When Pittsburgh International Airport lost its nonstop flight to Iceland nearly five years ago, Christina Cassotis predicted that it one day would return.
On Thursday, the CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority got to say I told you so — thanks in part to established relationships between island country and local industry, and new possibilities with an emerging tech scene in Pittsburgh.
Icelandair announced Thursday that it will begin service to Reykjavik from Pittsburgh May 16, enabling Ms. Cassotis to make good on her prophecy.
“I’m really excited to get back to Iceland. We had service before. It was incredibly successful. The community stands on its own. I heard so many people say I wish I had gotten there when we had the flight. It’s taken all I could to not say, ‘just hold on until Nov. 2, you’ll be able to do it again,’” Ms. Cassotis said during a news conference announcing the flight.
The Icelandair service will start off as seasonal, with four flights a week running to Oct. 27. But Grimur Gislason, Icelandair director North America, said the goal is to expand the offering beyond that, perhaps by as early as 2025 by extending the season and adding frequency.
“That’s always our long-term goal is to try to get it to a full year. It really depends on how well the market basically receives the product,” he said. “We really are mindful that we want to grow in the right way, not over-flood the capacity in the market.”
The new flight will essentially replace a nonstop to Reykjavik the airport lost in January 2019 when Iceland-based Wow Air suspended service.
Ultra low-cost Wow started operating from Pittsburgh in June 2017, also with four flights a week. It was backed by $800,000 in subsidies over two years and a waiver of landing fees. But amid financial struggles, the airline started cutting flights to the Midwest in fall 2018 before ending the Pittsburgh service. In the aftermath, the airport sought to collect $187,500 of the $800,000 it had paid Wow.
At one point, Icelandair had considered buying its upstart rival, but ended up scrapping the plan. It now will replace the departed carrier in Pittsburgh.
Mr. Gislason said Icelandair was sold on the market in part because of the influx of young professionals and the growth of tech companies.
“We see that as a great opportunity to start the service right now with a lot of people that are willing to travel, an affluent market, and just really excited about adding this into our network,” he said.
Icelandair already has a promising clientele in Alcoa, which operates a plant in Fjardaal in northeast Iceland.
“I think in general this would be good for any global company like ours to have more opportunity, more options, and more service to more destinations. So in general I think this is great for the community as a whole, not just Alcoa,” said Matt McKendree, Alcoa global travel manager and incoming president of the Pittsburgh Business Travel Association.
The airport authority, which operates Pittsburgh International, will pay Icelandair $350,000 over one year as an incentive for the flight. It also will waive landing fees for two years, as is customary for service to new destinations.
Mr. Gislason said the $350,000 subsidy “was not a deal breaker for us.”
“Incentives or no incentives, we always have a long-term goal and plan to make things successful,” he said.
Icelandair did look at the passenger numbers Wow generated during its brief time in Pittsburgh and was encouraged by what it found, Mr. Gislason said.
“We saw great stimulation to Iceland with that direct flight and that’s something that was really intriguing for us,” he said. “But we also saw some unsustainable prices in the market that kind of tells the whole story of it, how it went. But I would say us coming here with our product and our offering, I think it’s going to be a great fit.”
Unlike ultra low-cost Wow, Icelandair is considered a legacy carrier on par with American or Delta. From Reykjavik, travelers can connect to more than 30 destinations in Europe, including London, Paris, Rome, Dublin, Frankfurt, Munich, Madrid, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Helsinki.
Knowing his audience, Mr. Gislason invoked the Steelers in describing his airline, which got its start in 1937. Noting that the team has had only three coaches since 1969, he said Icelandair is built on the same principles of stability, perseverance and loyalty.
The latter, he stressed, is “something we hope to bring to Pittsburgh and the people of Pittsburgh.”
“We look at this as a long-term plan. We really want to grow with the people of Pittsburgh and this market and we really need your help in doing so. We see this as an excellent opportunity for us,” he said.
As part of the nonstop’s launch, Icelandair is offering an introductory round trip fare of $499 for economy class if booked between Nov. 2-8 for travel anytime through next October. Tickets can be purchased at www.icelandair.com.
The airline also provides an unusual amenity for connecting travelers, allowing them to stay in Iceland for up to seven nights before moving on to their ultimate destination without having to pay an additional fare.
“That’s kind of our way to introduce Iceland to maybe somebody who’s going to Europe and wants to use our service,” he said.
The airport authority estimates that the flight will generate about $9 million a year in economic impact for the region.
One who is excited about the flight is state. Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, who has been to Iceland twice.
“You won’t have to twist my arm to get on this flight,” he said. “I can say that Iceland is like going to another world. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to.”
The Icelandair flight will give Pittsburgh a second transatlantic nonstop. The other is the British Airways service to London, now six days a week.
Airport officials also have been in talks with Ireland-based Aer Lingus about starting service to Dublin.
“We are staying in touch with Aer Lingus,” Ms. Cassotis said.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com
First Published: November 2, 2023, 1:25 p.m.
Updated: November 3, 2023, 3:56 p.m.
