Which Icelandair Planes Have The Largest Business Class Cabins?
With its designation of Saga Premium, Icelandair has one of the coolest names around for a business class cabin. Every passenger-carrying jet in the Icelandic flag carrier’s fleet has a Saga Premium section onboard, but the exact number of seats available varies between aircraft types. Let’s see what the differences are.
The Boeing 767
As you might expect, Icelandair‘s most extensive business class cabins can be found onboard its only widebodies, which come in the form of Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. According to data from ch-aviation.com, these jets have 25 Saga seats.
It is worth noting that these are not flatbeds as you might expect on a twin-aisle airliner, but, instead, they are recliner seats with a pitch of 40 inches. However, given Iceland’s relatively central location between North America and mainland Europe, its flights to the US and Canada won’t be as lengthy as those operated by other European flag carriers. As such, a recliner might provide sufficient comfort.
Photo: Markus Mainka/Shutterstock
Another notable aspect of Saga Premium on Icelandair’s Boeing 767s is the way in which the 25 seats are laid out. A quick look at data from aeroLOPA shows that this is done in a five-abreast setup, with the recliners placed in a 2-1-2 configuration. As such, passengers in the solo central seats can use the aisle on either side!
The Boeing 757
As well as flying 16 passenger-carrying Boeing 757-200 aircraft, Icelandair is also a rare operator of the stretched-fuselage 757-300 model. Today, it has just two of these ‘flying pencils’ left in its fleet, and the Saga Premium cabins consist of 22 recliners with a 40-inch seat pitch. They are laid out four-abreast in a 2-2 configuration that resembles the domestic first class of US carriers.
When it comes to the Boeing 757-200, Icelandair’s mainline operations see two different layouts. Most aircraft have the same 22-seat Saga Premium as the larger 757-300, along with 161 economy class seats. However, a handful are configured slightly differently, with fewer Saga (20) and more economy class (164) seats.
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
There is one notable exception to this rule, which technically has the largest business class cabin of any Icelandair jet. Registered as TF-LLL, this particular Boeing 757-200 has been refitted with an 80-seat all-business-class configuration and leased to National Geographic for a luxury world tour. However, as it doesn’t operate scheduled flights, it is no more than an honorable mention.
The Boeing 737 MAX
Icelandair’s smallest jet-powered passenger-carrying planes are its Boeing 737 MAX jet, and the Icelandic flag carrier has 14 MAX 8s and four MAX 9s at its disposal. While these differ in terms of economy capacity, Saga is the same.
Specifically, each seats 16 Saga Premium passengers in a 2-2 layout. Their legroom is consistent with the carrier’s larger aircraft types, with the seat pitch clocking in at 40 inches. Going forward, Icelandair will grow its narrowbody fleet with orders for another two MAX 8s. It will also receive four Airbus A321LRs and 13 A321XLRs, so it will be interesting to see how these are configured.
Sources: aeroLOPA, ch-aviation.com
