Iceland is a key player for transatlantic aviation operations between North America and Europe: it all began over a century ago in Reykjavík, with the formation of ‘Flugfélag Íslands’ (March 22nd, 1919). Its first aircraft was an Avro 504K (in the picture), a World War I UK-manufactured biplane: the aircraft was bought from Denmark, landed in Iceland a year after the end of the war, and conducted its first flight on September 3rd, 1919. Even if the first iteration folded in 1920, the name ‘Flugfélag Ísland’ would remain a mainstay in Iceland’s aviation sector (after all, it translates as ‘Iceland Airlines’) and the moniker would return on May 1, 1928, when the second iteration was founded in Reykjavík. The first passenger flight was operated from Reykjavík to Akureyri, with stops at Ísafjörður and Siglufjörður, on June 4, 1928: among the passengers was dr. Alexander Jóhannesson, one of the Icelandic pioneers in aviation. The airline leased Junkers F.13 and W.33d aircrafts and crews from Germany: they were used for passenger flights, mail transport and herring hunting in Iceland between 1928 and 1931. However, this second iteration of Flugfélag Íslands ceased flying in 1931. The name would return shortly later: current flag carrier of Iceland, Icelandair, traces its history to the formation of ‘Flugfélag Akureyrar’ in 1937, renamed ‘Flugfélag Íslands’ in 1940. The name propped up again in the mid 1990s following the merger of ‘Flugfélag Norðurlands’ and ‘Flugleiðir’s’ under the brand of ‘Flugfélag Íslands’: rebranded as ‘Air Iceland Connect’ in May 2017, it was soon folded into Icelandair in March 2021. There we have the 100+ year history of the name ‘Flugfélag Íslands’: it would not be a surprise to see the title return again amid the ever-changing aviation landscape.
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