Icelandair Airbus A321 NEO Seat Map

Picking a seat: Icelandair's Airbus A321 NEO

This is the Airbus in an otherwise Boeing fleet, and it shows. Saga Premium runs 22 true 2-2 recliners over six rows instead of the 16 seats found up front on the 737s, and row 1 is a half row — 1D and 1F don't exist, so 1A and 1C sit alone with open floor across the aisle. At the back, row 34 loses its A/B/C seats, and the three economy lavatories sit ahead of the galley rather than inside it, which keeps the rear from turning into a scrum.

Saga Premium (rows 1-6)

Six rows, 2-2, 42-43 inches of pitch and about 21 inches of width, with a footbar, roughly five inches of recline and a 16-inch seatback screen. Power is USB-C, and there's an AC outlet as well — it's buried low in the storage bin under the fixed centre tray, so plug in before you settle.

Best picks: rows 2 through 5. They're clear of the forward galley and lavatory, and clear of the divider and curtain that separate you from economy at row 6. Any A or F window in that block gives you a headrest with a padded privacy wing that's genuinely comfortable to lean on for sleeping. 6A and 6F are also good if you want a fast exit into the cabin, though you'll hear economy behind the curtain.

Avoid 1A and 1C. Our data rates both poorly, and the reasons stack up: the single forward lavatory serves all 22 Saga passengers and queues form minutes after the seatbelt sign, and galley light spills across the first few rows on overnight flights. Row 1 does have enormous legroom and nobody across the aisle, but the overhead bins there are often loaded with crew equipment, so your bag ends up a few rows back. If you're travelling as a pair, note 1D and 1F don't exist — row 1 is a solo-couple row on the left only.

These are recliners, not beds. On the long North America runs, that's the tradeoff.

Economy (rows 7-34)

3-3, 31-33 inches of pitch, 18 inches wide, 13-inch seatback screens and USB-C at every seat. Wi-Fi is available cabin-wide.

Best picks: row 15. All six seats — 15A through 15F — get exit-row legroom and, unlike row 14, they recline normally. That combination makes them the strongest seats in the cabin, and 15A and 15F have the wing under them but still a usable window.

Row 14 is the runner-up: 14A-14F have the same extra legroom but no recline at all, since a door sits immediately ahead. Fine for a daytime hop to London, less so on a redeye to Seattle.

Row 7 sits right behind the Saga divider and gets served first, with no seat reclining into you from in front.

Seats to avoid:

• Row 13 (13A-13F) — every seat has limited recline because the exit row is behind it, and you're over the wing. Worst of both.
• 25A and 25F — no window at all. You get the wall.
• 33A, 33B, 33C, 33D, 33E, 33F and 32C, 32D — all sit against the lavatories. 33D is the weakest of the lot: it's a narrower seat as well as a lav seat. 33F is the least bad in that block.
• 34D, 34E, 34F — the last row, backed onto both the lavatories and the galley, with traffic and light all flight. Row 34 has no A, B or C seats, so these three are the only ones there.

Window-view note: rows 11 through 18 sit over the wing. If you're flying for the scenery over Greenland or the approach into Keflavík, pick a window ahead of row 11 or behind row 18 — but skip 25A and 25F when you do.