The year 2023 was the last year of the ramp-up of our operations following the pandemic. Revenue generation was very strong during the year with record unit revenue, reflecting the strong demand in all our markets, especially from North America to Iceland. The number of passengers continued to increase during the year, reaching similar numbers as in the record year 2019.

The total number of passengers on international and domestic flights was around 4.3 million in 2023, an increase of 17% compared to 2022. The to market with Iceland as a destination and the via market, the market between Europe and North America, were our largest markets, accounting for 38% of total passengers each. However, the via market, grew the most, or by 22%. The from market, with travel originating in Iceland, accounted for 18% of our total passengers. The domestic operation within Iceland accounted for 6% of total passengers.

The passenger load factor of the year was 81.5%, up by nearly 2 percentage points between years.

Our passenger flight schedule, as measured in available seat kilometers, increased by 18% compared to 2022. We offered flights to 55 destinations, compared to 51 in 2022. We made significant strides in enhancing the breadth and depth of our schedule in 2023. We launched five new gateways to Detroit, Prague, Crete, Tel Aviv, and Verona and re-introduced Barcelona to our network. The depth of our schedule was reinforced by operating multiple connecting banks to eight North American destinations and ten European destinations which increase the weekly frequency across our gateways. Following the successful relocation of Nuuk and Illulissat operations from Reykjavík Airport to Keflavik in 2022, all regional flights were transferred to Keflavik, streamlining our operation, enhancing efficiency, and improving the transfer customer experience. In addition, in the fall 2023 we operated flights between Akureyri and Keflavik airport as a pilot project to better connect our regional operations to our international network.

Icelandair’s network is bolstered by six strategic airline partnerships that provide our customers with an extended selection of connections and global destinations. In 2023, we signed and implemented a codeshare with Turkish Airlines, and signed an LOI with Atlantic Airways. Icelandair’s portfolio of strategic partnerships drove a record-breaking year for revenues in 2023.

Icelandair’s capacity increase in 2024 is around 11% between years. This growth is mainly in the first half of the year with focus on destinations in North America where demand has been very strong. Icelandair started scheduled flights to Verona at the end of 2023 and to Innsbruck in January 2024 to meet strong demand from Iceland to ski areas in Europe. In total, Icelandair will fly to 57 destinations in 2024 and has introduced three new destinations that will be added to the route network in the spring and summer – Pittsburgh, Halifax and the Faroe Islands.