Business Icelandair: What Saga Class Actually Gives You (and When It’s Worth It)
I’ve flown Icelandair’s business class, which they call Saga Class, more times than I can count on routes through Keflavík, mostly between Europe and North America. And I’ll be honest up front: business Icelandair is a strange product. It’s not a lie-flat bed like you’d get on a legacy carrier across the Atlantic. Yet I keep booking it. There are real reasons why, and there are trips where I’d skip it entirely. This article walks through what you actually get, what it costs, and how to decide.
What exactly is Saga Class?
Saga Class is Icelandair’s business cabin, and the name comes from the old Icelandic sagas, which tells you a lot about the airline’s whole vibe. It flies on the Boeing 737 MAX and the 757/767 fleet on transatlantic hops. On most aircraft you get a 2-2 configuration, roughly 40 inches of seat pitch, and a seat that reclines a long way but never goes flat.
That last part is the deal-breaker for some people. If you’re flying New York to Reykjavík, the flight is about 5 hours 45 minutes, so no lie-flat seat is survivable, even comfortable. But if you’re connecting onw
ard to London, Paris, or Frankfurt, you’re looking at a 7-to-10-hour total journey in a recliner. I’ve done it. It’s fine. I slept maybe four hours to Denver once in that seat and arrived functional, not great.
What you get for the money
Here’s the practical rundown, because the marketing pages bury some of it:
- Two checked bags up to 32 kg each, plus fast-track check-in at Keflavík
- Access to the Saga Lounge at KEF (and partner lounges at some outstations)
- Priority boarding and priority baggage, which genuinely matters at Keflavík when 12 widebodies land within an hour of each other
- Free seat selection, including the more private solo seats on the 767
- Full meal service with complimentary beer, wine, and something Icelandic like a brennivín after dinner if the crew is in a good mood
- Fast track through security at Keflavík, which has saved me 40+ minutes on summer mornings
The seat itself deserves a quick note on its own. The 737 MAX version feels noticeably fresher than the older 757s. I sat in 1A on a MAX 9 to Boston last spring and the cushion, the screen, even the tray table latch felt newer. Some of the 757s are tired and you can tell. When you book, check the aircraft type if you can.
The Keflavík Saga Lounge, honestly reviewed
Let me give you an unfiltered opinion, since most reviews of this lounge are either gushing or sneering. The Saga Lounge at KEF is medium. It’s not a Lufthansa First Class Terminal and it’s not a sad domestic US club. Around 80 seats, decent views of the ramp, a self-serve bar with decent wine, and a food spread that usually includes Icelandic skyr, soups, open-faced sandwiches, and sometimes lamb. No showers, which stings on a long connection.
What the lounge really buys you is escape from Keflavík itself. The main terminal in July is a crush of tour groups and people who clearly booked their trip via a Instagram reel. The lounge is above it all, quiet, and has fast wifi. On a 90-minute connection I’d almost pay the business fare premium for the lounge alone. Almost.
Does business Icelandair include lounge access on all tickets?
Yes, Saga Class tickets include lounge access, but there’s a wrinkle. If you book the cheaper “Saga Light” style fares or upgrade at check-in rather than buying business outright, lounge access can depend on the exact fare family and your status in Icelandair’s Saga Club program. Gold members get in regardless. Check your fare details before assuming. I’ve seen people turned away at the door holding “business” tickets that were actually booked through a partner codeshare without lounge rights.
How much does business Icelandair cost?
Rough numbers from recent fares, which swing hard by season. Economy Boston to Reykjavík can be $350 round trip in November and $900 in July. Saga Class on the same route tends to run $1,800 to $2,400 round trip, and I’ve seen it spike above $3,000 around the summer solstice, which is peak Iceland tourist season and also, oddly, when the midnight sun makes a lie-flat seat less necessary.
