We stopped by the Icelandair Saga Lounge in mid-October 2025 before a morning departure from Keflavik. Coincidentally, this was the same month SAS rolled out its new European Business Class product, replacing the old SAS Plus with something more polished — real tableware, upgraded meals, and a more complete ground experience. The blocked middle seat remains, but that’s standard across Europe.

Alongside the cabin refresh, SAS also broadened lounge access across the region, allowing access to more partner and contract lounges than before. The Icelandair Saga Lounge was one of the new additions, so this visit was a good chance to see what Icelandair offers at its home base.

Location and access

The lounge is located in the Schengen area, in Keflavik Airport’s south building, just past Gate A15 and before the C gates corridor. It’s a little out of the way, so you’ll need to walk across the A gates concourse — the section with the unmistakable red roof panels.

Right before passport control for non-Schengen flights, an escalator leads up to the lounge level. Operating hours run from 5am to 5pm (or up until the last Icelandair flight) daily, which means it mainly serves the morning and early afternoon departures.

Access is straightforward if you’re flying Icelandair Business Class or hold eligible status. But it gets convoluted when flying with other operating airlines. For example, Star Alliance Gold members when flying with LOT is allowed into the lounge, but not when flying with Lufthansa.

The following access policy is valid as of October 2025. SAS had only just been added when we visited, and the system hadn’t caught up, so the staff manually opened the gates for us.

Layout

The lounge feels open from the moment you step inside. It’s built for around 350 passengers, but during our visit it was nowhere near that, who wouldn’t love a quiet lounge experience?

The lounge is divided into several sections. You enter straight into the buffet section, which has rows of dining tables and a setup that feels like a casual café.

Carry on further and you’ll find clusters of armchairs and seating areas, decorated with Icelandic design elements. One of the standout decorative elements is the stone cairn in the centre of one seating area.

Cairns have a long history in Iceland. They were traditionally used as wayfinding markers for travellers crossing the Icelandic highlands long before paved roads existed. Including one here is a nice nod to Icelandic culture, and it gives the space a distinct sense of place.

There are also a number of paintings around the lounge, some featuring the famous Aurora borealis.

A kids’ area sits off to one side.

Panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows wrap around much of the lounge, offering wide tarmac views. Even on a rainy morning, it was a calming spot to sit and do some planespotting. There are angled lie-flat seats around here to have a snooze before your flight.

Food and drinks

We were visiting during breakfast, which is fairly modest here. The breakfast begins with some cold cuts and cheese.

There was a huge bowl of strawberry-flavoured Icelandic skyr, along with bowls of toppings if you’d like to customise it. The skyr was the highlight indeed.

There were also small pancakes with either Nutella and some fruit jams, plus a few pastries off to the side.

Self-serve drink cabinets can be found near the main buffet area, each stocked with a decent range of soft drinks, juices, beer, wine and liquor.

Coffee machines were also available around the lounge, together with some tea selections and flavoured syrups.

It’s not a large breakfast spread, and anyone expecting hot dishes may come away underwhelmed. For a short morning hop within Europe though, it’s more than adequate.

Amenities

There are a few shower rooms, all were available when we visited. The shower suites are simple but clean, with enough room to move around comfortably, though it doesn’t come with an attached toilet.

What stood out most was the choice of toiletries. The lounge stocks products from Blue Lagoon, the Icelandic skincare brand known for using geothermal seawater and silica from the famous lagoon near Grindavik. Their products tend to have a clean, mineral scent and feel noticeably gentle on the skin. Definitely more premium than what you usually find in contract lounges.

Final thoughts

The Icelandair Saga Lounge is a pleasant place to spend time before a flight. The layout is spacious, the views are good, and the Icelandic elements give it a sense of identity. Breakfast is basic, but the showers and overall comfort make up for it.

What stood out was how different this felt compared to last year’s trip, when we passed through Keflavik with no lounge access at all even as a SkyTeam Elite Plus member flying with SAS. Having a quiet space to sit this time made the departure noticeably smoother. And with the lounge not being part of Priority Pass, it remains relatively calm even as more airlines gain access.

It’s a solid lounge. Not extravagant, but comfortable, bright, and easy to settle into before your flight.