The premier Icelandic airline, Icelandair saw passenger numbers fall by 5 percent in July to 519,000. The airline also saw its overall load factor fall down to 85.3 percent, with the biggest falls in the North America route market, down 8.9 percent over the same period last year. Routes to North America achieved 81.9 percent, whereas the routes to Europe saw increases up to 90.7 percent
The number of passengers on domestic and regional flights was just short of 32,000, decreasing by 14 percent compared to July last year. This large decrease was blamed on the fact that the airline halted flights to Belfast, Aberdeen and between Keflavik and Akureyri from the middle of May.
The airline is facing increased competition in the marketplace, particularly to North America, which is driving down the fares, especially during peak travel periods. There has been a major cost-cutting and reorganisation exercise at Icelandair in recent times, which may see further cuts and amalgamations.
| INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS | JUL 18 | JUL 17 | CHG (%) | YTD 18 | YTD 17 | CHG (%) |
| Number of Passengers | 519,332 | 545,230 | -5% | 2,295,185 | 2,297,565 | 0% |
| Load Factor | 85.3% | 89.2% | -3.9 ppt | 80.2% | 82.9% | -2.7 ppt |
| Available Seat KM (ASK´000,000) | 1,942.3 | 1,906.9 | 2% | 9,010.2 | 8,560.4 | 5% |
| Revenue Passenger KM (RPK´000,000) | 1,656.3 | 1,700.6 | -3% | 7,230.6 | 7,100.9 | 2% |
| Stage length (KM) | 3,244 | 3,079 | 5% | 3,172 | 3,053 | 4% |
| DOMESTIC AND REGIONAL FLIGHTS | JUL 18 | JUL 17 | CHG (%) | YTD 18 | YTD 17 | CHG (%) |
| Number of Passengers | 31,523 | 36,550 | -14% | 187,988 | 197,078 | -5% |
| Load Factor | 72.4% | 69.7% | 2.6 ppt | 63.8% | 66.3% | -2.5 ppt |
| Available Seat KM (ASK´000,000) | 19.0 | 26.7 | -29% | 111.9 | 117.4 | -5% |
| CHARTER FLIGHTS | JUL 18 | JUL 17 | CHG (%) | YTD 18 | YTD 17 | CHG (%) |
| Fleet Utilisation | 90.9% | 100.0% | -9.1 ppt | 93.4% | 96.7% | -3.3 ppt |
| Sold Block Hours | 2,669 | 2,489 | 7% | 20,353 | 15,151 | 34% |
| CARGO | JUL 18 | JUL 17 | CHG (%) | YTD 18 | YTD 17 | CHG (%) |
| Freight Tonne KM (FTK´000) | 10,081 | 10,778 | -6% | 70,925 | 65,004 | 9% |
| HOTELS | JUL 18 | JUL 17 | CHG (%) | YTD 18 | YTD 17 | CHG (%) |
| Available Hotel Room Nights | 51,475 | 45,647 | 13% | 230,979 | 222,080 | 4% |
| Sold Hotel Room Nights | 43,276 | 39,882 | 9% | 179,815 | 178,303 | 1% |
| Occupancy of Hotel Rooms | 84.1% | 87.4% | -3.3 ppt | 77.8% | 80.3% | -2.4 ppt |
(photo Icelandair)