Foreigners Charged More For Domestic Flights

Eagle Air charges hire rates for domestic flights that are purchased through their English language website. Eagle Air’s director says it is “not unnatural” for tourists to pay more than locals for the same services.

Eagle Air (or Flugfélagið Ernir) has two websites: one in English and the other in Icelandic. How much a person is charged for a domestic flight depends on which site they use. For one example, RÚV reports, a family of two adults and two children booking a flight to the Westman Islands on July 19 would be charged about 92,000 ISK – if they made the booking through the Icelandic site. If they made the same booking through the English-language site, however, the flight would cost them about 125,000 ISK.

In addition, there are net offers on the Icelandic site that are not present on the English site.

Eagle Air director Hörður Guðmundsson told reporters that he does not believe the price difference is a form of discrimination.

“A portion of the domestic flights that we take are subsidised by the Icelandic government, to give Icelanders a chance to fly between places in a less expensive and more economic fashion,” he said. “We see no reason for Icelandic tax money to be used to subsidise the fees for foreign parties that pay in euros.”

Hörður added that their prices in euros-to-krónur have not changed since before the 2008 crash, arguing that foreigners might actually be paying less.

“I don’t think there’s any discrimination going on here,” he told Vísir. “They’re free to order their tickets through our Icelandic website, or to call our sales department.”