Reykjavík has quietly become one of the more intriguing business class puzzles for South Florida travelers, and Palm Beach International doesn't make it simple. There is no nonstop option here, which surprises many flyers given the roughly 6.5-hour flight time once airborne — a duration that fits neatly into a single overnight sector on the transatlantic legs that follow. In practice, booking business class from West Palm Beach to Reykjavík means routing through either Atlanta or New York-JFK on Delta, Newark on United, or connecting via one of Icelandair's East Coast gateways to reach Keflavík directly on the transatlantic segment. Delta's One Suite (on its A330-900neo and A350 aircraft used on North Atlantic routes) offers sliding doors and genuine privacy, while United's Polaris seats, particularly on the 767 and 777 fleet, remain a reliable if slightly dated product depending on aircraft assignment. Icelandair doesn't operate a traditional lie-flat business cabin, but its Saga Class offers a meaningfully upgraded experience with blocked middle seats and enhanced service that's worth considering for the final hop into KEF if your itinerary allows a creative stopover.
My routing preference, after flying this corridor repeatedly, is connecting through JFK on Delta rather than Atlanta — the overnight timing aligns better with Icelandic arrival windows, letting you land at Keflavík in early morning rather than the dead of night, which matters enormously for adjusting to Iceland's long summer daylight. Keflavík's arrivals process is refreshingly fast compared to major European hubs, so even a tight connection window from a redeye works better than travelers expect. One insider trick: Icelandair frequently opens Saga Class award space on the JFK-KEF and BOS-KEF legs even when economy is sold out, so mixing carriers — Delta or United to the coast, then a separately ticketed Icelandair segment — can unlock better seats than a single-airline itinerary.
Summer, unsurprisingly, is both the best and most competitive season for this route, with May and September offering the sweet spot of daylight and thinner crowds. Given how much fare and award space fluctuates across three carriers and multiple gateway cities, setting up dedicated price and availability alerts for this specific PBI–KEF business class routing is the smartest way to catch the inevitable dips before they disappear.
