Today is the 75th anniversary of regular scheduled flights between Iceland and the USA
The first flight took place on August 26, 1948, landing at New York’s international airport (now JFK) and welcomed by representatives of the city mayor. The flight was operated by Loftleiðir Icelandic, one of the predecessors of Icelandair, and was flown on a Skymaster plane named Geysir. We’re so happy to be continuing the KEF-JFK connections 75 years on – and on some flights today, there will be treats to celebrate
A flying dance hall
“It looked like a large dance hall,” said Alfred Eliasson, after his first view of a Douglas DC4 Skymaster, the plane that Loftleidir bought in 1947. This type of aircraft was often called “The Four” (Fjarkinn) in Iceland, and it was regularly used on international routes for the next decade.
The first Skymaster was named Hekla. Loftleidir, now known abroad as Loftleidir Icelandic, bought a second aircraft in 1948 and called it Geysir. In the same year, Flugfélag Íslands, or Icelandair, bought the first in its “Gullfaxi” series, also a Skymaster. These highly respected aircraft carried 46 passengers. They were Iceland’s first serious long-haul aircraft.
Read more → www.icelandair.com/about/history/flying-since-1937/
Images: © Icealandair
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