Icelandair seeing benefit of economic crisis

Icelandair has announced an increase in sales to UK passengers over the past year, a trend the airline attributes to the recent economic downturn.

The carrier said that Iceland's financial problems have brought increased attention to the country and made British travellers aware of the favourable exchange rate.

Lonely Planet also provided a boost to the destination's tourism industry by listing it as the year's best value destination in its World Travel Guide for 2010.

Birkir Holm Gudnason, chief executive of Icelandair, said it is a "great time" to visit Iceland, because "as a traveller you simply get more for your money than ever before".

UK general manager Hjorvar Saeberg Hognason added: "If you compare what a pound got you on February 1st 2008 to February 1st 2010, you see an increase of 57 per cent, so you can see why UK passengers are heading to Iceland in droves to experience the breathtaking nature and enjoy activities like searching for the northern lights."

Icelandair offers flights to Reykjavik from Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport and Glasgow Airport.

Posted by Andrew, 08 March 2010 09:48

News tags

• Reykjavik
• Icelandair