Is Delta or Icelandair better to Europe?

Delta scores 8/10 against Icelandair at 6/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, Delta wins 2 and Icelandair wins 1. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.

Which is cheaper, Delta or Icelandair?

On the 14 routes where both were priced for the same week (November 8–14, 2026), Delta was cheaper on 0 and Icelandair on 14. Every pair of fares is the same departure and return date in the same cabin, so the difference is the airline rather than the dates or the cabin.

Does the aircraft change the answer?

Yes. Delta scores 10/10 on the A350 / A330-900 (Delta One Suite) and 8/10 on the 767-300ER. Check the equipment on your date before deciding.

Has Jon flown either of these?

Delta, in business on a Europe route. Icelandair has not been flown, so nothing here claims firsthand experience of its cabin.

Head to head

Delta vs Icelandair

Delta scores 8/10 against Icelandair at 6/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare.

By Jon Miksis · cabin data verified August 30, 2026 · fares for travel November 8–14, 2026

Best product each one flies

Scored on what can be verified. Service, food and ground recovery are absent deliberately: they need someone in the seat, and they live in the reviews rather than here.

One caveat on the Value line, stated rather than buried: the cabin scores describe a business product and the fares behind Value are economy. A carrier that prices economy aggressively generally prices business the same way, but they are different products. Read Value as how an airline prices against its competitors, not as what its business seat costs.

Delta

A350 / A330-900 (Delta One Suite) · flown by Jon

Seat: 10/10
IFE: 10/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 2/10
Product score: 8/10

Icelandair

737 MAX / 757 (Saga Premium)

Seat: 0/10
IFE: 4/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Product score: 6/10

Dimension by dimension

Seat: Delta
10/10 on the A350 / A330-900 (Delta One Suite) against 0/10 on the 737 MAX / 757 (Saga Premium).
IFE: Delta
Screens, connectivity and power: 10/10 against 4/10.
Lounge & bags: level
What the fare includes before you board: 10/10 against 10/10.
Value: Icelandair
Median premium over the cheapest carrier on the same route: 2/10 against 10/10.

Where both were priced on the same dates

Every fare is November 8–14, 2026, so a difference between two rows is a difference between two airlines and nothing else. These are economy fares, while the cabin scores above describe the business product — read them as how each airline prices against its competitors, not as what its business seat costs.

Route	Cabin	Delta	Icelandair	Cheaper
BOS → CDG	economy	$719	$594	Icelandair by $125
BOS → AMS	economy	$1226	$649	Icelandair by $577
MCO → CDG	economy	$813	$680	Icelandair by $133
BOS → LHR	economy	$815	$683	Icelandair by $132
MCO → MUC	economy	$1952	$703	Icelandair by $1249
MCO → AMS	economy	$1016	$714	Icelandair by $302
MCO → FRA	economy	$1963	$714	Icelandair by $1249
MCO → DUB	economy	$1126	$748	Icelandair by $378
MCO → BCN	economy	$1125	$823	Icelandair by $302
MCO → FCO	economy	$1141	$838	Icelandair by $303
JFK → CDG	business	$5711	$2354	Icelandair by $3357
JFK → LHR	business	$8631	$2356	Icelandair by $6275
JFK → AMS	business	$11981	$2404	Icelandair by $9577
JFK → FCO	business	$5752	$3065	Icelandair by $2687

What happens if the aircraft swaps

Both carriers are paying-the-same-fare-either-way propositions on some frames. The worst product each one flies:

Delta

767-300ER · flown by Jon

Seat: 8/10
IFE: 10/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 2/10
Product score: 7.5/10

Icelandair

737 MAX / 757 (Saga Premium)

Seat: 0/10
IFE: 4/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Product score: 6/10

Delta: Same 1-2-1 lie-flat, no privacy door.

Icelandair: Saga Premium is a wide recliner, not a lie-flat business class: roughly 20 inches wide with about 5 inches of recline. Closer to US domestic first class than to a transatlantic business seat, and the shorter Iceland sectors are what it is built for.

Common questions

Is Delta or Icelandair better to Europe?: Delta scores 8/10 against Icelandair at 6/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, Delta wins 2 and Icelandair wins 1. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.
Which is cheaper, Delta or Icelandair?: On the 14 routes where both were priced for the same week (November 8–14, 2026), Delta was cheaper on 0 and Icelandair on 14. Every pair of fares is the same departure and return date in the same cabin, so the difference is the airline rather than the dates or the cabin.
Does the aircraft change the answer?: Yes. Delta scores 10/10 on the A350 / A330-900 (Delta One Suite) and 8/10 on the 767-300ER. Check the equipment on your date before deciding.
Has Jon flown either of these?: Delta, in business on a Europe route. Icelandair has not been flown, so nothing here claims firsthand experience of its cabin.

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