Review: Atlantic Airways Reykjavík to Vágar

After a blissful week in Iceland, my partner Jessy and I flew from Reykjavík to Vágar in the Faroe Islands on Atlantic Airways. 

Atlantic Airways is the Faroese national carrier, which connects the secluded archipelago to Iceland and other European hubs.

Since this is a fairly niche airline based in a remote destination, I thought I’d document the experience and share a little bit about what it was like.

Atlantic Airways – Booking

I booked our flight for about $250 (CAD) per person. It’s certainly not the cheapest price for a 90-minute flight, but nothing in this part of the world, or in any remote part of the world for that matter, comes cheap. 

Atlantic Airways doesn’t partner with any other airlines at all, nor is it part of an alliance. The only points you can earn are with the Atlantic Airways Súlubonus loyalty program.

Naturally, I made sure to register for an account. I credited the points for our flight to our newly-minted Súlubonus accounts, should it ever become possible to redeem them for future flights when we return to the Faroe Islands.

Atlantic Airways – Cabin

Atlantic Airways has a minuscule fleet of three Airbus A320s, consisting of a single Airbus A320-200 and two Airbus A320neos. Furthermore, in addition to its fixed-wing aircraft, there are also a number of helicopters in the fleet – but more on that later.

The aircraft offer all-economy configurations only.

The main competitive advantage of Atlantic Airways is simply the convenience of providing a link to and within the Faroe Islands, rather than any sort of level of luxury.

On this particular flight, we were on the Airbus A320neo. This specific aircraft has 174 economy seats in a 3-3 configuration.

The seat pitch is listed as a very reasonable 30–32”, with 17.5” of width and 3″ of recline. For such a short flight, I wasn’t all too fussed.

We boarded the flight from Gate A11 at Keflavík International Airport, and made our way to Seats 6E and 6F on the right side of the aircraft. We opted for the middle and window seats, so that we could both gaze out over the water during the flight.

Atlantic Airways – Seat

I first noticed the amount of leg room provided, which was quite respectable here on Atlantic Airways’s all-economy configuration.

I also appreciated the added feature of USB ports down by our legs, which isn’t always available on short flights like this one.

There was an ergonomic seat-back arrangement, with the usual tray table, a pouch down below, and a separate literature pocket at the top.

The seat aesthetics were nothing overly special, with a standard grey-blue lining and alternating blue- and red-coloured seat belts. This aircraft is relatively new, and didn’t show any obvious signs of aging within the cabin. 

Atlantic Airways – Service

There wasn’t a full meal service on this quick flight, but there were other items available for purchase onboard the flight, in addition to complimentary coffee and tea.

We opted to order some orange juice to sip on and help pass the time, as we made our way southeasterly across the North Atlantic Ocean.

Later on, I helped myself to a cup of tea as we approached the Faroe Islands.

Atlantic Airways – Entertainment

The onboard entertainment system, Atlantic AirFi, is an inflight Wi-Fi service that passengers can connect to and watch movies on a personal device.

While connecting for this purpose was simple enough, you can’t use the Wi-Fi connection to do anything more than load the portal.

For this flight, I contented myself with reading the inflight literature, including a copy of the Atlantic Review, the airline’s inflight magazine. The 2022 edition happened to be the first published edition since the pandemic.

I really enjoyed flipping through and getting a preview of the little-known destination that we’d soon be visiting. I read everything in the magazine, including the story about James Bond and the latest film’s connection to the Faroe Islands, as well as some local recommendations in the capital of Tórshavn.

What I always appreciate the most when flying with new airlines and flipping through the in-flight magazine is learning about the specifics of the airline’s operations.

Information on the fleet size and route map was found on the last page of the magazine, and I must say that the Atlantic Airways route map was exceptionally intriguing.

It showcased all of the routes around the Faroe Islands and the North Atlantic, including the route to Reykjavík that we were on. Furthermore, passengers with Atlantic Airways can take onward flights to Scandinavia, Edinburgh, Paris, Barcelona, Mallorca, and some sunnier destinations.

For example, there is a unique route all the way down to the Canary Islands. One day, I just might book an Atlantic Ocean “island hopper” from Reykjavík to the Faroe Islands to the Canary Islands, and maybe even onwards to other islands I’ve yet to discover.

After wrapping up with the magazine, I enjoyed watching the scenery outside, especially as we approached the Faroe Islands. 

It was pretty spectacular to watch these rugged, sweeping cliffs emerge into view from the mirror-like surface of the ocean. I was transfixed by the scenery as we descended and made our landing at Vágar Faroe International Airport.

After waltzing across the tarmac with our carry-on luggage, we had a smooth and short journey through baggage control. We soon found ourselves in a very simple airport terminal, and headed out the exit towards the car rental centre.

Conclusion

I rather enjoyed this short journey from Iceland to the Faroe Islands with Atlantic Airways. I was impressed by the comfortable seats, the delightful entertainment options, and the inspiring views.

You’ll probably fly with this airline if you’re heading to the Faroe Islands, unless you take one of the SAS flights from Copenhagen or if you arrive by cruise.

Stay tuned, because this wasn’t anywhere close to the most interesting Atlantic Airways flight that we took here in the Faroe Islands…