Icelandair saw passenger numbers surge and performance improve in February 2024

by AvioBlog · 7 Marzo 2024

Icelandair has announced that it experienced a “notable surge” in its performance in February 2024. The Reykjavik-based full-service carrier transported 234,000 passengers during the month, which represents a substantial 17% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

The distribution of these passengers, as revealed by a press release issued by the company, comprised 41% traveling to Iceland, 20% from Iceland, 30% connecting (transit) passengers, and 9% traveling domestically within Iceland itself.

Throughout February, the carrier achieved a system-wide load factor of 76.6%. Elsewhere, on-time performance significantly improved during the month, reaching 84.6% which marked a notable year-on-year increase of 12.6% over February 2023.

In a statement issued by Icelandair concerning the February 2024 results, Bogi Nils Bogason, President and CEO of Icelandair expressed his satisfaction with the strong traffic numbers, highlighting a considerable rise in both international and domestic passenger numbers.

“Our traffic numbers were strong in February, with a significant increase in the number of passengers both in our international and domestic operations,” said Bogason. “It is also great to have reached a higher load factor than in February last year on a 23% increase in capacity.”

“During the month, we used the flexibility of our route network to meet the increased demand on the [connecting] and from markets, driving strong sales in these markets and compensating for the slight decrease in demand in the market to Iceland compared to last year. At the same time, we achieved our best on-time performance in February for years.”

“This success is thanks to the excellent performance of our employees, who managed to maintain smooth flight operations, even despite the latest volcanic eruption in the Reykjanes area that impacted the infrastructure at the airport for a few days,” Bogason added.  

Icelandair is soon to embark on a fleet replacement and modernization program. The carrier currently operates a fleet of 46 aircraft with a further 23 on order. The mainstay of the fleet is the aging Boeing 757-200 of which the carrier has 14 still in service, despite these airframes having an average age of 25.7 years. These are due to be replaced with Airbus A321N LR and XLR variants in the coming years of which the airline has 20 on order.

The carrier also has 14 Boeing 737 MAX 8s (with a further three on order), four 737 MAX 9s, a pair of 757-300s, plus a trio of 767-300ERs that it uses predominantly for west coast US flights from Iceland.