Like other northern carriers, Icelandair will switch to winter schedules on Sunday, October 26. This is based on IATA slot seasons. The day before, it’ll launch flights from its Keflavik hub to Miami. Timed at up to 8h 40m, it will become the airline’s new longest service. I’m sure it’ll be in my Weekly Routes article (see the most recent edition).
It will be the second time the South Florida city has ever had scheduled passenger flights to Iceland. According to Cirium Diio data, they first existed in 2017/2018, when the now-defunct WOW Air served it aboard its Airbus A330-300s. Icelandair will do things quite differently.
Icelandair’s Miami Flights Begin Next Week
Unlike WOW Air’s A330s, Icelandair will use the far smaller, less expensive, and less risky A321LR. According to ch-aviation, it now has four LRs, although two additional frames will be leased. Each aircraft has 187 seats, comprising 22 in SAGA Premium (recliners; 2-2; 42″ pitch) and 165 in economy class (3-3; 31″). I’m excited to join the carrier on its new 
Miami route in November.
The A321LR is the airline’s highest-capacity narrowbody. It’ll serve Miami three times weekly. However, due to the stage length, the operating aircraft will remain overnight in South Florida. It’ll arrive at 20:55 and leave at 17:15 the next day. As you might expect, this is to maximize two-way connectivity across Europe, which will be vital for filling its aircraft.
|
Days |
Keflavik To Miami; Local Times |
Days |
Miami To Keflavik; Local Times |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays |
FI691: 17:15-20:55 (8h 40m) |
Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays |
FI690: 17:15-05:55+1 (7h 40m) |
It Will Be Icelandair’s New Longest Route By Time, But Not Distance
Analyzing the airline’s schedule shows that no other route has a maximum block time of 8h 40m or more. This is the case for both winter and summer. As shown below, it will surpass Orlando for the longest link title. When Miami flights begin, Icelandair will serve two airports in Florida for the first time.
Icelandair appears to have only ever had one longer passenger operation by time. It was to 
San Francisco, which was part of its network between 2005 and 2006 and again from 2018 to 2019. With a block time of up to 8h 55m, the 767-300ER was nearly always used. Perhaps San Francisco will see Icelandair’s A321XLRs, which will begin to be delivered towards the end of the decade.
|
Maximum Block Time: Summer 2025 To Summer 2026* |
Nautical Miles (km)** |
Route |
|---|---|---|
|
8h 40m |
3,184 |
Keflavik to Miami |
|
8h 20m |
3,071 |
Keflavik to Orlando |
|
8h 10m |
3,101 |
Keflavik to Denver |
|
8h 10m |
3,248 |
Keflavik to Portland |
|
8h 00m |
3,147 |
Keflavik to Seattle |
|
* April 2025 to October 2026 |
** Great circle |
Icelandair’s A321LR Operations During The Winter
The carrier will maintain winter schedules from October 26 until March 28. During this period, its 187-seat A321LRs will operate the routes shown above, although some will only see the Airbus narrowbody once or twice across the whole season.
Keflavik to Seattle will be the A321LR’s most popular market during the off-season. The single-aisle will operate daily through March 26. The variant’s Seattle frequency will rise to two daily on March 27, which will be maintained through May. The A321LR will then cease being flown on that route, with New York JFK and Newark becoming the primary routes.
