The contracts Icelandair Group has made to purchase four Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircrafts are a great opportunity for Icelandair Group. In early 2005 Icelandair Group negotiated the purchase of two Boeing 787 with an option for five additional aircrafts. Last year Icelandair Group concluded a purchase agreement for two of those five aircraft. The aircraft will be delivered in the spring of 2010 and 2012, two in 3 years and two in 5 years.

"We were the first schedule carrier in Europe to agree to purchase the B 787 from Boeing. At the time only 15 carriers had made an order, so we were among the very first to order this new aircraft. We have since watched this revolutionary aircraft become one of the most sought after planes in the history of civil aviation, just based upon pre-orders. It’s exactly this demand that presents us with such a great opportunity. Icelandair Group is involved in number of business activities. Beyond the Icelandair operation we also are involved in charter and aircraft trading and leasing. In all of these lines of business we see many opportunities for the B 787 Dreamliner. We aim to eventually utilize it in the Icelandair route network, however, we have not decided exactly when we will do so. We are also seeing some exciting opportunities appear in the trading and leasing side of things, as the increased demand has raised the price since we signed our purchase agreement”, said Jon Karl Olafsson, CEO Icelandair Group.

“With this agreement we looked ahead to the future. Today Icelandair utilizes Boeing 757 aircraft in its fleet. That aircraft is a great fit for its current network. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a revolutionary aircraft, quickly becoming one of the most sought after aircrafts in civil aviation history. This new aircraft bigger than our current planes and it offers a greater range. With our current planes we can serve markets in Europe and N-America that account for 700 million people, but with this new aircraft we can reach nearly every continent. It’s not far featched to say that we’ve increased our potentional market to 6 billion people with this new aircraft. Through our agreement with Boeing we have opened up many options in the development of Icelandair.”

The design and production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is based upon new technology. It will use 20% less fuel and produce 20% CO2 than aircraft flying today. It offers 45% more cargo space, but its in the passenger cabin that the biggest difference will be seen. All of the interior design is different, humidity is higher and much closer to ground level, windows will be twice the current size and all of the IT and entertainment onboard will be of the highest quality.

Icelandair Grop fleet currently numbers 65 aircraft. Here's a presentation of the new aircraft from Boeing.