Can Iceland Express Save Iceland's Economy?
If you thought that 2009 was the year to grab a cheap package to Iceland in order to take advantage of the country's floundering economy and inexpensive prices because of the pesky bank failure, then just wait until 2010 really gets a move on. Flights to the cold island nation are about to get cheaper, more plentiful and even hipper thanks to LCC airline Iceland Express flooding the country with tourists when they add all sorts of new routes in June.
Currently, Iceland Express flies from Reykjavik to two of London's airports and five other European cities; all routes which truly helped shovel tourists and their money into the country during 2009. Come 2010 though, the LCC will expand like gangbusters! In addition to throwing in another Iceland city (Akureyri) on flights to London and even Copenhagen, the airline is starting direct Reykjavik flights to Newark, Winnipeg, Barcelona, Basel, Frankfurt, Krakow, Luxembourg, Milan, Oslo, Paris and more.
What this means for Iceland's economy, after the jump
Now we're not economists, but we're pretty sure that thirty-four new flights per week into Iceland is going to pump cash into the already upward-trending tourist industry in the country, and that means more money in Iceland banks (or underneath the mattress). Right now, the plan is to only have the new flights last through the end of August, before the temperatures drop and the sun hides for most of the day. But three full months of starry-eyed tourists arriving on tickets cheaper than Icelandair can only mean great things.
We're already eyeing new swimsuits for hitting the geothermal baths and drooling over the promise of fresh fish and a cup of Brennivin. Focusing on the Newark route especially, since Reykjavik is only a five hour flight, we can expect some city folk with cabin fever to see it as a totally valid long weekend.
Related Stories:
· Iceland Express [Official Site]
· [Jaunted]
· The Hottest New Airline Routes for 2010, Plus 36 from EasyJet [Jaunted]
· Iceland Express coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Ati977]
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