In 3 weeks, on June 22, the airline IcelandAir will inaugurate a direct line to Israel 3 times a week. This line arouses great interest and excitement in the field of aviation and religious tourism.
About five years ago, the Icelandic airline WOW operated a direct route from Tel Aviv to Reykjavik, which was a great success. Not only because the company offered cheap connecting flights to New York, which were especially used by the ultra-orthodox sector, but also for curious religious tourists who want to experience new and special places. The late WOW airline went bankrupt within a few years, and as a result Israeli tourism to Iceland almost died out. Is the “boom” now going to resume?
Icelandair is going to operate 3 weekly flights to Israel, on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, on Boeing 737 Max planes. Icelandair has 29 different models in its fleet. The airport is at the edge of the flight range of the 737 Max aircraft that take off from Reykjavík, but within the range of the Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft in Icelandair’s fleet.
The flights should last 7 hours (and return flights to Iceland about 7 and a half hours). The flight from Reykjavík marked FI552 will take off 5 minutes before midnight, and will land in Tel Aviv the next day 5 minutes before 10 am. The flight in the opposite direction FI551 will take off from Tel Aviv at 11:10 B.C.
The passenger cabin of the 737 Max plane that will be operated on the route to Israel
The sales representative of Icelandair in Israel, the company Peace Air, reports that the price of flight tickets in tourist class will be from $450 in the winter season to $1500 in the peak of the summer tourist season. Flight ticket prices in the SAGA PREMIUM and SAGA PREMIUM FLEX luxury classes will range from 1500 to 2500 dollars.
As mentioned, Iceland is also considered attractive as a stopover for passengers looking for cheap flights to America. The price of a plane ticket to New York on Icelandair will start from 605. A competitive price not only for airlines like El Al and American that operate a direct route, but also competitive for companies with a connection like Air France or KLM.
For travelers to America, Icelandair also offers a Stopover service that allows us to add a stay in Iceland, without additional payment as required by other airlines. As you know, in other companies if the connecting passenger does not get on the next flight, he is required to pay as if for two separate flights. For us, this is an opportunity to experience the sights of the Northern Lights, the thermal healing springs with which Iceland is blessed, the glacial volcanoes and geysers, and other tourist attractions. I would also like to try this Stopover service, and report in an article about the experiences.
Travel agents in the religious sector say that most of Icelandair’s flights for this summer are already full. In the past, most WOW passengers to Iceland immediately went on a connecting flight to the US, and did not leave the airport grounds to visit the sites. Today, the situation is different. Our public, who have traveled most of the world, are looking for new destinations, and Iceland meets this need.
This summer Iceland will also have solutions for kosher keepers. In preparation for the ‘between times’ period, a kosher hotel (Natura Spa) will be opened there immediately after Tisha B’av for the customers of the religious tourism companies Gaia Torres of Abby Payne, and company Libor combine The hotel is located next to the head office of the Icelandair company in Reykjavík. Adina and David Libor are going to run three rounds of organized groups to Iceland for a week. So are the companies Discovery tradition andWe keep tradition (of Israir) are organizing a group to Iceland. And in addition, the tourism company ‘Golden Tours’ At the end of the summer you will start a sailing trip to Iceland, on a cruise of the luxury company Holland-America.
Even those who will travel independently in Iceland this year will be able to manage better with food. The Chabad emissary, Rabbi Avi Feldman, compiled a detailed guide to kosher food that can be bought in supermarkets throughout Iceland. Each product has its name and a photo of the packaging. The guide is divided into 3 categories – according to the names of the products, according to the types of food, and according to the different supermarkets around the island. Easy life ! However, it is important to know that Iceland is considered an expensive country and the food there is also more expensive than usual, and especially the kosher food. Today, Beit Chaved is undergoing construction and renovations, so they do not yet offer us a kosher restaurant. They only import kosher meat for the needs of the local Jews, and at this point they do not sell Meat for tourists. Apostle Avi Feldman assures us that this will change after the inauguration of the renovated house next year.
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