Icelandair Business Class Review: Saga Premium from Toronto to London via Iceland

Booking Icelandair Saga Premium with Atmos Rewards

On a recent trip to Greece, I found an interesting redemption through Alaska’s Atmos Rewards Program. For 85,000 points and $237 USD in taxes, I found a business-class flight through Iceland and Heathrow via Icelandair and British Airways: YYZ – KEF – LHR – ATH

Having only flown Icelandair in economy and never seen a business-class redemption through Atmos, I booked this 2-connection flight to experience Icelandair in business class. I obtained Atmos points from a no longer offered transfer of MBNA points to Alaska Miles (wished that partnership never ended).

Toronto Pearson Check-in and Lounge Access

Icelandair flies out of YYZ from Terminal 3. No one was in line when I arrived at the check-in desk. Interestingly, Icelandair only had counters for economy seating and nothing for business class. At check-in, I was told to go to Gate B26 and then board a separate bus that takes me to another section of Terminal 3 where Icelandair departs.

Lounge access for Icelandair Saga Premium passengers:

Saga Premium bookings made after April 1, 2025, are no longer eligible for lounge access. Saga Premium bookings made through North American travel trade partners remain eligible if booked by May 1, 2025.

I headed to the Plaza Premium Lounge, which was a bit of a walk from Gate B26, closer to Gate C32, so if you are hoping for a visit to the lounge, give yourself at least 45 minutes to an hour, as it is a 10 to 15 minute walk away and the bus at Gate B26 leaves only once the bus is relatively full.

Icelandair Check-in at YYZ

Toronto to Keflavik: Icelandair 737 MAX 9 Saga Premium

Boarding starts 50 minutes before departure. I arrived early at the gate and boarding had already begun. I flew a Boeing 737 MAX 9 on this first 5.5-hour leg.

I chose Seat 1A, which is the bulkhead row aisle seat. When I arrived at my seat, there was a blanket, a pillow, and a bottle of Icelandic Glacial bottled water. No amenity kit or business class menu was at my seat when I arrived.

Icelandair Business Class Seats

To my left is the entertainment console, and to my right is the seat recline button. Under the armrest on the right is the pullout tray. At knee level on the right is also the power outlet, and to the left is the headphone jack.

To the left of the TV screen in front of me was a coat hook. There was also a headphone jack and USB charger to the right of the screen. Underneath the TV screen was a leather storage compartment that held the safety card and doubled as a place to rest my feet when I grabbed a quick nap on this five-and-a-half-hour flight.

IFE and Coat hook on the wall

While the seats were not a 180° lie flat recline seat, the seat was comfortable and spacious. There were headrests on either side of the seat head, so I didn’t need to use my neck pillow. Though, to be honest, this seasoned traveller did wish the seats reclined a little further back, given this was business class.

Dinner and the Icelandair Gin Library

Shortly after boarding, we were offered sparkling wine in flimsy plastic cups. Menus were handed out after takeoff, once we reached cruising altitude. It was then that I read on the menu that amenity kits could be requested on demand to be more environmentally friendly.

The highlight of the meal service was the “Gin Library ” exclusively for Premium Saga passengers. They have five unique Icelandic Gins that pair with premium tonic water, also provided on the flight. They also have the popular Tanqueray Gin as an option. To start, I chose the first gin on the list, accompanied by a savoury bowl of crispy sesame crackers. The starter was fresh bread with butter and a tomato salad with cheese. The main course was either grilled chicken or braised lamb with truffle-mashed potatoes and roasted potatoes, and dessert was pecan pie.

Welcome snack and drink

With the appetizer came the Lundey Gin, which, according to the menu description, is a bluish gin that turns pink when combined with tonic water. The Gin was dark purple, and it did turn a slight pink after adding the Tonic water.

Gin#2 from the Gin Library

With my lamb, I went with the Olaffason Gin with hints of juniper, thyme and citrus. A generous portion of lamb was moist and tender, accompanied by mashed potatoes and vegetables. While the pecan pie was okay, I was hoping for a more traditional Icelandic dessert with the meal. (#1st world problems)

Icelandair business class meal

Before landing, we were offered some traditional Icelandic chocolate and another drink. I finished off with the Reykjavik Angelica Gin with a “Ris” Icelandic Chocolate bar, which I can describe as Maltesers made into a chocolate bar.

Pre-landing: Gin#3

Amenity kit and Service

Requested on demand, inside a stylish blue-and-white “spotted” thick cloth bag with a drawstring and the IA logo were a matching spotted blue eye mask, dark blue socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, earplugs, lip balm, and hand cream. While I prefer a leather bag, this bag had a high-quality feel, and the artistic colours, designed by a local Icelandic artist, made it a keeper!!

