Review: Icelandair Saga Lounge, Keflavik (KEF)

Hello from Iceland! Specifically, the Icelandair Saga Lounge in the center of Keflavik Airport.

One reason I wanted to fly in Business Class home (instead of inbound) was access to this lounge. It’s Icelandair’s single lounge – and the only lounge in Keflavik airport.

Icelandair Saga Lounge Review

Entrance to the Icelandair Saga Lounge in Keflavik

Sitting here now, it’s one of the most spacious and calm airport lounges I’ve ever been to.

You can’t buy day passes to this lounge. But I’ll share how you can get in!

My Icelandair Saga Lounge Review

Icelandair expanded like crazy through North America. This summer, they started flights from Dallas – so I flew here nonstop in coach. And am flying back in Business (Saga) Class.

a screen shot of a blue screen

Icelandair’s expansion is aggressive

In fact, you can fly to Iceland from Dallas with:

  • American
  • Icelandair
  • WOW (Iceland’s budget airline)

You can also fly to Iceland via Delta from Minneapolis or New York.

At the lounge, I see Icelandair departures to Boston, Dallas, Montreal, New York, and Seattle.

a map of the earth with orange lines

Peeps in dozens of North American cities have direct access to Iceland

And that’s just a portion of where Icelandair flies.

Despite the boom in routes flown, they still have a lone lounge at home base in Keflavik. It’s a big, light-filled lounge with nice amenities.

You’ll find fast wifi, tons of outlets, full meals, and lots and lots of open seating.

The space

At nearly 15,000 square feet, the size is generous. It’s a wide open room, broken into sections with carpeting, chair positions, and other design/visual cues.

a floor plan of a room

Icelandair Saga Lounge layout

There are wood and earth tones, splashes of blue, and floor-to-ceiling windows that let in light and provide expansive views of the tarmac and planes outside.

a group of pink airplanes on a tarmac

View of WOW birds from the Icelandair Saga Lounge

You’ll find solo and social seating, tables for meals, recliners to lay back, and high tops to sit up and get some work done.

a room with a long table and chairs

View upon entering, after the reception desk

a room with a mannequin and a football ball

Loungers spread around hearthstones

a room with tables and chairs

Table/meal seating

a large room with a large table and chairs

Work areas and social tables around the elfstone

a group of chairs with a lamp on the side

Throne seats with chargers AT EVERY ONE

I love love love the availability of outlets. There’s a long row of seats with outlet access at the base of each. And throughout the space, there are outlets in the walls, or on the tabletops. It’s extremely easy to plug-in and recharge devices.

a room with tables and chairs and a television on the wall

View from my seat next to the restaurant and across from the fireplace

I’m at a circle table because I wanted soup and didn’t want to hold it in a lounger seat. From where I’m sitting, I can see the whole lounge – the fireplace is in front of me, the social areas are in the foreground, and the more private seats are beyond.

a room with couches and tables

Comfy couches

a room with blue chairs and a television

Cute comfy seats

It’s a quiet, calming space. I have a couple more hours here and am definitely not mad about it.

Amenities

There’s a row of bathrooms (men’s, women’s, and a family room) and 2 shower rooms stocked with Blue Lagoon toiletries and towels.

There’s no check-in or reservation needed – you can simply walk in and start showering. That’s a nice perk if you’re coming off a long drive or flight. Nothing like squeezing in a quick shower to reset.

a bathroom with a sink and chair

Shower rooms in the lounge

While there’s free wifi in the airport, you’ll also find fast, free wifi here.

a screenshot of a device

Nice speeds

And of course you can enjoy it in a recliner seat with a free drink in your hand next to a huge window or a blazing fireplace. 😉

a fireplace in a room

The fireplace

There’s also a kids play area, but no kids in here now.

Food and drinks

The big draw is free booze and meals.

Eating and drinking in Iceland is expensive. A nice cocktail is easily $20+. And a beer can be $10. So having a fully stocked self-pour bar looks like heaven before or after giving your credit card a workout.

Food can also be pricey. I’m here mid-afternoon, and there’s a nice lunch spread with all sorts of savory dishes. It’s easy to make a full meal out of the options. They also have several dessert choices.

a machine on a counter

Coffee and juice

There are several coffee machines throughout the lounge – Icelanders love their coffee!

a group of bottles of alcohol on a table

Self-pour bar

Shoutout to the Reyka vodka at the self-pour bar. 🤘

a shelf of bottles and cans of beer

Beer, sodas, water, wine, juices

There are 2 huge fridges filled with all sorts of beverage options.

a group of wine bottles on a counter

Wines

a table with food on it

Hot food and salad buffet

The buffet has meats, salad, pizza bites, samosas, and of course salmon. I got a huge handful of pine nuts – those are like $20 for a tiny bag in the US!

a table with different food items

Beef, chicken wings, samosas, finger foods

a tray of pastries on a table

Desserts – donuts, kleina, cakes

a tray of desserts and cookies

More desserts

a plate of food and a bowl of soup

My lunch selections

I loaded up on salad, a samosa, pizza bite, pine nuts, and salmon bites. I also helped myself to chicken soup and a Reyka vodka and sparkling soda with a couple of limes.

a donut on a napkin next to a glass of water

Kleina: traditional Icelandic dessert (like a donut) and um, the same vodka soda 😉

Nothing is made to order, but everything is certainly fresh. The attendants are constantly bringing out new dishes and keeping the areas clean.

