And Actual “Getaway”
The Faroe Islands are absolutely beautiful, and the people are amazingly friendly.
But… it’s not a place you go if you’re looking for excitement or lots of touristy things. It’s a place you go if you want a week (or two) of quiet and a casual exploration of a very small archipelago.
I seriously enjoyed my time there specifically because it was so relaxing. If it weren’t for the fact that the grocery stores were quite sparse on fresh vegetables and had no fresh meat, I could consider retiring there.
However…
If you’re looking for cheap flights (which is what I do), you’re going to find them on Iceland Air. Do NOT book on Iceland Air!
I’ve flown Iceland Air quite a few times, and had–until this trip–been rather impressed by the quality of service I’d received in economy.
Then I flew to the Faroe Islands.
My friend and I flew from ORD (Chicago O’Hare) to KEF (Reykjavik Keflavic), and then to the Faroe Islands on a turbo-prop “puddle jumper”.
When we (and a friend who had flown in from Europe) got to the airport on our departure date, our European friend flew out with no problems. The two of us on Iceland Air? Our flight was cancelled because of fog. The turbo props don’t have the avionics to land in fog.
We called Iceland Air, and they were no help–nor did they have any information on when we might have a new flight out. We scrambled to find a place to sleep for the night, and ended up at a hostel. When we mentioned to the man running the hostel that our flight had been cancelled, he replied “Oh. Iceland Air. Yeah… that’s actually a meme here. They cancel probably 50 flights every year.”
That’s basically, a flight every week.
I and my friend submitted receipts for reimbursement. I, personally, had to pay for a night in a hotel (my friend paid for the hostel the first night) and food. I also had to use and extra day of vacation to cover me not being able to get back to work.
The response from Iceland Air? “Yeah. We’re not required by law to compensate you, so… sucks to be you.”
When I responded with a polite “I’ve flown with you a lot, and expect to fly with you a lot more in the next 20 years–plus I’ve been talking you up to a lot of people”, their response was “Yeah. Whatever. We’re not required to pay you.”
So… DO NOT fly with Iceland Air. They don’t give a rat’s ass about you. They don’t care about customer service, they don’t care about long-term investment, they don’t care about word-of-mouth promotion. They care about getting the quick buck, and nothing more.
