New Routes of the Day (6 July 2022): Icelandair between Reykjavik KEF and Nice/Rome FCO

Icelandair (IATA code FI) began not one, but two new routes on Wednesday 6 July. That day saw the launch of 2-weekly service from Reykjavik KEF to both Nice in the south of France and Rome FCO. The 2,940-kilometre Nice service will operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays until 27 August. The 3,325-kilometre connection to the Italian capital will operate on Wednesdays and Sundays until the end of October. While the Nice route is not served by any other carrier, Wizz Air is already operating 3-weekly on the Rome route. Neither ITA Airways nor newcomer PLAY are currently connecting the capitals of Italy and Iceland.

Several US routes not yet resumed

Analysis of Cirium data shows that Icelandair’s flights are down 10% in August 2022 compared with 2019, with capacity down 15% as the airline replaced many of its classic 757s with 737 MAX 8s and 9s. Compared with August 2019, apart from Nice and Rome, Icelandair has added the following routes:

• Alicante: 10 February 2022
• Baltimore/Washington: 13 May 2022
• Raleigh/Durham: 12 May 2022
• Tenerife TFS: 1 May 2021

Routes not served this summer, that were flown in August 2019, are Anchorage, Düsseldorf, Edmonton, Kansas City, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Some of these