Icelandair is seeking to add some grandeur to the runway with the reveal of its latest special livery to mark 100 years of Icelandic independence and sovereignty.
Proud of its rich Icelandic heritage, the airline has transformed one of its Boeing 757-300’s into a flying piece of artwork bearing the Iceland national flag, bringing passengers closer to the nation’s history before they even step off the plane.
The unveiling of the flag plane livery highlights another special moment in Iceland’s story by sending off passionate Icelandic football fans to support the nation as they make sporting history this summer.
The country is the smallest nation ever to qualify for football’s biggest stage and the airline has put on a special service this summer from Iceland to Russia for supporters.
Members of legendary fan group the ‘Tólfan’ led football fans in the iconic ‘Húh’ thunderclap ahead of boarding the milestone livery for the celebratory flight.
Björgólfur Jóhannsson, chief executive at Icelandair commented: “We wanted to do something remarkable to celebrate this milestone in Iceland’s history and hope that both Icelanders and our guests from across the world enjoy flying in this special livery.
“Together with our Icelandic service we hope that our passengers enjoy time well-travelled with us through experiencing Icelandic culture and heritage before they even step off the plane.”
All of Icelandair’s planes are named after Icelandic volcanoes and spots of natural beauty.
This livery is named ‘Þingvellir’ after Iceland’s breath-taking national park and will make appearances across the network.
It becomes the third in Icelandair’s family of special liveries, joining ‘Hekla Aurora’ and ‘Vatnajökull’ which were introduced in 2015 and 2017 respectively and inspired by the northern lights and Europe’s second largest glacier.
The new flag plane livery also features wonderful touches inside the aircraft to continue the footballing magic, including the illusion of a grass football pitch on the floor.
In addition, headrest covers and on-board coffee cups also showcase the flag colours and with quirky references to Icelandic football.