Loftleiðir HF , internationally known as Icelandic Airlines (abbreviated IAL ) or Loftleiðir Icelandic , was a private Icelandic airline headquartered on the grounds of Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík , which operated mostly trans-atlantic flights linking Europe and America, pioneering the low-cost flight business strategy on these routes.
26-594: In 2003 the name Loftleiðir Icelandic made a comeback to service the skies as Icelandair's aircraft lease and charter flights provider. Loftleiðir [ˈlɔftˈleiːðɪr̥] (the name being a compound of the Icelandic words for "air" and "way") was founded on 10 March 1944, by Alfreð Elíasson and two other young Icelandic pilots who had just returned from flight training in Canada . The first revenue flight (from Reykjavík to Ísafjörður ) took place on 6 April of that year. During
52-432: A cheap means of travel to Europe, which earned it the title Hippie Airline from the late 1960s. During different state visits to Iceland, Bill and Hillary Clinton both remembered the experience of their flights with Loftleiðir. In order to comply with the then-valid freedoms of the air restrictions, tickets for transatlantic flights were issued in two parts (to/from Iceland, as Loftleiðir, as an Icelandic airline,
78-500: A conviction for breaking accounting laws. His wife Ingibjorg Stefania Palmadottir was elected as his replacement. On July 4, FL Group announced both that it had changed its name to Stodir and acquired a 39% stake in retail holding company Baugur Group . In September 2008 Stodir filed an application for a debt moratorium process at the District Court of Reykjavík, effectively putting the company into administration . The move
104-609: A fierce competition with Flugfélag Íslands, which had prompted the Icelandic government to divide the network between the two airlines, when the originally proposed merger had been rejected. The management of Loftleiðir claimed to have been disfavoured in this measure, and decided to cease all domestic services in 1952, fully concentrating on transatlantic flights henceforth. Typical routings at that time were from New York via Reykjavík to Hamburg or Luxembourg , with intermediate stops at Oslo , Copenhagen , Bergen , Stavanger or Gothenburg . From 1955 onwards, Luxembourg-Findel Airport
130-551: A subsidiary named Icelandair in 2002. On October 23, 2005 FL GROUP announced its acquisition of the Danish low-cost airline Sterling Airways . In addition, FL GROUP holds a 16.18% stake in British " no-frills " carrier easyJet . On January 6, 2006, Hannes Smárason , CEO , stated that a merger of easyJet and Sterling was a possibility. In early 2006 Ferðaskrifstofa Íslands was sold to Sumarferðir and Icelandair Car Rental (Hertz)
156-625: A subsidiary of FL Group called FL Bayrock Holdco. In March, stakes in Finnair and investment group Aktiv Kapital were divested ; in April a 39% stake in FL was acquired by Styrkur Invest , a company controlled by FL's Chairman Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson . The company then delisted from the Iceland Stock Exchange on 6 June after a share buyback . Jón Ásgeir stepped down as Chairman later that month after
182-518: Is a majority family-owned investment company located in Reykjavík, Iceland . The company was founded on July 20, 1973, under the name Flugleiðir . It was formed as a holding company for Loftleiðir and Air Iceland . FL Group was best known for its subsidiary Icelandair Group , which was sold in October 2006. Icelandair , Loftleidir Icelandic and other companies of Icelandair Group have been leaders in
208-575: The United States of America , which were launched in August of that year when a second DC-4 joined the fleet, with New York's Idlewild Airport as first destination. In 1949 and 1950, the DC-4s were leased to U.S. carrier Seaboard & Western Airlines because of the difficult financial situation Loftleiðir was in during that period. Since Loftleiðir had launched domestic flights in the 1940s, there had been
234-476: The DC-4 already in 1946 (the first Icelandic airline to operate an airliner of that size and range), but the delivery was delayed because of the bankruptcy of the interior outfitter. Initially, the DC-4 was deployed on flights to Europe, as well as on chartered flights for third party companies, for example from Britain to South America. In 1948, Loftleiðir was granted governmental approval to operate passenger services to
260-474: The Icelandic flight and tourism industry for about 70 years. The company was placed into administration in September 2008 after Glitnir , its largest investment, was part- nationalised by the Icelandic government. The company, then named Stodir, was restructured in 2009 and all shares delivered to its creditors. Between 2009 and 2016, all assets were sold and all debt repaid. In 2017, new shareholders acquired
286-532: The board of the airline in 1953, is credited with introducing this strategy. The New York Times called him a " low-cost travel pioneer." Between 1952 and 1962, Loftleiðir co-operated with the Norwegian airline Braathens SAFE on the transatlantic routes on a codeshare -like basis, as well as maintenance, inspection, overhaul and repairs. When the European focus shifted from Scandinavia to Luxemburg, this partnership
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#1732898550965312-530: The company acquired International Air Bahama, a small airline operating Boeing 707 jets out of the Bahamas , and a year later, Loftleiðir became one of the founders of Cargolux , a thriving cargo airline. Also in 1970, Loftleiðir entered the jet age with its first two stretched Douglas DC-8-63 "Super DC-8" jetliners. In 1971, the company started flying between Iceland and Scandinavia with the slightly smaller DC-8-55. The growing competition from Flugfélag Íslands and
338-510: The company and Stodir was repositioned as an active investment company. The company that is nowadays called Stodir was founded in 1973. In the beginning it was a holding company for "Loftleiðir" and Air Iceland under the name Flugleidir, a hybrid of the two old names. In 1978 Flugleidir took over all assets of both companies. Until then "Loftleidir" had used "Loftleidir Icelandic", "Icelandic Airlines" or just "Icelandic" for international marketing and Air Iceland used "Icelandair". That same year
