Icelandic startup Niceair gets its first A319

All images: Þórhallur Jónsson - Pedro Pictures

A few weeks ago I reported on The Points Guy how a startup airline aimed to connect the remote north of Iceland to several European cities nonstop.

This is, admittedly, a very niche market, but, the logic goes, one with enough existing and latent demand to support at least one Airbus A319 aircraft. After all, the Faroe Islands have a similar population and tourist flow as the north of Iceland and they have their own airline with no less than 3 A320s and, at some point before the pandemic, were even considering launching direct flights to the US!

It is not that Iceland lacks air connectivity, but the fact that Akureyri, where this new airline is based, is a loooong way from Keflavik international airport and that the north of Iceland has a different profile of visitor (very often they are people that have already been to Reykyavik and the most visited areas in the southwest of the island.

So, this week, Niceair (such is the name of the airline) received its first aircraft, an A319 wet-leased from Portuguese ACMI and charter operator Hi Fly.

The arrival to Akureyri international airport of this first A319 (the founders do not rule out expanding the fleet later on if the launch and initial stages of the operation are successful) is as good an excuse as any other to contemplate the grand Icelandic landscapes!

AirlinesMiquelJune 1, 2022Niceair, Airbus A319Comment