Icelandair (FI, Reykjavik Keflavik) said in a press release it will keep more B757-200s in operation in 2020 than originally planned due to the ongoing grounding of the B737 MAX. It will also wet-lease at least two B737-800s.
"Icelandair has updated its flight schedule as it does not expect the Boeing 737 MAX back into service until May 2020. This decision has minimum impact on passengers and on Icelandair’s flight schedule for this period," the Icelandic flag carrier said.
Icelandair added that it has already signed a wet-lease agreement covering two B737-800s "that will be part of the fleet from next spring and is working on leasing in the third aircraft."
The airline did not respond to ch-aviation's query about the identity of the operator of the wet-leased B737s.
The airline said that while it had already reached a preliminary agreement with Boeing regarding the compensation for the absence of the B737 MAX, it was continuing talks with the manufacturer regarding further damages.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Icelandair has five B737-8s and one B737-9s on the ground. It was expecting deliveries of a further one -8 and two -9s when the family was grounded in mid-March 2019.
Besides the B737 MAX, Icelandair operates twenty-three B757-200s, two B757-300s, and four B767-300(ER)s, as well as two B757-200(PF)s. The B757s were due for a gradual phase-out and replacement by the MAX. The -200s are 23.9 years old on average and the -300s - 18.9 years.