So you’re typically paying 2.5 to 3x economy. Compare that to a big-three US carrier’s business fare across the Atlantic, which is often 5x or more. That ratio is exactly why business Icelandair earns its keep for a certain kind of traveler.
| Route (round trip) | Economy (typical) | Saga Class (typical) |
|---|---|---|
| Boston to Reykjavík | $400–$900 | $1,800–$2,400 |
| New York to London via KEF | $500–$1,000 | $1,900–$2,800 |
| Frankfurt to Denver via KEF | $600–$1,100 | $2,100–$3,000 |
Fares via Icelandair’s own site are usually the same or cheaper than OTA prices, and Icelandair runs genuinely odd sales. I once grabbed Boston to Reykjavík in Saga for $1,350 round trip in a February flash sale. February, in Iceland. I saw the northern lights from the plane and nearly froze on a Golden Circle stop, and I’d do it again.
Is it worth it on the stopover routes?
Icelandair’s whole model is the free stopover. You fly New York to Munich, and you can spend up to seven days in Iceland at no extra airfare. This is where I think business class pays for itself better than on any direct competitor, because your stopover becomes part of the trip rather than dead time.
Think about it this way. A business ticket from JFK to Munich on Lufthansa runs $4,000-plus. Business Icelandair on the same city pair with a three-day Reykjavík stopover might be $2,500. You get a slightly worse seat for two five-hour hops, but you get a free mini-vacation in Iceland tacked onto a business trip. If you were going to visit Iceland anyway at some point, the math tilts hard in Icelandair’s favor.
The reverse holds too. If you just want to sleep the whole way to Europe and nothing else, book a lie-flat seat on someone else. Be honest with yourself about which person you are.
How to book it cheaper
A few tactics I’ve actually used, not theoretical ones:
- Check fares leaving from alternate gateways. Boston and Washington Dulles to Iceland are often $200 to $400 cheaper in Saga than JFK, even factoring a positioning flight.
- Book the economy fare and bid for an upgrade. Icelandair’s upgrade bidding sometimes accepts surprisingly low offers, I’ve heard of $250 to $400 per person per direction getting accepted on lightly booked flights. It’s a lottery, but the downside is zero.
- Use Saga Club points. Icelandair is a partner with Alaska Airlines and others, so you can sometimes redeem partner points into Saga Class at rates that undercut the cash fare badly.
- Travel in the shoulder months, October to November and March to April. Same planes, same seats, far fewer people in the lounge fighting over the soup.
Who should skip it
Straight talk: if you’re flying a short intra-Europe hop from Iceland, like Reykjavík to London, Saga Class is a bigger seat and a sandwich for a lot more money. Those flights run under three hours. Save your cash and buy the exit row, then spend the difference at Baejarins Beztu on a hot dog when you land. I’m completely serious, two hot dogs with everything on them costs about $12 and it’s the best food value in the country.
Also skip it if you absolutely need flat-bed sleep before a morning meeting in Frankfurt. A recliner is a recliner, no matter how good the dinner service is.
FAQ: quick answers
Does Icelandair business class have lie-flat seats?
No. Saga Class seats recline deeply but do not go flat. Fine on sub-6-hour hops, less fine on long connections.
Is there wifi in Saga Class?
Yes, paid wifi exists across most of the fleet, and Saga Class fares on many routes include it for free. Speeds are okay for email and messages, not for streaming.
Can I use Alaska or Delta miles for business Icelandair?
Alaska Mileage Plan miles can book Icelandair Saga Class awards. Delta is not a partner. Redemption availability is decent outside peak summer.
The bottom line
Business Icelandair is a value play, not a luxury play. You get a very good recliner seat, a solid lounge, generous baggage, and the stopover trick that no other airline offers on this scale, usually for thousands less than the big carriers’ business cabins. Book it for the 5-to-6-hour hops or when the Iceland stopover is part of the plan. Book something lie-flat when sleep is the entire mission. And if you see a Saga fare under $1,600 round trip from the US East Coast, grab it. That price doesn’t sit around long.
