A few days ago, Icelandair became the third European airline to carry out the commercial comeback flight with the Boeing 737 Max 8. The carrier has now also set its sights on the Airbus A321LR and A321XLR. According to company boss Úlfar Steindórsson, one of the two models could replace the aging Boeing 757.
However, Icelandair is not quite sure yet, because in a TV interview the airline's CEO stated that the Boeing 737 Max 9 is also in the running. They can be used without any problems on Keflavik to Seattle and Orlando. Originally it was assumed that the range of this pattern would not be sufficient. Steindórsson is also countering rumors that the Max jets are about to be phased out.
But he makes no secret of the fact that the upcoming replacement of the aging Boeing 757 sub-fleet will "most likely" be ordered from Airbus. He emphasized the long range of the A321LR / XLR and emphasized that you could also fly to Anchorage and Portland with it. Will it be the LR or the XLR variant? Steindórsson is not quite sure yet. Maybe it could be the Boeing 737 Max 9 at an attractive price.
In any case, there are three Boeing 757-300s and 15 757-200s to be replaced. The “fleet renewal” project is to be carried out over the next few years. The Icelandair boss did not give a specific date.