Kansas City to Get Its First-Ever Nonstop Transatlantic Flight
Kansas City is getting its first-ever nonstop transatlantic route. Icelandair announced on Tuesday that it's set to begin nonstop seasonal service between Kansas City International Airport (MCI) and Iceland's capital of Reykjavik (KEF).
The service will begin on May 25, 2018, from KEF to MCI, with the first operation from MCI to depart on May 26. Icelandair will offer 3x weekly seasonal service on the route, operating the nonstop flights to Iceland on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, before it ends in September. Here's the schedule:
- FI840 Kansas City (MCI) 5:15pm Departure ⇒ Reykjavik (KEF) 5:10am (+1) Arrival
- FI841 Reykjavik (KEF) 6:00pm Departure ⇒ Kansas City (MCI) 8:45pm Arrival
When the route launches, it will serve as Kansas City's first-ever scheduled nonstop transatlantic flight — with the exception of some one-off flights like when the Kansas City Chiefs flew to London for a game. In order to get Icelandair to commit to the city, MCI agreed to waive landing and airport usage fees for two years — fees it charges other airlines. In addition, the airport will pay Icelandair $250,000 for each of the next two years to market the route in both Kansas City and Europe. According to The Kansas City Star, business organizations are also providing an undisclosed amount of stop-loss funding for one year.
The airline expects to service mostly summer leisure travelers heading to Europe on the route, as they can connect through Reykjavik to its extensive route network throughout Europe. It also plans to service business people on the route, as the middle of the US is a region lacking nonstop options to Europe — with the exception of a few hubs, such as Chicago (ORD) and Dallas (DFW).
The route will be operated by one of the carrier's Boeing 757-200 aircraft. The aircraft features three cabins: Saga (business class with recliner seats), economy comfort and economy. Check out Brendan Dorsey's review of the Icelandair experience in economy on a 767-300ER. Seats are available on the inaugural flight from MCI to KEF for $267 one-way. Round-trip flights seem to hover around the $572 mark. While the flights aren't yet loaded on Google Flights, you can search directly on Icelandair's website.
With the addition of Kansas City (MCI) to its route network, Icelandair now services the following 15 US airports: Anchorage (ANC), Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Cleveland (CLE), Dallas (DFW), Denver (DEN), Kansas City (MCI), Minneapolis (MSP), New York (EWR and JFK), Orlando (MCO), Philadelphia (PHL), Portland (PDX), Seattle (SEA), Tampa Bay (TPA) and Washington, DC (IAD).