Icelandair to Expand Canadian Service with Open Skies Agreement

    COLUMBIA, Md., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The governments of Iceland and
 Canada have signed an Open Skies agreement to permit scheduled air services
 for passenger and all-cargo traffic between Canada and Iceland, effective
 immediately. The new agreement replaces the Memorandum of Understanding on
 Air Services that has allowed operations to Canada by Icelandair, the flag
 carrier of Iceland, since 1995.
     "This marks a significant advance in Icelandic aviation history," said
 Jon Karl Olafsson, President and CEO of Icelandair and the Icelandair
 Group. "The strength of our relationship with Halifax and Atlantic Canada
 over the last decade has paved the way for this success," he added.
 "Icelandair will initiate flights from Toronto in Spring 2008 to complement
 our Halifax service."
     Additional Canadian gateways are under consideration for future
 development.
     "The Canadian market plays a very important role in the growth of our
 route network," said Gunnar Eklund, Icelandair's General Manager-The
 Americas. "Our expansion to Toronto will open an array of opportunities for
 commercial and leisure travel between Canada's most populated areas and
 Iceland," he added, "and to our many destinations in Scandinavia, Great
 Britain and Continental Europe." Eklund said Toronto will be an excellent
 connecting point for Icelandair passengers traveling from other Canadian
 cities.
     In announcing the agreement, Lawrence Cannon, Canada's Minister of
 Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, said: "This latest agreement
 under our Blue Sky policy marks another step towards greater choice and
 flexibility for Canadian travelers, while connecting them to the world."
     Icelandair will offer 5-7 flights per week from Toronto with a flying
 time of approximately five hours to Iceland. Flights will connect in
 Iceland to other European cities, including Copenhagen, Oslo, Bergen,
 Stockholm, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin,
 Amsterdam, London, Manchester and Glasgow. Today Icelandair operates 160
 flights per week to 25 cities in North America and Europe via its hub in
 Reykjavik.
     Travel information is available from Icelandair at (800) 223-5500,
 www.icelandair.ca and www.icelandair.com .
 
 

SOURCE Icelandair