LETTER FROM ICELANDAIR:
WE ARE THE TRANSATLANTIC AIRLINE GÍSLI S. BRYNJÓLFSSON, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL MARKETING.
in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and who know this part of the world so well.
Dear passenger, welcome aboard!
The Icelandic winter has something for everyone, from culture connoisseurs to backcountry skiers. Our cover interview is with one of Iceland’s top expeditioners, Vilborg Arna Gissurardóttir. A true lover of the outdoors and someone who’s always up for a challenge, she was the first Icelander to cross the South Pole solo and the first Icelandic woman to summit Mt. Everest. Read more on page 18.
Joining Icelandair in early 2019, after 15 years heading a Reykjavík advertising agency, was a lifelong dream come true for me. It’s a privilege to be entrusted with a brand such as Icelandair, so clearly connected to its roots, with strong heritage and genuine values. This is a brand shaped by the spirit of Iceland, a country with a unique history, where the weather and geography often pose challenges but the locals always rise to the occasion. We have channeled our resourcefulness into qualities known around the world, including creativity, resilience, and optimism that things will work out okay. When I travel across the Atlantic—especially in winter—and hear the Icelandair greeting of velkomin um borð (“welcome aboard”), I feel comforted knowing I’m in the hands of experts well versed in the ways of fickle weather and trained by Iceland’s nature since they were kids. All Icelanders share that training; a respect for nature is ingrained in us as children and stays with us as adults. This is the ultimate training you need to fly over the Atlantic. As a passenger, you’ve made a great choice to travel with people who live on a unique island
4 Icelandair Stopover
Private pilot Keree Smith tells us about her and Lexi duPont’s backcountry flying and skiing adventures in Iceland, accompanied with stunning photographs by Elli Thor Magnusson (page 30). Following their feature is a guide to Iceland’s prime snow-sport locations. Photographer Benjamin Hardman also journeys to Iceland’s icy North, capturing frozen winter landscapes for his photo essay on page 52. For other winter activities in Iceland and beyond, check out Nancy Campbell’s compilation of icy attractions in some of Icelandair’s destinations on page 26. Jeremy Strong, a.k.a. Kendall Roy of hit HBO series Succession, discusses his role and his experience of filming in Iceland on page 36. Actor Elva María Birgisdóttir of popular Icelandic crime series Trapped talks about the second season—which can be watched on
board this flight—on page 42, and on page 22 you can read about how Icelandic nature and folklore inspired the creators of Frozen II. An endless source of inspiration, five cutting-edge Icelandic design companies are covered in connection with DesignMarch on page 48. Green design and sustainability are a theme for this year’s festival, apt given that Iceland bid farewell to its first glacier in 2019, marking a milestone in the national and global economic crisis (see page 46). Read about Icelandair’s green efforts on page 88. Destinations in focus in this issue are: Toronto —Icelandair’s Lea Kuliczkowski lists her favorite things about her hometown in winter (page 60); Helsinki—presenting smart tourism in Finland’s innovative capital city (page 62); and Zürich for culture and other curiosities in Switzerland (page 64). When you travel with Icelandair between Europe and North America, you can add a Stopover in Iceland at no additional airfare. In “Our Top Picks” on page 56, we suggest how to make the most of your Iceland Stopover. Also don’t miss our special “Travel Tips” supplement on page 67. Whatever travel adventures you have planned, we at Icelandair wish you a pleasant journey and hope to see you on board again soon. Góða ferð! Have a good trip.