Icelandair Flies their National Flag in the Skies In Celebration of 100 years of Icelandic Sovereignty

REYKJAVIK, Iceland, June 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

• Icelandair sends off Icelandic soccer fans, including members of legendary supporters group "Tolfan", to Russia, where the national team makes history this summer

• The milestone livery, "Thingvellir," will be appearing throughout Icelandair's network and joins "Hekla Aurora" and "Vatnajokull" in the airline's family of special liveries

Transatlantic airline, Icelandair, adds some pride to the skies with the launch of its latest special livery, marking 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.

     (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/706818/Icelandair_100_Years.jpg )

The unveiling of their "flag" livery highlights another special moment in Iceland's story by sending off passionate Icelandic soccer fans to support the nation as they make sporting history this summer. The country is the smallest nation ever to qualify for soccer's biggest stage and the airline is offering a special service this summer from Iceland to Russia for supporters. Members of legendary fan group "Tolfan" led soccer fans in the iconic 'Huh' thunderclap ahead of boarding the milestone livery for the celebratory flight.

Bjorgolfur Johannsson, President and CEO at Icelandair comments, "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 by experiencing Icelandic culture and heritage before they even step off the plane."

All of Icelandair's planes are named after Icelandic volcanoes and locations of natural beauty. "Thingvellir," is named after Iceland's breath-taking national park and home of Iceland's first Parliament. It becomes the third in Icelandair's family of special liveries, joining "Hekla Aurora" and "Vatnaokull" 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 soccer magic, including the illusion of a grass soccer field on the floor. In addition, headrest covers and on-board coffee cups also showcase the flag colors along with quirky references to Icelandic football.

As long-standing sponsors of the national soccer teams, Icelandair celebrated their success earlier this summer with the launch of Team Iceland Stopover, a series of 90-minute, football-inspired experiences co-created by the players and airline, free for all passengers to enjoy.

Enjoy time well-travelled this summer with Icelandair. To find out more about the milestone livery or Team Iceland Stopover and book, visit: http://www.Icelandair.com .

ABOUT ICELANDAIR 

Icelandair offers service to and from Iceland through Icelandair's hub at Keflavik International Airport serving 23 destinations in North America and more than 25 destinations in Scandinavia, the U.K., and Continental Europe. Icelandair also allows passengers to take an Icelandair Stopover at no additional airfare.

Notes to Editors 

Team Iceland Stopover 

Icelandair has launched Team Iceland Stopover, a series of unique soccer inspired experiences for passengers co-created by the airline and the national team players. As proud sponsors of the team and in celebration of their achievements this summer, the transatlantic carrier offers passengers a chance to follow in the players footsteps with these specially created 90-minute experiences. 

Available until the end of June 2018, passengers can book and find out more here: http://www.Icelandair.com/Team-Iceland-Stopover

Icelandair  

Icelandair is a transatlantic airline that offers an opportunity for passengers to take a Stopover in Iceland at no additional airfare. Icelandair has encouraged passengers since the 1960s to enjoy an Icelandair Stopover and now there's more choice and variety on offer than ever before with the service available on all transatlantic routes from 24 European destinations to 23 North American gateways (including latest additions Baltimore, Cleveland, Dallas, Kansas City and San Francisco.) Icelandair also offers flights to and from Iceland to the following destinations:

Canada: Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver

Europe: Reykjavik, Akureyri, Amsterdam, Bergen, Berlin, Billund, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gothenburg, Glasgow, Hamburg, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, and Zürich

USA: Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Newark, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa and Washington D.C

Interesting Icelandic Soccer Facts 

• As a nation of just 350,000, Iceland is the smallest nation ever to qualify for the European Championship finals. Before Iceland, the smallest nation to qualify was Slovenia, with a population just under 2 million

• In 2017, Iceland became the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup. Before Iceland, that honour was held by Trinidad and Tobago, which qualified for the 2006 World Cup with a population of 1.3 million

• The nickname for the men's national team in Iceland, Strákarnir okkar, means Our Boys. Similarly, the women's team is referred to as Stelpurnar okkar, or Our Girls

• A rough estimate indicated that about 8% of the Icelandic population accompanied the team to France for Euro 2016

• In 2017, approximately 23,000 individuals are registered football practitioners in Iceland, according to statistics from the Football Association of Iceland. About one third of these players are female

• In late 2017, the Iceland men's team is ranked 21 in FIFA's world ranking. In October 2012, Iceland ranked 131st, the lowest it has ever been

• The Iceland Euro qualifying team consisted of players that have played together since the early stages and youth teams. The core of the squad has also remained together on a national level since the U17

• Heimir Hallgrímsson, the team's coach, works part time as a dentist in his home town of Vestmannaeyjar