Delta upgrades Iceland route with wide-body Boeing 767 jet

Delta's first flight to Iceland in nearly two years just landed on Sunday.

The Atlanta-based carrier resumed daily flights from JFK to Iceland, with Flight 246 from New York-JFK arriving to Keflavík International Airport (KEF) at 7:36 a.m. local time. It's part of broader new daily service from Boston launching on May 20 and from Minneapolis-St. Paul, which resumes May 27. Delta last flew to Iceland in October 2019, per Cirium schedules.

Delta's three Iceland routes come as the country became the first destination to Europe to permit entry to fully vaccinated Americans in late March and early April.

Now, just over a month since Delta announced its Iceland flights, the carrier is upgauging the JFK route with a wide-body jet, in an apparent boost of confidence in demand for travel to the country.

Delta will fly a Boeing 767-300ER between JFK and KEF starting on July 7 instead of the Boeing 757-200 currently operating the 2,593-mile route, per Cirium schedules and confirmed on the carrier's website. The 767 service is currently slated to run through the end of the schedule in April 2022.

Of course, plans could change due to the pandemic and other factors, but — for now — some Iceland-bound travelers are in for an upgrade. The 767 offers a more comfortable passenger experience compared to the 757. Delta One is arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, with 26 Thompson Vantage pods in a forward-facing configuration. Coach is configured in an industry-standard 2-3-2 arrangement, with 35 Comfort+ and 165 standard coach seats.

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Some 767 jets are even getting reconfigured with a Premium Select cabin too.

Delta's upgauge marks the first time in at least 18 years that a U.S. carrier has flown a wide-body jet to Iceland, according to Cirium schedules that date back to August 2003. The country's flag carrier Icelandair, as well as now-defunct WOW Air, have both regularly flown twin-aisle planes between the U.S. and Keflavík.

Related: Complete guide to traveling to Iceland during the pandemic

It seems to make sense for Delta to try wide-body service to Iceland this summer. With long-haul international travel still on pause, the carrier has plenty of spare jets waiting to be deployed. Instead of parking them in the desert, flying them to Iceland allows the carrier to boost its capacity for adventurous Americans who might be planning to travel to Iceland for its variety of leisure-focused activities.

Two other outdoor-friendly destinations are getting a wide-body jet in Delta's latest schedule update. Service from New York-JFK to Anchorage (ANC) was upgraded to a Boeing 767 for the entire summer season, from June 4 through Sept. 11. One daily flight between JFK and Cancun (CUN) will also be operated by a Boeing 767 from June 5 to July 6.