Icelandair business class – Amenity Kit

Great service from the crew. Attentive and helpful with a wonderful sense of humour throughout the flight.

Connecting at Keflavik and Missing the Saga Lounge

For my connecting flight, I flew a Boeing 767-300 for a 3 hr 15 min flight to Heathrow (LHR). My flight left from Gate D32, which was a 10-second walk from the gate I arrived at.

Sadly, the Icelandair Saga Lounge was after passport control in the Schengen area, while Canada and UK flights use the D-gate area, and with less than a 90-minute layover, this lounge lizard didn’t have a chance to visit it 😪. I was a little disappointed that the airline did not even have a satellite lounge in this section of the airport, considering it’s their main Hub (like my Austrian Airlines lounge visit in Vienna)

FYI, passengers from YYZ flying onward on flights to the UK and Ireland do not need to go through passport control, unlike other destinations, which saved me time on the short layover. There is a priority boarding line for business class passengers, which made boarding seamless

Keflavik to London: Icelandair 767-300 Saga Premium

The business class cabin on this Boeing 767-300 is in a 2-1-2 configuration with 5 rows, which I’ve never seen before. Usually, throne seats aren’t in the middle aisle but by the windows. I went with seat 3D, a middle throne seat (a first for me).

At my seat, there was just a pillow. Unlike my previous seat, there was no entertainment console under the armrest, just the button to recline the seat. To my left, at knee level while seated, was the power plug (which wasn’t working), and to my right was the headphone jack. Beneath the monitor was the leather seat pocket with safety instructions. To the right of the TV screen was a USB charger and headphone jack. Lastly, below the seat pocket was the footrest.

Icelandair business class: 2-1-2 configuration

Icelandair business class cabin

Breakfast and Service

As this was a shorter flight, no meal menu card was handed out, but a drinks menu was distributed, identical to the previous flight. As this was a 7 am flight, breakfast was served.  The meal included a warm bread roll with whipped butter, as well as a slice of Italian salami and smoked turkey with tomato relish. The main dish was an herb omelette (reminiscent of AC’s famous Parsley omelette), served with spinach and mushrooms on the side. Finally, for dessert, Icelandic yogurt with blueberries and an oat crumble. I paired it with the Stuolaberg Pink Gin and tonic (which was not available on the last flight).

More Gin

Breakfast: KEF-EUR

My Icelandair Gin Verdict

Having worked my way through the 5 Icelandic gin selections on my 2 flights, my favourite was the Purple Lundey Gin. My 2nd favourite was Stuolaberg Pink Gin (which I had on my 2nd flight), infused with raspberries and strawberries, with a pleasant, slightly sweeter taste. Though I HIGHLY recommend trying all 5 !! If G&T’s are not your thing, the airline also have Icelandic beer served on the flight

Was Icelandair Saga Premium Worth the Points?

The soft product is quite good. From boarding to in-flight service, they have great staff who take care of you from gate to gate… though I’m unsure why there wasn’t a dedicated business-class line at YYZ at check-in. It’s their hard product that I think needs improvement. First, a middle-aisle throne seat is pointless compared to having one by the window. Just my opinion.  Given the short distances between North America and Europe on Icelandair, I understand why the planes may not have a fully lie-flat Business class seat; however, this is one aspect of the hard product that is lacking on both of their Boeing planes.

Also, in an airline’s main hub, there should be more than just one business class Lounge. While I appreciated my connecting gate being very close to where my flight landed, I was disappointed not to have even a smaller satellite IA lounge in the area my connecting flight flew from. Even Air Canada has a smaller satellite Maple Leaf lounge near the D gates, away from their main lounge.

Also, no duty-free on the flight. There is a 4-minute sales video of various Icelandic products to watch before getting to the entertainment options, yet none of those products are available for purchase on the plane. My short stay at KEF airport was enjoyable, as there were quite a few shops in my boarding area that offered original Icelandic Products for purchase.

If travelling with kids, the airline doesn’t give out youth activity kits like other airlines. Just a colourful pair of headphones to watch the in-flight entertainment. A minor observation, but just another part of their hard product that needs improvement.

Would I spend 85,000 Atmos points to fly Saga Premium again? Probably not, as I wasn’t too impressed with the hard product given for 70,000 Atmos; I can fly Qatar Q-Suites from YYZ to DOH instead. Though if you are an “AvGeek” like many in this hobby are, it is worth a try to experience IA in business class just once, and hopefully have a long enough layover to try the IA Saga Lounge in KEF.

Overall, I would rate the two flights a 6/10, as there is a lot of room for improvement, including working seat power outlets.

Góða Ferð ✈️