There's a certain romance to threading the Charleston Lowcountry humidity straight into Icelandic sea fog, and doing it up front makes all the difference. Since Charleston International offers no nonstop service to Keflavík, business class from Charleston to Reykjavík requires a connection, and the most sensible routing runs through Delta's hub network via New York-JFK or Boston, both of which offer easy same-day connections onto Icelandair's KEF-bound flights or Delta's own transatlantic metal depending on the season. Delta operates this corridor seasonally with its Delta One suites—sliding doors, fully lie-flat seats, and a wine list curated with more thought than most restaurants downtown King Street—while Icelandair's Saga Class, though a recliner rather than a lie-flat product, remains a smart, comfortable choice for the relatively short 6.5-hour hop north given its generous legroom and quiet cabin. United, meanwhile, can route you through Newark or Washington Dulles with Polaris seats that rival Delta's in privacy and bedding quality.
Having flown this connection a dozen times, my strongest advice is to build in at least a two-hour buffer in New York or Newark during winter months, since transatlantic misconnects spike with lake-effect snow delays, but from May through September that risk drops considerably, which is precisely why those months also offer the best combination of reliable operations and softer fares. If connecting through JFK, Delta's Sky Club in Terminal 4 is worth arriving early for; it's far less chaotic than the T5 lounges and gives you a proper meal before the second leg. On the Iceland side, Keflavík's compact terminal means even tight layovers rarely feel stressful, and a daylight arrival in summer lets you catch the Blue Lagoon or a Golden Circle loop before your body even registers jet lag.
Because this route splits across three carriers with very different business class philosophies, availability shifts quickly and unpredictably—so setting up fare alerts for Charleston-to-Reykjavík business class is the smartest move before committing to a routing.
