Summary
- Icelandair experienced a big increase in passenger traffic in 2023, with a 17% rise in comparison with the previous 12 months. That is on account of increased capability and demand for air travel.
- The carrier’s connecting markets also saw exponential growth, resulting in the announcement of their largest-ever summer schedule for 2024.
- Despite the positive passenger numbers, the airline faced challenges with strikes by Icelandic air traffic controllers, impacting their on-time performance and passenger count in December.
Iceland’s flag carrier, Icelandair, saw a marked increase in passenger traffic year-over-year in 2023. The entire passenger count for the 12 months was 17% higher than in 2022. The rapid passenger increase directly correlates with increased capability and demand for air travel throughout 2023. Icelandair saw a welcome rise in demand, propelling its operations to pre-pandemic level figures.
Photo: Pavel1964 | Shutterstock
Along with the rise within the variety of passengers, the carrier’s connecting markets have also grown exponentially over the past 12 months. Icelandair recently announced its largest-ever summer schedule for 2024 to maintain up with the influx of passengers.
Passenger increase
Icelandair Chief Executive Officer and President Bogi Nils Bogason said the advance underscores the airlines’ position in Iceland’s tourism industry. Furthermore, Bogason celebrated the impressive passenger figures for 2023 in addition to looked ahead to what’s to are available in 2024, stating:
“In 2023, the variety of passengers continued to extend, reaching similar numbers as within the record 12 months 2019. That is the results of the tireless work and dedication of the Icelandair team all year long. I would really like to thank them for his or her efforts through the 12 months.”
“Looking ahead, we’re excited for the 12 months 2024. We are going to fly to over 50 destinations in our route network and there of three recent destinations – Faroe Islands, Pittsburgh and Halifax. Our fleet renewal will proceed where the highlight is the introduction of brand-new Airbus aircraft into our fleet next autumn, along with many other projects corresponding to moving to our recent headquarters before the tip of the 12 months.”
Contained in the numbers
In 2023, the airline carried 4.3 million passengers, showing an improvement of 17% in comparison with the number flown in 2022. Moreover, Icelandair transported 246,000 passengers in December, a copious 13% increase year-on-year. Furthermore, the variety of passengers connecting on Icelandair represented essentially the most growth, with a 22% increase from last 12 months. In 2023, 1,644,362 passengers flew on the airline on a connecting flight, almost 300,000 greater than the 1,348,694 passengers recorded in 2022. Furthermore, in December, 119,931 travelers were transported via a connecting flight, nearly 40,000 greater than the 85,030 recorded in 2022, showing a positive surge of a staggering 41%.
In accordance with the airline, in December, Icelandair flew 263,616 passengers, with 30% of passengers traveling to Iceland, 17% from Iceland, 45% were via passengers (connecting passengers), and eventually, a mere 7% were traveling inside Iceland. Despite the rise in passengers in December, the load think about December 2023 was barely lower than levels in the identical period last 12 months. The carrier’s load think about December 2023 was 72.4%, just under the load factor levels in December 2022 of 73%, while its on-time performance amounted to 67%. Nevertheless, the load think about 2023 climbed 3.0 percentage points to 77% from 2022 levels, which were 74%.
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The commercial motion of the Icelandic Air Traffic Controllers significantly hindered the airline’s on-time performance and variety of passengers carried in December. In the course of December, Icelandic air traffic controllers at Iceland’s two major airports, Keflavik International Airport (KEF) and Reykjavik Airport (RKV), went on two rounds of strikes because the air traffic controllers demanded higher compensation. This was the third strike by air traffic controllers prior to now five years. The strikes result in flight disruptions for 1000’s of Icelandair passengers just before Christmas, a busy and lucrative air travel period.
1000’s Of Icelandair Passengers Disrupted: ATC Strikes To Cost Airline Up To $7 Million
Icelandic air traffic controllers are demanding a wage increase.
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