364-421: The economical pressure during the 1970s energy crisis led to the merger of the two airlines in 1973 into one holding company, which was called Flugleiðir . In 1979, Flugfélag Íslands and Loftleiðir merged into a new airline, also called Flugleiðir, which later became known as Icelandair . The Loftleiðir branding re-emerged in 2003, when the newly created wet-lease and charter subsidiary of Icelandair Group
390-502: The initial years, only domestic routes out of Reykjavík Airport were operated using airplanes of the types Douglas DC-3 , Consolidated PBY Catalina , Stinson Reliant , Grumman Goose , Noorduyn Norseman , Avro Anson and Vultee L-1 Vigilant . The first international flight (from Reykjavík to Copenhagen ) using a Douglas DC-4 took place on 17 June 1947, the Icelandic National Day . Loftleiðir had expected to take delivery of
416-684: The major carriers of the North Atlantic in the 1960s and early 1970s pioneering low-cost air travel over the Atlantic. He has had his story made into a documentary film called Alfred Eliasson & Loftleiðir Icelandic made in 2009 in Iceland, which tells the story of the airline and Alfred, narrated in Icelandic by Arnar Jónsson . This Icelandic biographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Stodir Stodir ( Icelandic : Stoðir , FL Group prior to 4 June 2008)
442-524: The name "Icelandair" was to be used solely for international marketing. Flugleiðir was still the official name of the company until 2005. In December 2002 Baugur Group acquired 20% of the company. Baugur Group was reportedly controlled by a number of companies using a single mailbox in the British Virgin Islands . In 2005, the company known as Flugleiðir was changed to an investment company called FL GROUP . The airline had been spun off into
468-645: The sale of Icelandair Group . In 2007, the FL Group invested $ 50 million in several Bayrock projects linked to Donald Trump , including a development in Whitestone, Queens , and Trump SoHo in Manhattan. In February 2008, after the US real-estate bubble had burst, FL Group announced it was divesting itself of its real-estate projects in the US. The Trump Tower project, along with other US based real estate projects, were moved to
494-616: The turboprop, which was used as a cargo plane by other airlines. It was the largest passenger aircraft flying over the Atlantic Ocean at that time, carrying up to 189 passengers. Loftleiðir marketed the CL-44J under the name "Rolls-Royce 400 PropJet". This led to the confusion that the CL-44J is sometimes referred to as the Canadair-400. At that time, the company had 1,000 employees. The late sixties were an exciting time for Loftleiðir. In 1969,
520-442: The years, the following aircraft types were operated: [REDACTED] Media related to Loftleiðir Icelandic at Wikimedia Commons Alfre%C3%B0 El%C3%ADasson Alfreð Elíasson (1920–1988) was an Icelandic businessman who founded and served as president of Loftleidir . Loftleiðir Icelandic Airlines was formed in 1944 with a single engine, three passenger plane of Stinson Reliant make, Loftleiðir grew to become one of
546-507: Was allowed to transport passengers only to and from its country of registry), but stopovers were held as short as one hour, with no changing of the aircraft required. Because Loftleiðir had not joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which at that time defined the fares for its member airlines on transatlantic routes, it could offer considerably lower ticket prices. Sigurður Helgason , who had joined
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#1732898550965572-429: Was named Loftleiðir Icelandic . The geographical position of Iceland in the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and America allowed Loftleiðir to offer passenger flights between the two continents with an intermediate stop at its home airport at Reykjavík, thus operating at lower costs because of easier aircraft and crew logistics than its outer European or American competitors. The airline was chosen by many young Americans as
598-560: Was prompted by the Government of Iceland 's acquisition of three-quarters of troubled bank Glitnir , in which Stodir had previously held a 32% stake. For 2008, FL Bayrock Holdco posted more than US$ 140 million in losses. It was declared bankrupt in January 2014, costing its sole investor and creditor, the parent FL Group, nearly US$ 130 million in losses. Composition agreement reached with creditors (June 2009), which thereby acquired all shares in
624-510: Was sold to Magnús Kristinsson , the owner of Toyota in Iceland. In February 2006 FL GROUP announced plans to list its subsidiary Icelandair Group in Iceland Stock Exchange . FL sold its 16.9% stake in airline easyJet in April 2006 for €325m, returning a profit of €140m on its investment. FL had first invested in easyJet in October 2004, taking an 8.4% share, increasing this over the course of 2005. In October 2006 FL GROUP secured
650-448: Was terminated. International Air Bahama , a small airline based in the Bahamas operating transatlantic Boeing 707 jet service between Nassau and Luxembourg , was acquired in 1969 with International Air Bahama subsequently operating stretched Super Douglas DC-8 jetliners on its transatlantic flights. In 1970, Loftleiðir became one of the founding shareholders of Cargolux , along with Luxair and several private investors. Over
676-517: Was the European starting point for most of Loftleiðir's transatlantic flights. With the introduction of the Douglas DC-6 into the fleet in 1959, the DC-4s were gradually phased out. In 1964, Loftleiðir started operating its first Canadair CL-44D-4 , and two years later the first of its four CL-44Js, a variant of the CL-44D4 stretched on request by Canadair . Loftleiðir was the only passenger operator of
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