If your travel budget is on a diet then you, yes, *you* at home, can enjoy Icelandair's new Economy Light!

Interesting concept. Wonder what the penalty is when you show up and your bag is 22 1/2 pounds.


Per their statement:

Reykjavik, Iceland, October 4, 2017 – Today, Icelandair released a new pricing structure giving passengers more fare options when booking travel. The newest fare level, Economy Light, will reward passengers who travel with less, while providing the same on-board service and amenities Icelandair passengers have grown to expect. Economy Light passengers will be able to pre-select their seats in the same Economy Cabin as other passengers, with an allowance of up to 10kg (22lbs) of carry-on luggage included.

“We are making some progressive changes in our service and among those is Economy Light. This option is designed for travellers taking a short weekend getaway or a quick business trip abroad. The new fare is also perfect when traveling with family members that don´t require additional luggage such as children or couples who can pack together. These passengers will enjoy the same quality of service from Icelandair including in-flight entertainment, non-alcoholic beverages, gate-to-gate wi-fi access and comfortable, spacious seats,“ says Guðmundur Óskarsson SVP of Sales & Marketing.

As part of the new structure, Icelandair Economy Class will become Economy Standard, and Icelandair Economy Class Flex will become Economy Flex. Both these fares still offer competitive pricing and greater flexibility, along with one checked bag and one carry-on bag included.

“We are widening our product options and meeting the various needs of our passengers. This will make traveling more flexible and affordable and better serve the many different types of travellers who fly with us,” says Oskarsson.

Icelandair has been in operation since 1937 and celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. As an aviation pioneer, Icelandair continues to grow by adding new aircraft to its modern fleet, more destinations and popular amenities including over 600 hours of personal in-flight entertainment and gate-to-gate Wi-Fi access available on all routes. Today, the company flies to 20 North American gateways and more than 25 cities in Europe. It´s projected that Icelandair will transport four million passengers in 2017.

Icelandair also allows passengers to take an Icelandair Stopover for up to seven nights at no additional airfare on their journey between Europe and North America.

We have this at SAS called SAS Go Light, no one ever checks the weight of the hand luggage or amount brought onboard. It's a feast for the passenger, not so much for the crew working the flight.

stlgph wrote:

Wonder what the penalty is when you show up and your bag is 22 1/2 pounds.

If it's anything like other airlines, 20% of the gate agents will make you pay to check it, and 80% of the gate agents won't give a damn.

SK4007 wrote:

We have this at SAS called SAS Go Light, no one ever checks the weight of the hand luggage or amount brought on board. It's a feast for the passenger, not so much for the crew working the flight.

I agree. This is just another way for Icelandair to make more money. Soon, you pay more for your baggage than the flight itself.

I am a fan of SAS and I do not like the Go Light product and I feel bad for the flight attendants. PLUS, ever since this concept was introduced, boarding takes a lot longer because no one checks the carry-on and people bring way too much stuff on board with them.

I do not think it is especially to make more money, but rather to compete with WOW. FI still offers the normal tariff, now called economy standard.
The only thing you give up with booking Economy Light, is the bag in the hold (23kg).

Usually if you book WOW and add luggage, the price is quite similar to FI. It is still more expensive at FI to booking one way.

So if I understand this correctly, it is not like AA's basic economy where you cannot select seats and includes only a personal item? As in, it's a cheaper fare that includes a carry on, seat selection but no checked bag?
Sorry for my confusion.

Pretty sure you need to already pay for food onboard, so this is another example of airlines pretending to offer more than it actually is, at the cost of raised prices for the rest of fares.

Yeah, they should have just bit the bullet and said they are charging for checked bags except on Flex and Saga fares if they were going to go the bag fee route.

jeffh747 wrote:

So if I understand this correctly, it is not like AA's basic economy where you cannot select seats and includes only a personal item? As in, it's a cheaper fare that includes a carry on, seat selection but no checked bag?
Sorry for my confusion.

Yes

kimimm19 wrote:

Pretty sure you need to already pay for food onboard, so this is another example of airlines pretending to offer more than it actually is, at the cost of raised prices for the rest of fares.

Did you actually check the fares ?
Buying Economy Light and then adding a checked bag is more expensive than an Economy Standard ticket.
Economy Light is cheaper than Economy Standard.
Food is only included in Saga Class and Economy Comfort tickets, that has been the case since 2010.

drdisque wrote:

Yeah, they should have just bit the bullet and said they are charging for checked bags except on Flex and Saga fares if they were going to go the bag fee route.

You have your checked bag also on economy standard, not on economy light.

kimimm19 wrote:

Pretty sure you need to already pay for food onboard, so this is another example of airlines pretending to offer more than it actually is, at the cost of raised prices for the rest of fares.

Soft drinks, along with tea and coffee, are complimentary aboard Icelandair flights.
Seat selection is also complimentary, which is a big distinction when you compare Icelandair's economy light product to that of US Carriers, and some European airlines.

mjoelnir wrote:

drdisque wrote:

Yeah, they should have just bit the bullet and said they are charging for checked bags except on Flex and Saga fares if they were going to go the bag fee route.

You have your checked bag also on economy standard, not on economy light.

Right, what I'm saying is that if they wanted to start charging bag fees, they should have just taken away checked bags from their base economy fare and then charged to check bags, rather than creating two separate fare classes, one with checked bags and one without.

drdisque wrote:

mjoelnir wrote:

drdisque wrote:

Yeah, they should have just bit the bullet and said they are charging for checked bags except on Flex and Saga fares if they were going to go the bag fee route.

You have your checked bag also on economy standard, not on economy light.

Right, what I'm saying is that if they wanted to start charging bag fees, they should have just taken away checked bags from their base economy fare and then charged to check bags, rather than creating two separate fare classes, one with checked bags and one without.

You realize that what you are suggesting would increase the fare for all economy passengers with checked bags ?

Yes, this is what most of the US carriers did on flights within North America and what WOW does and it works for them. Icelandair would just be matching WOW, other than that they would still include a regular sized carry-on, which is probably OK considering they use the 757 and 767 for most routes, which has a good amount of bin space per passenger.