At a glance
Annual and Sustainability Report 2022
Customer focus

Strong customer focus

2022 was a year of realization and redefinition for the new Customer Division. As the world was waking up from the pandemic, there was an urgency in the first half of the year to support and respond to the pent-up demand for travel. During the summer, various growing pains within the industry started to affect customers during their travels, requiring creative and out-of-the-box reactions from Icelandair. During the peak season Icelandair sent its own baggage staff on flights to help load and unload the aircraft where staffing issues were most pertinent, and to assist airport staff in locate luggage that had been delayed as a result.

_F4A7675-2

Mapping and improving the customer journey

High focus has been put on development of products and services alongside delivery standards, implementing customer experience design in all stages and aligning with internal and external service delivery teams. VOC (Voice of the Customer) and a Customer Experience strategy are being expanded and are imperative for the team moving forward, as well as defining and implementing new service standards for the various touchpoints in the customer journeys and stay true to our brand promise.

Product and service management, a new department created in 2022, integrates the product and customer experience departments. Our primary focus is on the needs and expectations that the customer has. Collaboration within our team and with other stakeholders is significant and has enhanced effectiveness and problem-solving. Now, one of the initiatives is focusing on the end-to-end journey service that we provide to passengers with special needs. For customers who require any form of special assistance, our goal is to ensure a seamless and safe travel experience.

Guðrún Hrafnkelsdóttir

Airport & Lounge Experience Manager

_F4A0927

Increased focus on digital product development

The approach to digital product development was adjusted during the year with the creation of two new cross functional product teams. This new strategy is primed to secure resources for the development, improve the dynamics between stakeholders and support the different needs of the teams throughout the various stages of the product lifecycles.

Strong engagement with customers through our membership club

Saga Club provides a strong foundation for engagement with customers, is an important source of customer insights, and contributes significantly to Icelandair’s overall results. The club grew by 17% in terms of memberships in 2022 and has over 1.3 million members, making it the largest and most valuable loyalty program in Iceland and the 60th most valuable airline Loyalty program in the world.

Strategic investments were made to extend points and tier status in 2020 and 2021 to maintain engagement and preserve member benefits, resulting in a record-breaking year with regards to redemption on flights. In 2022, the decision was made to extend all points for active members (who had accrued or redeemed points over the past 12 months).

The footprint of Saga Club is particularly strong domestically where we also have strong co-brand relationships and affiliate partnership programs. The Icelandair App has proven to be a great asset for new member acquisitions, contributing over 60% of all new member registrations in 2022.

_F4A7948-2

Content creation and search engine optimization

We also invested heavily in search engine optimization (SEO) during the pandemic with great results. This will benefit us in both the short and long-term in terms of organic visibility and revenue growth. Our emphasis was on updating our content frequently and consistently based on the latest information available to us regarding the development of the pandemic. This resulted in Icelandair becoming a reliable source for pandemic-related information in both local and global medias, further enhancing the profile of the company website.

Bringing the spirit of Iceland to the world

On the inspirational side, we reignited our campaign to bring the spirit of Iceland to the world. We engaged in extensive marketing efforts during the year, bringing back many of our key events, such as Iceland airwaves and our international event, Taste of Iceland that is held in our key markets. Our marketing campaigns resulted in stronger brand awareness, measured throughout the year. Together with our partners Blue Lagoon Iceland, 66°North and Inspired by Iceland, we created an unforgettable Iceland-themed pop-up in the heart of London. Our three-day event in October 2022 was designed to highlight just how close the wonders of Iceland are and generated plenty of great coverage for Iceland and Icelandair. There were over 430 pieces of coverage, with a total reach of 1.33 billion.