This has been quite the year for Icelandair
in terms of new partnerships. The Icelandic flag carrier today announced is has signed a codeshare with Italy’s ITA Airways
to connect their networks. This is the sixth new airline Icelandair has joined forces with this year, following Southwest Airlines, Atlantic Airways, Air Greenland, TAP Air Portugal, and Emirates.
Iceland to Italy
The new codeshare agreement will allow customers to travel across the two airlines’ networks on a single ticket, opening new travel possibilities. The codeshare goes into effect on January 20th, 2025, and will allow frequent flyers in the SkyTeam Alliance to use points and miles for flights across Icelandair’s network.
While ITA Airways does not fly to Iceland, Icelandair has daily flights to Milan and Rome from its hub at Keflavik International Airport
(KEF) in the summer season. In celebration of the new agreement, Icelandair confirmed it would be increasing its wintertime frequency to four weekly flights to Rome. Passengers will then be able to connect across ITA Airways’ extensive domestic network Catania and Palermo in Sicily, Naples, Bologna, Florence, Bari, Genoa, Trieste, Lamezia Terme, Venice, and Turin.
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For ITA Airways, this is the 37th airline the carrier has partnered with since launching. Andrea Benassi, General Manager of ITA Airways, noted just how excited the airline is for its newest partnership:
“We are pleased to sign this codeshare partnership with Icelandair. This agreement further enhances ITA Airways’ commercial strategy of growth and opens a privileged access route to all passengers who will benefit from the connectivity via Rome Fiumicino and Reykjavik.
“This agreement marks the Company’s 37th codeshare partnership, an excellent result we have achieved in just over three years”.
The agreement initially covers flights between Iceland and Rome Fiumicino Airport
(FCO) which are operated primarily with the carrier’s Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet and face no direct competition. Icelandair’s link to Milan Malpensa Airport
(MPX) is also operated by the MAX 8 and competes with easyJet and Wizzair.
There is also a weekly Icelandair Boeing 757-200
service from KEF to Verona scheduled for next spring. The airline is phasing out the Boeing 757s in favor of the new Airbus A321LRs it has begun receiving, so flight schedules may change over the coming months.
Creating core connections
Icelandair and ITA confirmed today that they will further expand the partnership and add codeshare options via “many” of the airlines’ mutual European gateways, which includes a significant number of major cities. Speaking on the announcement, Bogi Nils Bogason, CEO of Icelandair, expressed his excitement to be working with the ITA Airways teams:
“We are very pleased to welcome ITA Airways into our esteemed group of airline partners. The codeshare agreement with ITA Airways will offer our customers very convenient connections between the two airlines’ networks. ITA Airways has an extensive route network and offers excellent customer experience.
“We look forward to welcoming ITA Airways passengers on board and extending our comprehensive network throughout Italy and beyond”.
Photo: Icealandair
This has been a busy year for Icelandair in terms of codeshares and new planes. Earlier this month, the airline received its first Airbus A321LR aircraft, which will open up additional opportunities for the airline.
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On the codeshare front, the airline has announced six partnerships this year. The first codeshare partner of the year was revealed in March to be Emirates, Icelandair’s 7th global airline partner at the time. The carrier will also be working with 
Southwest Airlines
in the US carrier’s first partnership as the two airlines look to align their networks in Baltimore/Washington (BWI) initially, followed by other international gateways (Nashville and Denver are rumored to be on the shortlist).
Closer to home, Icelandair announced a partnership with the other two North Atlantic flag carriers, Air Greenland and Atlantic Airways of the Faroe Islands. The agreements will open up flights to Greenland and Vagar to additional travelers from across Icelandair’s North American network and provide for additional Icelandic stopover opportunities as Greenland’s capital opens to international flights.
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Icelandair also announced a codeshare agreement with TAP Air Portugal, another carrier known for its robust stopover program.
Join the conversation
Which Airline Should Icelandair Partner With Next?
The flag carrier of Iceland has long used its strategic position to connect travelers from North America to Europe, often with a complimentary stopover in Iceland. Over the past year, Icelandair has added five new codeshare partners, offering even more one-stop opportunities.
So far, it has announced agreements with Air Greenland (Greenland is set to open three new airports to jets), Emirates (which does not have direct flights to Iceland), TAP Air Portugal (coinciding with the launch of flights to Lisbon), Southwest Airlines (for additional US connectivity), and Atlantic Airways for the Faroe Islands.
Icelandair is not in one of the three major airline alliances, giving it more flexibility in terms of partners. Which airlines do you think would benefit from a codeshare partnership with Icelandair? Which ones have completely different but complementary networks?
