Icelandair has a flexible fleet that marries commonality with varying sizes, capabilities, and ownership costs. At year end 2023, the Group's fleet comprised a total of 48 aircraft, thereof, 9 aircraft assigned to Loftleiðir-Icelandic and 3 aircraft to Icelandair Cargo. Out of these 48 aircraft in total, sixteen are classified as operating leases. The fleet will continue to grow in 2024, and the number of aircraft in operation by summer 2024 will be 53.
| Change from 31.12.22 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -2 | ||||
| 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 14 | 2 | |||
| 4 | 4 | |||
| 1 | ||||
| B737-800 | 1 | |||
| 3 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 3 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 3 |
Icelandair has invested USD 720 million in fleet renewal in the international passenger network since 2018 with older aircraft phased out for more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly B737 MAX.
In summer 2024, a total of 42 aircraft will be utilized in the route network, two more than in summer 2023. The international routes will be served by 12 B757 aircraft, 3 B767 aircraft, and 21 B737 MAX aircraft. The domestic and regional flights will be operated with 6 DHC aircraft.
Icelandair operates flight simulators for Boeing 757, Boeing 767, and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft at the Company's training facility in Iceland. The facility is well utilized year-round, for Icelandair and several other airlines.
In our state-of-the-art training center, we have for decades trained all our pilots and cabin crew. Additionally, numerous international airlines have sent their pilots to us for necessary simulator training. In 2023, we started our most exciting project to date, training for the Airbus A321 that we will start introducing into our fleet in 2024.
Guðmundur Tómas Sigurðsson
Head of Training
Guðmundur Tómas Sigurðsson
Head of Training
2023 was an eventful year for fleet renewal in the international network. Early year Icelandair Cargo took delivery of the second of two B767 cargo freighter. Icelandair took delivery of two 737 MAX aircraft intended for the network and one DHC-8 Q400 was also added to the Regional/Domestic network before the summer. Delivery was taken of one additional B737-800 intended for Icelandair’s leasing channel.
The future fleet strategy of Icelandair has been thoroughly reviewed in recent years, where options for fleet renewal and growth have been carefully identified. Re-fleeting options included the 737 MAX as well as the Airbus A320 family. Dialogue with the respective aircraft manufacturers was concluded early 2023 with a historic purchase agreement with Airbus for 13 A321XLR, long range single aisle aircraft, with purchase rights for 12 more. The A321 will become the successor of the Boeing 757 that has been the cornerstone of our operations since 1990. The new and efficient Airbus aircraft will help us to further develop our network and open new and exciting markets.
The first XLR’s are scheduled for delivery in 2029, but we plan to have the first Airbus aircraft (A321LR) in operation in 2025. In addition lease agreements were finalized for seven A321LR. Four of those aircraft are to be delivered before summer 2025 and three for summer 2026. The A321LR are intended to replace the B757.
The strong foundation we have with our current fleet and firm commitments we have significant flexibility to scale the operation to desired levels in the future.