Plus, in a country with expensive food and drinks, it’s hard to complain about free food. That said, I really liked my salad, samosa, soup, and salmon bites.

Having unlimited food in front of you is always a nice treat – especially if you find a couple things you really like.

Who can access this lounge?

You can access this lounge if you:

  • Are flying Icelandair Business (Saga) Class
  • Are Alaska MVP Gold or MVP Gold 75K elite status
  • Have an Admirals Club membership and fly AA
  • Hold the Citi American Airlines Executive card and fly AA
  • Are flying American First or Business Class
  • Have AA Platinum, Platinum Pro, or Executive Platinum elite status and fly American
  • Are flying United First or Business Class

I didn’t know Alaska elite members get access!

And if you have an Admirals Club membership (through American), you can enter when you fly American. Even if you got the membership from having the Citi AA Executive card.

The full chart is here. You can not buy a day pass to use this lounge. And you can not enter with a Priority Pass. That’s kinda nice, because it’s actually peaceful in here. Although I could see it being chaotic if they let in Priority Pass members (which is everyone).

Bottom line

This was my first visit. It’s peaceful in here. I’m looking forward to my flight home in Saga Class. But for now, I’m enjoying the food, drinks, and relaxation – everything a good lounge should provide.

Now, some lounges have full meals you can order with a server. Others just have hummus and celery sticks and maybe a soup. This lounge is in the middle. There’s a nice buffet with several hot options – enough to make a full meal before a flight.

There’s also a self-pour bar. I can’t overstate the value in a country like Iceland where booze is a luxury and taxed like crazy. (On that note, buy your booze at the duty free to take to your hotel room before you leave the airport!)

I love the variety of seating and spaces among the openness and views outside. Also, if you have MVP Gold or MVP Gold 75K elite status with Alaska, you can use this lounge even when flying coach – that’s a huge value add if you find a cheap flight to Iceland!

I want a lounge to have fast wifi, drinks, lots of outlets, and some quietude. I found all of those at the Icelandair Saga Lounge in Keflavik.

If you’ve been here, how does your experience compare? Are you planning a trip to Iceland soon?

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About Harlan

Just a dude living in Memphis, traveling, and working toward financial independence.

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Comments

  1. Oh look, the tower the macarons are on has a convenient little handle so I can bring the whole thing back to my seat 😀

  2. Harlan,

    My husband has the AA Executive card, but I’ll be traveling without him. I am an authorized user of the Executive card. Will I be able to access the Sage Lounge in Reykjavik?

    • Hey Lisa! I don’t think you could access this lounge as an AU on the card. The terms say:

      “An Authorized User of the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite TM Mastercard® who is eighteen (18) years of age or older will receive access privileges to American Airlines Admirals Club® lounges. Full Admirals Club® membership privileges do not apply to an Authorized User. An Admirals Club® membership includes access to other airline lounges and clubs with which American Airlines may have reciprocal lounge or club access privileges.”

      So I think only the primary cardholder would get the benefit. What airline are you flying? Is it AA in coach? If it’s Biz or First on AA you could still access the lounge in KEF.

      • Thanks for the reply, Harlan.

        AA to Reykjavik and Icelandair to Heathrow.

        But no, not First or Biz – economy.

        I agree with your assessment of the AA rules, but since the Saga rules don’t specify primary only, I was hoping they didn’t have that same policy. I messaged Icelandair on Facebook yesterday, but have not received a reply.

        • If you’re near the gate, it’s worth a try – they might just sneak you in anyway! Can’t hurt if you’re gonna pass it anyway. If it doesn’t work, there are tons of places to sit in the airport, or you can be on your way to the next gate. Might wanna take your card just in case!

  3. If I have the AA executive card but am flying Iceland Air, can I access the saga lounge? Do you have to show a boarding pass and a credit card to get in?

  4. Closes at 5.30pm, because no Icelandair flights, though there are other flights leaving. Boarding Card reads invitation to lounge, but no words that you actually cannot get in. We were not The only confused ones. No info at lounge that it is closed. At info desk no one working. Waiting area by Gate has no electricity plugs. What a backwards AirPort and service.

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