Icelandair’s net loss in the quarter was US$39.4 million and decreased by US$43.9 million compared to 2020. EBIT improved between years by US$24.6 million, which is the strongest EBIT result in the fourth quarter since 2016. The market price of fuel was on average 12% higher than in Q3 and 91% higher compared to Q4 last year. The company’s financial position was strong at year-end with total liquidity amounting to US$435.0 million and equity ratio at 19%.
Icelandair fourth quarter capacity in the route network reached 65% of Q4 2019 levels compared to 50% in the third quarter. Unit revenues in the quarter were 3% lower than Q4 2019 despite a significant negative impact from the Omicron wave in December and lingering effects of the Delta wave in October.
Icelandair’s total income reached US$193 million and more than tripled compared to the fourth quarter 2020. The airline notes that the opening of the US borders for European travellers in November was an important milestone allowing travel between all of Icelandair’s markets for the first time since March 2020.
Icelandair carried around 545,000 passengers in the fourth quarter 2021 compared to 52,000 in the same quarter 2020. The market “to” Iceland was the Company’s largest market and accounted
for 45% of total passengers. The load factor in the fourth quarter 2021 was 70.3% and improved by 1.9 percentage points compared to the third quarter despite the considerable negative impact of the
Omicron variant on travel in December. On-time-performance in the international route network was
78%. The hard work and resourcefulness of the Company’s employees ensured minimal disruption to
the flight schedule and smooth traveling for customers in the quarter, especially around the holiday
season when many of the Company’s employees were impacted by the Omicron variant.
The airline reports that cargo operations continued to be strong with volumes and revenues exceeding pre-Covid levels, especially on the transit market. Revenue from Icelandair’s leasing operation increased between years although still being 60% of 2019 levels. Two of the leasing projects included 13 flights to Antarctica with scientists and tourists.
"The year 2021 was a year of recovery. After having focused on preserving our infrastructure, knowledge and maintaining financial strength throughout the pandemic, we were in a strong position for an efficient ramp-up as soon as passenger demand started to increase in 2021,” said Bogi Nils Bogason, President & CEO. “Using our flexibility to adapt to the situation at any given time, we went from serving only four destinations with 10 weekly departures from Iceland early in the year to 200 departures a week to 34 destinations during the summer peak. The total number of passengers on international and domestic flights was around 1.5 million and at the end of the year we had reached 65% of our 2019 capacity… Our clear goals and focused strategy resulted in a strong recovery and robust financial position at the end of the year.
Icelandair has made a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The airline has set a medium-term target of reducing its carbon emissions by 50% per operational ton kilometre by 2030 compared to 2019. The airline will use combination of measures, such as fleet renewal, operational improvements, the implementation of sustainable aviation fuels as well as carbon offsetting to reach its goals. Icelandair too delivery of three new MAX aircraft during the year and is receiving additional five in 2022, bringing the total number of MAX aircraft to 14 this summer out of a total of 30 aircraft within the international passenger network fleet.
Icelandair is aiming for a 3-5% EBIT ratio and to turn a net profit for the full year 2022.