Is Icelandair or Lufthansa better to Europe?

Lufthansa scores 9/10 against Icelandair at 6/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, Icelandair wins 1 and Lufthansa wins 2. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.

Which is cheaper, Icelandair or Lufthansa?

On the 12 routes where both were priced for the same week (November 8–14, 2026), Icelandair was cheaper on 7 and Lufthansa on 5. 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. Lufthansa scores 10/10 on the A350-900 / 787-9 (Allegris) and 5/10 on the 747-8 / A330-300 (legacy). Check the equipment on your date before deciding.

Has Jon flown either of these?

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

Head to head

Icelandair vs Lufthansa

Lufthansa scores 9/10 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.

Icelandair

737 MAX / 757 (Saga Premium)

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

Lufthansa

A350-900 / 787-9 (Allegris) · flown by Jon

Seat: 10/10
IFE: 8/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 8/10
Product score: 9/10

Dimension by dimension

Seat: Lufthansa
0/10 on the 737 MAX / 757 (Saga Premium) against 10/10 on the A350-900 / 787-9 (Allegris).
IFE: Lufthansa
Screens, connectivity and power: 4/10 against 8/10.
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: 10/10 against 8/10.

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	Icelandair	Lufthansa	Cheaper
BOS → HEL	economy	$570	$458	Lufthansa by $112
BOS → OSL	economy	$477	$728	Icelandair by $251
ORD → OSL	economy	$544	$737	Icelandair by $193
BOS → MUC	economy	$618	$774	Icelandair by $156
BOS → FRA	economy	$629	$785	Icelandair by $156
ORD → ARN	economy	$630	$692	Icelandair by $62
JFK → ARN	economy	$1116	$661	Lufthansa by $455
ORD → FRA	economy	$734	$1114	Icelandair by $380
ORD → HEL	economy	$915	$873	Lufthansa by $42
ORD → BER	economy	$1047	$894	Lufthansa by $153
ORD → MUC	economy	$960	$909	Lufthansa by $51
ORD → FRA	business	$3195	$6070	Icelandair by $2875

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:

Icelandair

737 MAX / 757 (Saga Premium)

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

Lufthansa

747-8 / A330-300 (legacy) · flown by Jon

Seat: 5/10
IFE: 8/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 8/10
Product score: 7.8/10

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.

Lufthansa: The cabin Allegris is replacing. Still widely flown on US routes into late 2026.

Common questions

Is Icelandair or Lufthansa better to Europe?: Lufthansa scores 9/10 against Icelandair at 6/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, Icelandair wins 1 and Lufthansa wins 2. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.
Which is cheaper, Icelandair or Lufthansa?: On the 12 routes where both were priced for the same week (November 8–14, 2026), Icelandair was cheaper on 7 and Lufthansa on 5. 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. Lufthansa scores 10/10 on the A350-900 / 787-9 (Allegris) and 5/10 on the 747-8 / A330-300 (legacy). Check the equipment on your date before deciding.
Has Jon flown either of these?: Lufthansa, in business on a Europe route. Icelandair has not been flown, so nothing here claims firsthand experience of its cabin.

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