Returning to Portland after a brief but exciting stay in Iceland aboard the venerable 757-200. Soon to be the last operator of the 757 in Europe, and then only for a few months until the type is retired by March 2026, Icelandair has kept its aircraft in Delta-tier condition, owing to their investment in it for long, thin routes that require a decent amount of range but not the capacity of its 767-300ER, which is itself slated for retirement by 2029. As a result, flying on them is an excellent experience, especially as it’s one of an increasingly smaller number of Intercontinental 757 flights.
Server: Solo
Airline: Icelandair
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200
Origin: Keflavík International Airport, Suðurnesjabær, Iceland (KEF)
Destination: Portland International Airport, Portland, Oregon (PDX)
Flight Number: FI665
Route: BIKF-KPDX
Seat: 6F (Saga Premium)
Time En Route: 8 Hours 20 Minutes
Boarding has begun here at Keflavík in the mid-afternoon. Especially at these northern latitudes, it’s getting darker and darker out earlier and earlier. Our aircraft for this trip back to Portland is the same one we came in on, TF-FIN, named Eldborg. Looks to be the same crew, too.
Beginning a pretty long single-engine taxi to Runway 28 for takeoff. Not only is the aircraft and the crew the same as from our journey over here, but we’re in the same seat in Saga Premium, Icelandair’s business class: 6F, in the row closest to the engines.
Full-power RB.211 takeoff! The buzzsawing noise from the fan blade tips exceeding the speed of sound fills the cabin, drowning outalmost everything else. Oh, and we’ve got an excellent view of the Sun sinking lower in the western sky.
Punching through the clouds on our way to FL340 over the Denmark Strait. We can just see the Moon starting to peak above the horizon in the east.
Chasing the sunset over Greenland
By the time we’ve reached the northeastern part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, we’ve not only caught up with the Sun, we’ve picked up an extra 4,000 feet of altitude, clipping along at 38,000 feet. Service in Saga Premium is, as usual, superb.
Descending into Portland along the Columbia River, which forms much of the border between Oregon and Washington, with Mount Adams and Mount Ranier, the closest neighbors of Oregon’s Mount Hood, poking up to the north
Landing in the late afternoon at PDX. We’ve gone from the Land of Ice and Fire to the Land of Forest and Fire where, instead of fissure volcanoes carving the landscape open, mammoth stratovolcanoes point skyward from a vast sea of evergreens. Even the departures and approaches into Portland have something to do with volcanoes, with us departing PDX via the LAVAA7 departure and arriving via the HHOOD5 approach.
Single-engine taxi into the alley between the C Gates, home to Alaska Airlines and Oneworld partner American Airlines, and the E Gates, home to most everyone else who flies here
Deplaned and ready to go get our bags to head down to Mulino for the night. Great airline, great flight, and great places to fly in and out of on both ends of our journey!