lounge. In Iceland, everyone drinks from the tap as the tap water is pure water from the glaciers!!
Tarmac view from lounge.
Grabbed some light bites and a coffee to perk me up.
After a short stay checking out the lounge, headed back to the gate where boarding had just commenced. It was a bus gate and we were funneled into a claustrophobic corridor waiting to board the bus to the aircraft.
10 August 2019
Icelandair
FI 308
Reykjavik Keflavik (KEF) - Stockholm Arlanda (ARN)
B757-200
TF-FIR (70 years of Aviation livery)
Saga Class
Flight Time: 2H47M
A short ride on the tarmac and we reached our B757 aircraft, which would be a beautiful special liveried 70 Years of Aviation aircraft!
Boarded via Door 2. Our beautiful aircraft is named after Europe's biggest glacier, Vatnajokull.
Turned right into the Saga Class cabin. Saga Class in fitted in a 2-2 configuration with 22 seats. The seats were basic but comfortable recliners. Seats were well-padded and fitted with IFE monitors and power supply. On each seat was placed a pillow and blanket. Kinda like SilkAir's Business Class seats on its A320s. I would recommend not to go for the bulkhead as legroom seemed restricted.
Cheeky phrases on the headrest and pillows.
Legroom was decent and there was a footrest (no legrest fitted). Wifi internet was available and was complimentary with unlimited access for Saga Class passengers. In the seat pocket was the usual inflight literature. As there was no one ahead in Row 1, there was no fear of anyone reclining into my face, though recline is only average and not too generous. Saga Class would only be less than half-full on this flight, but Economy seemed packed.
Looking ahead towards the cockpit. The Purser and a junior crew would be serving us today in Saga Class, and the service by the Purser was wonderful!
Boarding a wheelchair passenger.
A bottle of Icelandic glacier water was handed out to each passenger.
Noise-cancellation headsets were also distributed,
Icelandair's fleet. The grounding of the Maxs had affected Icelandair's fleet expansion plans.
Doors closed and safety video played as we started our taxi.
It was a long taxi to the runway.
Tiny aircraft behind us.
Departure from Rwy01. B757s have really steep an powerful takeoffs!
Flew over the entire city of Reykjavik. I am gonna miss this peaceful and uncrowded place.
Landscape of Iceland.
Starting the IFE system. Decided to watch Alita.
View of the Saga Class cabin.
Only a curtain separated Saga and Economy Class.
A peek into the Economy cabin behind. Sometimes, I do appreciate being able to fly upfront in the premium cabins.
Before meal service started, food and wine menus were handed out.
Just a basic wine selection, but I am no wine-connoisseur, so not a concern for me.
Other beverages and the iconic Icelandair gin library.
Food selection for Iceland to Europe flights. Advise: If you are flying in Saga Class, please do yourself a favour and pre-order online. The onboard selection only offered cold meals while hot mains would need to be pre-ordered. The purser came round to confirm our pre-ordered hot mains (Saga Lamb and Saga Fish), and said that we had made the best choices.
A warm dish is offered on the longer Europe-Iceland flights.
Getting cloudy down below.
While enjoying my movie.
Service started with a pack of corn chips nd a beverage of choice. I went for a Riesling.
This was followed by a hot towel in preparation for lunch.
I had pre-ordered the Saga Lamb, which is an Icelandic Lamb dish with potatoes, carrot and peas. It was served along with bread and butter and a dessert. I had an apple juice to go with the meal.
Unrolling the cutlery towel pack, there was salt and pepper.
Metal cutlery
Hard roll and dessert
At first glance, the lamb dish might looked boring and dry, but I swore it was the best red meat I had ever eaten on a plane! When cut, the lamb was still moist and pink in the middle, and tasted very tender with almost melt-in-the-mouth sensation! It was even better than many restaurant-quality lambs!
Finishing up the meal with a light mango and cream pastry and coffee. Overall a very satisfying meal!
My friend had pre-ordered the Saga Fish, which was Arctic Char served on Barley stew. It was equally tasty! An exceptional catering by Icelandair, provided you have pre-ordered their hot meals.
Still cloudy below.
Visit to the very basic and retro lavatory. No additional amenities for Saga Class, and I was more intrigued by the all-in-one handwash.
Tried out the gin library selection with tonic, and the very kind purser offered all the Icelandic gin they had available, and said to take them with me!
Somewhere over Norway.
Duty free sales was offered, and of course I bought the model of the exact aircraft I am flying on right now.
Soon, we were preparing for arrival. Galley was secured, headsets collected, while the purser let me keep the menus (menus were collected by the crew) as souvenirs from the flight.
Descending into a cloudy and rainy Stockholm.
Landing in Stockholm Arlanda Rwy08.
Passed some interesting aircraft during taxi, including a swedavia (airport authority) MD82 used for ground training.
And an antique DC8 which appeared to be well maintained. Not sure if it is still able to fly though.
Reaching the terminal building.
Airbridge connected, doors opened and we were the first to disembarked.
After the peace and quiet in Iceland, it felt overwhelming to be faced with throngs of passengers in the terminal building.
There was quite a wait for the luggage, which eventually turned up with the priority baggage adhered to.
Arlanda Airport was conveniently connected to downtown Stockholm via the 20min Arlanda Express ride.
My hotel, Hotel C Stockholm, was literally just 10 steps from the Arlanda Express station exit. Room was basic but of decent size and cosy.
Grabbed dinner at a popular Swedish restaurant, Stockholm Gastabud, for some traditional Swedish cuisine.
Continued exploring Old Town after dinner.
Back to the newer part of town.
The next morning, the hotel offered an inclusive buffet breakfast. Selection was huge, but the breakfast restaurant was extremely busy.
Headed out to the shopping street. However as it was a Sunday, not all shops were opened. Those opened were operating at reduced hours.
Flea market in the center of town.
Went on an archipelago cruise. Viewing Stockholm and surrounds from the sea. It was also a great way to avoid the frequent thunderstorms throughout the afternoon.
Lunch was included onboard the cruise. The salmon dish was tasty.
The potato dumplings stuffed with mushrooms and lingonberries was excellent!
It was rather quiet on the streets on the Sunday evening.
Dinner at another popular Swedish restaurant, Brinken. We were lucky to be offered a table without reservations as the rest after us without reservations were turned away. The dishes were all very well-prepared and tasty.
Dusk in Old Town
A light breakfast to start the Monday.
Rushed around to do some last minute shopping in the morning.
And grabbed a traditional Swedish Princess cake and Chocolate ball at the popular café Vete-Katten.
Great report of your flight with Icelandair. It looks like you had a good flight with them - service and food looks quite nice!
Thanks for this FR.
Though the catering is of good quality, I find it cheap a tacky to offer half a cake, so that they can make 2 trays with only one cake, especially when there's no appetizer.
The crew seem to be the strong point of FI, but their Saga class is not cheap for a seat that remains like a Y+ one.
To be fair, my ticket was very cheap. Only slightly more than economy at time of booking. Not sure if it was an error fare.