Icelandair's Christmas spirit
This Christmas, our advertisement celebrates the true spirit of Iceland.
The ad is inspired by the true story of a young and determined Icelandic boy who grows up to become an equally determined Icelandair pilot.
The Icelandic spirit is available to anyone and everyone, but it personifies a nation that has had to think outside the box to make things work on a windy island in the North Atlantic.
We’re proud to be able to share this story of our company – a story that shows what we can do.
The story
The Icelandair Christmas story begins on Christmas Eve, December 24, with the gifting of new ice skates to a young boy. It then follows the boy in his perseverance to dig both his home and the local ice-skating rink out of the snow, so that friends and family can go skating on Christmas morning.
Flash forward a couple of decades and the young boy has grown up to become an Icelandair pilot. It’s just a few days before Christmas and he is preparing for take-off from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, traveling home to Iceland with an aircraft full of passengers excited to be reunited with their families and friends. However, flights across Europe have been cancelled due to bad weather conditions.
Our pilot beats the odds and single-handedly digs the Icelandair aircraft out of the snow. As a result of the pilot’s sheer determination and Icelandic spirit, the flight is able to take off that night and bring its passengers safely home in time for Christmas.
Hear more from the pilot in our behind-the-scenes video.
The spirit of Iceland
The film is a love letter to the Icelandic people, depicting their resilience, strength, determination and innovation. This real-life event perfectly captures the relentlessness optimism of the Icelandic spirit which, as the story shows, goes much further than you could ever imagine!
Our holiday wishes to you
We hope that the holiday season brings you joy and celebration with your loved ones. We look forward to connecting you with your favorite people and places in 2023.
From everyone at Icelandair, gleðileg jól og farsælt komandi ár (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year)!