Icelandair Group
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Icelandair Group hf. is an
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic travel industry corporation, the owner and
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
of the airline
Icelandair Icelandair is the flag carrier airline of Iceland, with its corporate head office on the property of Reykjavík Airport in the capital city Reykjavik. Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both si ...
and several other travel industry companies in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. The group's headquarters are at
Reykjavík Airport Reykjavík Airport ( Icelandic: ''Reykjavíkurflugvöllur'') is the main domestic airport serving Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, located about from the city centre. Having shorter runways than the city's larger international airport Kef ...
in
Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
. The corporation is the largest in Iceland, with 125 billion ISK in revenue in 2013.


Operations

Icelandair Group focuses on the international airline and tourism sectors, with Iceland as the cornerstone of its international route network. The business concept of the group is built exclusively on Icelandair's route network and on marketing Iceland as a year-round destination. During 2013 the group employed an average of 2,850 full-time employees. 1,387 of those were employed by Icelandair. The number of employees had been rising steadily from 2,028 in 2010. Icelandair Group is the parent company of nine subsidiaries that form the two business segments of Route Network and Tourism Services. In addition to passenger flights operated by Icelandair, the group has vast interests in most aspects of Icelandic tourism and aviation, including hotel chains, travel agencies, domestic airlines and cargo, support services, as well as fledgling ACMI and lease operations.


History

Icelandair Group traces its roots to 1937 when the airline Flugfélag Akureyrar, was founded at
Akureyri Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nicknamed ...
on the north coast of Iceland. In 1943 the company moved its headquarters to the capital
Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
and changed its name to
Air Iceland The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
, which later assumed the international trade name
Icelandair Icelandair is the flag carrier airline of Iceland, with its corporate head office on the property of Reykjavík Airport in the capital city Reykjavik. Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both si ...
. In 1944 another Icelandic airline was founded,
Loftleiðir 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 flig ...
, by three young pilots returning from flight training in Canada. Initially, both companies concentrated on Icelandic domestic air services but then began international flights between Iceland and other countries. In 1953 Loftleiðir pioneered low-fare services across the North Atlantic and became quite successful for the greater part of two decades. In 1973, however, it was agreed to merge both Air Iceland and Loftleiðir under a new holding company,
Flugleiðir Stodir ( is, Stoðir, FL Group prior to 4 June 2008) 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 Loft ...
. In October 1979 Flugleiðir assumed all operating responsibilities of its two parents and decided to use Icelandair as its international trade name, retaining the Flugleiðir name for the Icelandic domestic market. In January 2003 Flugleiðir became a holding company with 11 subsidiaries in the travel and tourist industry in Iceland with Icelandair being the largest subsidiary. In 2005 the name Flugleiðir was changed to
FL Group Stodir ( is, Stoðir, FL Group prior to 4 June 2008) is a majority family-owned investment company located in Reykjavík, Reykjavík, Iceland. The company was founded on July 20, 1973, under the name Flugleiðir. It was formed as a holding compa ...
which would concentrate on investment, while Icelandair continued its flight operations under the aegis of a separate company, Icelandair Group. The board of directors of FL Group announced in February 2006 its intention to list Icelandair Group on
Iceland Stock Exchange The Nasdaq Iceland, formerly known as the Iceland Stock Exchange (XICE) ( is, Kauphöll Íslands), is a stock exchange located in Iceland. It was established in 1985 as a joint venture of several banks and brokerage firms on the initiative of the ...
. Then in December of the same year the company was listed as ICEAIR on the ICEX. The next year FL Group landed in dire financial straits and then Icelandair Group was hit by the 2008–2012 Icelandic financial crisis. In 2009 Icelandair Group started a financial restructuring, which was successfully completed in February 2011. On 5 November 2018, Icelandair Group announced that it had made a purchase agreement to acquire all shares of competitor WOW air. The intention was that, after approval of the agreement by shareholders, the two airlines would continue to operate as separate brands. However, the merger was abandoned less than a month later. WOW air then held talks with
Indigo Partners Indigo Partners, LLC is an American private equity firm which has a controlling interest in the American Frontier Airlines and Chilean low-cost JetSmart, as well as holding stakes in Mexican budget airline Volaris and European low-cost carrier ...
; after those talks failed on 21 March 2019, Icelandair Group briefly but unsuccessfully resumed discussions, before WOW air's subsequent cessation of operations on 28 March. Icelandair was one of several airlines to propose special "rescue fares" for stranded WOW air passengers.


Shareholders

Most of the shareholders of Icelandair Group are pension and investment funds in Iceland. The Pension Fund of Commerce is the biggest shareholder, with 14.36% of shares at the end of 2013. About 22% of the shares are held by small shareholders with less than 0.70% of the shares each.


Subsidiaries

The subsidiaries of Icelandair Group: *
Icelandair Icelandair is the flag carrier airline of Iceland, with its corporate head office on the property of Reykjavík Airport in the capital city Reykjavik. Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both si ...
*
Icelandair Cargo Icelandair is the flag carrier airline of Iceland, with its corporate head office on the property of Reykjavík Airport in the capital city Reykjavik. Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both si ...
Defunct subsidiaries include: *
Air Iceland Connect Air Iceland Connect, formerly Flugfélag Íslands, was a regional airline with its head office at Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, Iceland. It operates scheduled services under the brand of its parent company, Icelandair, to domestic destinatio ...
*
Loftleidir Icelandic 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 fligh ...
* VITA


References


External links

* {{authority control Icelandair Holding companies of Iceland Airline holding companies 1937 establishments in Iceland Holding companies established in 1937 Companies based in Reykjavík Icelandic brands Airlines established in 1937 Companies listed on Nasdaq Iceland