Times are changing at Iceland Express: greener planes and pastures new

Icelandic budget airline Iceland Express has announced the introduction of two fuel-efficient Boeing aircraft to its service, as well as flights to London Gatwick from spring 2009.

Iceland Express has announced changes to its upcoming winter timetable, which includes a delay in the introduction of the low cost airline’s new five-times-weekly service connecting Reykjavik and London Gatwick.

Birna Gudmundsdottir, marketing manager for Iceland Express, said: “We have decided to move the launch of this exciting new service to the spring as it is the peak travel season for Iceland. While the number of bookings has never been higher for Iceland Express, we do not want the current increase in fuel costs to impact on the ticket prices for our customers”.

The low cost flights to Iceland from Gatwick will be in addition to Iceland Express’s popular daily service from Stansted, which will continue as usual.

“We have wanted to expand into Gatwick for some time and the decision by British Airways to suspend its services to Reykjavik earlier this year means that the time is now right to do so,” Gudmundsdottir said this spring. The time of the launch may now have changed, but the sentiment has not.

“Iceland Express is remaining cautious in the current uncertain economic climate, while continuing to deliver the best possible service at the best possible price. Iceland Express is a budget airline and we want to ensure it stays that way.”

The Icelandic budget airline also announced recently that it will be introducing two Boeing 737-700s from September. The aircraft are more environmentally-friendly and will result in up to a 40 percent reduction in fuel costs for Iceland Express.

Launched in 2003, Iceland Express is Iceland’s low-fare airline connecting the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik with 14 airports in Europe: Copenhagen, London, Alicante, Basel, Berlin, Billund, Eindhoven, Frankfurt Hahn, Friedrichshafen, Gothenburg, Paris, Stockholm, Barcelona and Warsaw.

For more information on Iceland Express or to book flights online, go to www.icelandexpress.com.