Iceland review - 2015, Page 85

ICELAND REVIEW 83
In a world where time and speed are everything, Icelandair’s develop-
ing network now reaches 42 destinations, opening up new markets
for the fishing industry and creating opportunities for providing fish
of unmatched freshness to international locations in record time. Fish
accounts for up to 90 percent of Icelandair’s cargo export business
and Gunnar Már Sigurfinnsson, Managing Director of Icelandair Car-
go, is proud: “Thanks to our expanding international network, more
and more people can enjoy fresh fish on their plate 36 hours after it’s
been caught from the Atlantic Ocean.”
UNIQUE GEOGRAPHY
Icelandair Cargo has created an efficient service that capitalizes on
Iceland’s local and international geography.
As an island with an extensive coastline, the distances from Icelandic
fishing grounds to harbor are short. Many fish processing companies
have their operation next-door to the airport and the time between
harbor and airport is swift, meaning that fish is caught, packaged and
on its way to a growing number of global locations within hours. Gun-
nar is proud of Icelandair Cargo’s unparalleled speed of delivery: “In
certain cases our Icelandic fish reaches some of our international des-
tinations more quickly than a country’s own fish.”
MULTIPLYING DESTINATIONS, GROWING MARKETS
Thanks to a growing network, Icelandair now has almost 100 depar-
tures from Iceland to North America per week. In 2016 the airline
will also start flying to North American cites Montréal and Chicago,
and to Aberdeen in the UK. With new destinations come new mar-
kets for the fishing industry. Gunnar explains: “In 2012 Icelandair
started to fly to Toronto all year round with hardly any fresh fish
on board. Today, in 2015, we’re exporting 740 tons of fresh fish
products to Toronto. So we know that when Icelandair flies to a
new destination this builds up new networks for the fishing industry
and opens up new markets for people to enjoy, for example, fresh
Icelandic cod, haddock, salmon and Arctic char.”
TRACKING SYSTEM
Keen to offer its customers the best service, Icelandair Cargo is
now partnering with Vodafone Iceland to develop a tracking sys-
tem. This will allow customers to follow the journey of fish from
Iceland to its destination and to be able to track the temperature
the product is transported at. This will create greater transparen-
cy for Icelandair Cargo’s customers on the travel route and cargo
conditions, allowing them to track the fish from the North Atlantic
Ocean to international destinations.
For more information on Icelandair Cargo and its range of ser-
vices go to icelandaircargo.com.
THE FRESHEST
OF FISH
Icelandair Cargo knows the meaning of fresh, with a unique service that delivers fish
from the North Atlantic Ocean to international retailers in just 36 hours.
SPECIAL PROMOTION
SEAFOOD ICELAND
CONFERENCE 2015