share
A new Boeing 737-8 airplane has entered service for Europe’s leading leisure, travel and tourism company, TUI, and will become the new flying ambassador for the capital city of Iceland. The airplane with the flight number TOM 4308 arrived at the Airport of Keflavik at 10:15 a.m. having departed London Gatwick (United Kingdom) at 7:25 a.m. It received its name Reykjavik by Mrs. Þórdís Lóa Þórhallsdóttir, Deputy Mayor of Reykjavik City and chairperson of the council’s executive committee. Around 50 guests, including Bjarnheiður Hallsdóttir, Chairwoman of The Icelandic Travel Industry Association (SAF), as well as various hotel and excursion partners attended the naming ceremony. They were joined by Grýla and some Yule Lads – the iconic mountain-dwelling pranksters of Icelandic Christmas folklore.
“Today, we continue on our journey of becoming Europe’s most fuel-efficient airline as we welcome another Boeing 737-8 airplane into the TUI Airline fleet. Our Reykjavik is now an ambassador for the city, the island and the TUI Group – right across Europe. This morning we arrived with a fully booked flight at Keflavik Airport – it is impressive to see that holidaymakers can’t wait to travel up North this winter to the country of extraordinary contrasts and dramatic landscapes. TUI is the strategic partner for holiday destinations all across Europe and we have been offering holidays to Iceland with our own flights for nearly eight years, now. This winter season we are expecting more than 10,000 guests from the United Kingdom to arrive to the land of fire and ice,” said Sebastian Ebel, CEO TUI Group, during the naming ceremony at Keflavik airport. He was accompanied by Marco Ciomperlik, Chief Airline Officer of TUI Group, and Andrew Flintham, Managing Director TUI UK & Ireland.
“It is a great pleasure to be the godmother of this TUI Boeing 737-8 named after our beautiful city, the northernmost capital in the world. Reykjavik continues to inspire and captivate travelers from all corners of the globe. We might be small, but we make up for it with boundless energy, unyielding perseverance, and a creative spirit that knows no bounds. Our new ambassador will make us even more popular”, said Þórdís Lóa Þórhallsdóttir.
“It is clearly an honour that a long-standing partner such as TUI has chosen to name one of its airplanes after our capital city. Yet more importantly this marks not only the close relationship between TUI and Iceland, but also the confidence put on us as an important holiday destination”, says Guðmundur Daði Rúnarsson, CCO and Airport Development Officer Keflavik Airport.
From 17th December 2023 till 28th February 2024, TUI Airways takes off from London Gatwick, Manchester and Bristol to Reykjavik and has increased its flight offering. In total, more than 100 flights to and from the Iceland are planned till the end of the winter season in 2024. Since starting with its own flights in January 2016, TUI Airways will have flown more than 115,000 guests to Iceland (by the end of February 2024). TUI guests from other European markets are also flocking to Iceland, mostly using flights of partner airlines.
