This week, Delta Air Lines announced a brand-new service between Detroit (DTW) and Keflavik (KEF) from next summer. This announcement follows one by Icelandair, who will be operating the same route, creating competition months before the first flight even takes off.

Connecting Detroit to Iceland

One Mile At A Time reports that Delta will use a Boeing 757-200 on this 6-hour and 30-minute hop over the Atlantic. Configured for domestic flights, Delta will sell the first class recliners as premium economy, creating only a two-class offering.

Delta Air Lines will begin operating the 2,792-mile (4,494km) route between the two cities from May 15th, 2023, and will run through summer and finish on October 27th.

The dates are as follows:

• DL236 will operate the outbound flight from Detroit at 19:55 and land in Iceland at 06:20 (+1 day)
• DL237 will return from Keflavik at 08:05 and arrive in DTW at 10:55

Delta plans to operate the eastbound flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. The westbound services will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Simple Flying has reached out to Delta Air Lines for comment and a spokesperson for Delta said: “Delta is excited to further connect the United States and Iceland with new service to our hub in Detroit. Launching in summer 2023, this route will bring the total number of flights between the countries to 36 weekly.”

Icelandair will operate the same route

On November 25th, Icelandic flag carrier Icelandair announced it would fly between Detroit and Keflavik. They plan to use a Boeing 737 MAX 8 for the 6.5-hour flight.

The Icelandair service will begin on May 18th, 2023, just three days after Delta's inaugural flight. The service is also scheduled to last until October 30th - three days after Delta's.

Their schedule is as follows:

• FI873 will operate the outbound flight from Keflavik to Detroit, leaving at 17:00 and arriving at 18:25
• FI872 will be the returning flight departing Detroit at 20:00 and arriving in Iceland at 06:30 (+1 day)

Each flight will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Bogi Nils Bogason, president & CEO of Icelandair Group, said: "Icelandair is pleased to offer Detroit a refreshing new choice when travelling to Iceland and beyond. Icelandair's DTW service will allow passengers to travel to and from Europe in new, fuel-efficient planes with modern amenities, including gate-to-gate WiFi and inflight entertainment available for all passengers,"

A competitive response

Delta's response seems to be a competitive response to a promising market. Whether or not it will work depends on how many customers it can win against Icelandair.

Notably, the passenger experience will differ between the aging 757s and the shiny new 737 MAX 8s. Both offer recliners in their premium cabins and a 3-3 layout in economy. Icelandair is also allowing passengers who want to connect onwards to mainland Europe, the UK, and Ireland a chance to stay in Iceland for seven nights at no additional cost to their ticket.

Icelandair is taking over this route from the now-defunct airline WOW Air. It was highly positive when they previously operated this route, with 19,000 roundtrip passengers in 2019. The US Department of Transport reported a total of 50,152 passengers to/from Detroit on WOW Air. However, Delta can boast over Icelandair with its extensive US flights - offering more connection opportunities for visiting Icelandic passengers.

Either way, the route looks promising for both airlines and will hopefully be great news for Iceland and Keflavik Airport.