, dedicated to maintenance|thumb The airline was established on 10 February 1986 by Captain Arngrímur Jóhannsson and his wife, Þóra Guðmundsdóttir. It started operations in 1986. By 1994, Air Atlanta Icelandic had obtained rights to operate service from many other countries, including the United States, from where it had a flight to
Colombia; and the
Philippines, from where it was allowed to operate domestic charter flights. About that time, it began to offer flights within
Europe and began service to
Portugal. In 1996, a couple rented an Air Atlanta Icelandic
Lockheed L-1011-500 to have a sky-wedding. The couple and its wedding guests were treated to a flight over the Arctic Circle, while the wedding was performed inside of the jet. 1997 saw the arrival of contracts with airlines such as
Britannia Airways and
Iberia, which would use an Air Atlanta Icelandic plane for its routes from
Barajas International Airport in
Madrid to
José Martí International Airport in
Havana and to other points in the
Caribbean. That year also saw the arrival of the airline's first Boeing 747SP plane, which would later be utilized by government officials, sports teams,
The Rolling Stones, and others. In 1998, Air Atlanta Icelandic leased planes for
British Airways. In 1999, Magnus G. Thorstenn was named the company's new CEO. The airline became a fully wide bodied airplane airline in 1999 when it sold the last of its Boeing 737s. In 2000,
Air India joined the growing list of airlines that have leased airplanes from Air Atlanta Icelandic airlines. In 2003, Air Atlanta Icelandic expanded into the United Kingdom with its subsidiary,
Air Atlanta Europe, which operated
Boeing 747s ad hoc, charter and for the Florida tour operator, Travel City Direct. In March 2004, the company acquired a 40.5% stake in the UK charter airline
Excel Airways. That stake later increased to 76.9%. In January 2005, the Avion Group was formed, and Air Atlanta Icelandic and Islandsflug merged under the Air Atlanta Icelandic brand name. In 2006, the Avion Group announced the purchase of the entire issued share capital of French charter airline
Star Airlines, the second largest charter airline in the French market. Star Airlines operated charter flights mainly to destinations in Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean, in addition to regular services to Lebanon, Male, and cities in Mexico. In June 2006, Air Atlanta Icelandic wet-leased one Boeing 747-200 to
Yangtze River Express to operate cargo freight between Shanghai - Anchorage - Los Angeles. In October 2006, the Avion Group changed its name to HF
Eimskipafélag Íslands, and at the same time sold
UK Leisure Group Excel as well as 51% of Avion Aircraft Trading. Air Atlanta Icelandic operated two Boeing 747-400s for
National Airlines (N8) in the year 2011. One flew cargo charter flights and the other one was wet-leased to
Cargolux for a period of time. In December 2015, three former Air Atlanta Icelandic
Boeing 747 registered TF-ARH, TF-ARM and TF-ARN were reported abandoned at
Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Air Atlanta Icelandic senior vice president of sales and marketing Baldvin M. Hermannsson said that the three aircraft had belonged to Air Atlanta, but were returned to their owner in 2010. In 2016, the airline provided a Boeing 747-428 (registration TF-AAK) to the
heavy metal band
Iron Maiden for the
Book of Souls World Tour, which replaced a modified Astraeus Airlines 757 as "Ed Force One". On 12 March, the aircraft sustained damage to engines 1 and 2 while being towed for refueling at Santiago, Chile. The extent of the damage required the band and its crew to charter additional aircraft to continue touring through Argentina and Brazil while the aircraft awaited repairs at
Santiago International Airport. Repairs involving replacing both port-side engines, cowlings, and reversers were completed by 20 March and the aircraft returned to the tour. In 2021, Air Atlanta Icelandic reopened its subsidiary
Air Atlanta Europe, to operate a passenger Boeing 777 fleet. In 2025, Air Atlanta Icelandic adds their first
Boeing 777-200ER. == Destinations ==