Icelandair’s special livery plane “Flying Glacier” makes the cabin feel like an ice cave

▲Icelandair (Photo/Icelandic fan page)

Text by Rita

If travelers were asked to vote for the most desired and mysterious travel destination, the distant Nordic country of Iceland would likely rank within the top five. Its natural landscapes, auroras, and volcanoes are wonders that those of us from subtropical regions can hardly imagine without seeing them in person. For this reason, when airlines consider the design of their aircraft exteriors, they stay true to this uniqueness. Instead of going for cartoon-style liveries like AirAsia, they opted to depict glaciers on the fuselage, resulting in the special aircraft “Flying Glacier”—the Vatnajökull.

▲Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull (Photo/Guide to Iceland fan page)

According to the Daily Telegraph, this aircraft launched by Icelandair is a Boeing 757-200. Its exterior draws inspiration from Iceland’s terrain, and not just the fuselage—the cabin interior also has highlights. The interior features electronic LED blue lighting, with tones designed to evoke the atmosphere inside an ice cave, making passengers feel as if they’re right there. Even the cups, napkins, and airsickness bags are adorned with glacier patterns.

▲The cabin design of Icelandair’s Vatnajökull showcases the surreal feeling of being inside a glacier (Photo/Icelandic fan page)

Vatnajökull is Europe’s largest glacier and one of the continent’s seven natural wonders, covering 8% of Iceland’s land area. Due to its incredibly fantastical landscape, it often serves as a filming location for movies. Icelandair aircraft are generally named after local volcanoes, but the Vatnajökull is the first glacier-themed plane, launched to celebrate the airline’s 80th anniversary. It was also created by the same team behind the aurora livery introduced in 2015.