Philly Announces First Ever Direct Flights To Iceland
By Pat Loeb and Greg Argos
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — You can now fly directly from Philadelphia to Iceland, for the next few months at least.
On Tuesday, Iceland Air launched seasonal direct flights.
The first direct flight from Iceland's capital, Reykjavich, arrived at Philadelphia International Airport at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.
The plane then made its first direct trip back to Iceland, leaving Philadelphia around 8:30 p.m.
"I would have never though Iceland. We always though Caribbean [for our vacations]," said one woman on the inaugural outbound flight.
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Icelandair will make the roughly six-hour trip four times a week through the end of September.
Airport spokeswoman Mary Flannery says she thinks it will be popular.
"We know that for a lot of people, Iceland is on their bucket list of places they'd like to see," she said. "And of course it's also a great jumping off place to other countries in Europe."
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Mayor Kenney spent part of Memorial Day with Iceland officials promoting Philadelphia as a tourist destination as well.
"You can get on a flight from Philly, fly to Reykjavik, stay for 3-4 up to 7 days and then fly to 25 different cities around Europe," said the mayor.
The sight they most wanted to see? The Rocky statue.
