VISITING ICELAND IN 2021: Icelandair 757 Saga Premium Review (re-inaugural flight)

Introduction with vaccines now widely available in the u.s international travel is becoming possible again one of the first countries to open up to vaccinated travelers was iceland as soon as they opened their borders i booked a ticket though i didn't intend to it even ended up being the first restored flight out of washington dulles what's it like to fly to iceland in 2021 on iceland air 757 in saga premium let's find out there's just one more thing to say first hell it's about time [Music] Iceland Entry Requirements first let's talk entry requirements of course they are always changing but as of when i took this trip in may 2021 here are the rules for americans one you need to provide proof of vaccination or prior infection no card no admission two you need to complete an entry form no earlier than 72 hours before your flight arrives it includes your flight information and you need to verify your phone number three everyone gets pcr tested upon arrival everyone if you are vaccinated you can go on your way but you're supposed to head directly to your accommodation to quarantine until you get your results and that's it Thoughts on Icelandair so let's now talk about iceland air and my experience flying with them but we need some context iceland has a population of 356 thousand that's less than half of north dakota yet they have a major international airline they even used to have two so i feel like we need to cut them some slack that said there's a lot to be critical of during the pandemic they sold tickets on flights they literally didn't have the planes to operate just to make some money both my flights there and back were cancelled twice nope the call center hold times and music in order to rebook was atrocious check in on both ends was a fiasco the exact wording in my notes is clown show the onboard wi-fi didn't work on any of my flights the plane was downgraded the night before and is saga premium a real international business class experience absolutely not but i'm actually going to go easy on them this time this trip just meant a lot to me personally first it was the first international trip since the pandemic and there's just a joy of travel in my bones second travel is in my blood and i actually took this trip with my whole family who i hadn't seen in a year and a half finally i was last in iceland in 2018. in fact it was the last trip i took before starting this youtube channel that's not a coincidence perhaps someday i'll elaborate Bid for Saga Premium i had paid about 350 for a one-way ticket in economy not economy light but like many airlines icelander has a class up option where you can bid on an upgrade suspecting the re-inaugural flight on the 767 would be fairly empty i low-balled it with just above the minimum offering 190 dollars it was accepted 72 hours before departure there was no notice that i lost my chosen seat when the aircraft was swapped from a 767 to a 757 but i caught it the night before i Check-In didn't check in online as given the documentation requirements and my checked luggage it wouldn't save me any time additionally while icelandair participates in tsa pre-check there's no way to enter your known traveler number online it has to be done in person at check-in hi so i arrived at dulles and headed to the icelander desk there was no line how long did it take to check in four people 24 minutes why the machines were confusing and unfamiliar to the agents it wasn't clear how to check covet vaccine cards and what the entry requirements were based on different nationalities the baggage tag printer jammed then they loaded the wrong size of paper i found it all quite amusing Lounge Access as icelander doesn't have a dedicated lounge outside of reykjavik they partnered to use the air france lounge at least that's what both the website and agents said but i'm not sure air france got the memo because today the air france lounge was closed even though it should have been open some ground experience right there Turkish Airlines Lounge fortunately i could just whip out my priority pass and use the far superior turkish airlines lounge while the wonderful buffet is sadly another casualty of the pandemic the pre-packaged food is actually really good both the cold roast eggplant and chickpeas were tasty and the sandwich turkey of course tasted fresh and was clearly of good quality bread and meat the eponymous 787 soon pulled in and i hope to fly that beauty in business class again next month Boarding and Seat finally i headed to the gate and it was show time saga premium on the 757 is six rows of recliner seats in a 2-2 configuration they are slightly better than domestic us first class but lie flat it's not each seat has 40 inches of legroom and comes with a footrest it's fairly comfortable but recline is limited both usb and full power are available amenity kits have different icelandic themes and today's was a brown kit model on a fox it has the basics but there was nothing memorable and i didn't feel the need to keep it on boarding everyone was handed a bottle of water and a sanitizing kit no pre-departure drink was offered Takeoff flying time was 5 hours and 33 minutes at 37 000 feet Dinner and Entertainment covered meal service remains quite streamlined with a single cold meal offering and no selection and it was beef and shrimp which not everyone eats it reminded me of a bento box and was surprisingly tasty there was a shrimp with salad appetizer and a rare steak again cold with potatoes beans and quinoa for dessert there was a raspberry something made with yogurt or skewer which was quite tasty and refreshingly not overly sweet overall it was decent for a cold meal but nothing was amazing beverage selection is also limited there's beer wine and soda gone is the library of icelandic gin the in-flight entertainment was alright with 34 movies and some videos on iceland though several didn't work as i mentioned before the free wi-fi was also not functioning that was fine for me as i focused on sleeping with such a short flight Landing there's no time for breakfast and before you knew it we were on final approach to keflavak [Music] Conclusion even on the jet bridge you could see and smell the eruptions of fagradal's fiat which is a short 20 minutes away iceland of course needs no introduction you should go now trust me so iceland airs saga premium for an extra 190 bucks one way it felt worth it to me but should it come close to two thousand dollars for a round-trip ticket on par with live flat seats to mainland europe absolutely not it's really just premium economy i'm sorry a nice one but premium economy nonetheless there were also a lot of kinks on this re-inaugural flight that i hope they iron out and that's one of the reasons i don't tend to do inaugural flights as i doubt they are truly representative of what the real experience will be like this year there will be a shocking number of options to fly to iceland but with united and delta also flying 757s iceland air may be as good an option as anything else the ace up their sleeve is the newly recertified 737 max which they fly transatlantic what's that like well be sure to subscribe as that will be coming soon if you like this video click that button and i'll see you on the next one