iceland

British Airspace Squeaks Open, But More Disruptions Loom
After five days of closure, British airspace has been partially reopened. However, the threat of yet another spume of volcanic ash heading for the isles could set off a new wave of disruptions. Millions of passengers have already had their flights delayed or canceled, or been flat-out stranded and left with little recourse but to pray to Vulcan. [Reuters]

Icelandic Volcano Dashes Trips, Dreams
A number of Consumerist readers have had their European travel plans ruined thanks to this volcano in Iceland that decided to start spewing ash into the atmosphere. Flights were turned around mid-way across the Atlantic. A visit to Paris vacation that a struggling single mother saved up for 8 months could be squandered. And American Airlines wants a newlywed couple to pony up 30,000 more frequent flier miles to reschedule their trip. Here are their Tales From The Volcano: More Â»

Volcano Ash Shouldn't Disrupt American Air Travel
Fear not, domestic air travelers, ash from that Icelandic volcano shouldn't pose a danger to your plans to hurtle through the air in a giant metal tube at several hundred miles per hour. More Â»

Millions Of Travelers Remain Inconvenienced By Volcanic Ash
Put that passport back in your pocket, European traveler — just about all of Europe’s major airports are still closed as Iceland’s roving clouds of volcanic ash continue to blanket the continent, shutting down air space and forcing airports to cancels tens of thousands of flights over the last three days. More Â»

Volcanic Ash Strands Thousands Of Air Travelers
Tens of thousands of air travelers around the world are stuck today, as a mammoth cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano has shut down all air traffic over Britain, Ireland and the Nordic countries. More Â»

Two Out Of Three Pizza Huts To Flee Iceland
Icelanders have it rough these days when it comes to fast food: In October McDonald’s skipped out on the island nation, which suffered an economic collapse in late 2008, and now Pizza Hut is closing all but one of its three restaurants after 20 years of business, Reuters reports. More Â»

Iceland Is So Messed Up McDonald's Is Giving Up And Going Home

—>We sort of assumed that McDonald's could be profitable almost anywhere — perhaps even the surface of the moon — but apparently Iceland's economic problems are too much for the world's largest fast food chain to handle.  More Â»

"Iceland Is No Longer A Country, It's A Hedge Fund"

—>Vanity Fair's April cover story is on Iceland's banking massacre — detailing how the the tiny, well-to-do country committed "one of the single greatest acts of madness in financial history."   More Â»

Iceland Is Screwed

—>The Icelandic government seized the nation's largest lender, Kaupthing Bank. "Effectively the krona can't be traded at the moment because there are no more banks to clear the trade," a foreign-exchange trader told Bloomberg. Things have gotten so bad there that Bjork was forced to take out a second mortgage on her collection of screaming children made of glass hiding under a field of sugar.  More Â»

Earn 15.55% Return On Snow Wolves

—>The central bank of Iceland has increased overnight borrowing rates to 15.5%, meaning you can get some damn high yields investing in their currency. Those numbers piqued my interest.  More Â»

Icelandair Overbooks Flight, Delays Return By 43 Hours, Forgets To Compensate Passengers

—> A reader just sent us a description of her flight back from London to Minneapolis that reads like a synopsis of a particularly unpleasant episode of "The Amazing Race." The return flight, on Iceland air, was supposed to go from Heathrow in London to Keflavik in Reykjavik, then from there to Minneapolis. The initial flight is delayed for 2 1/2 hours—but not to worry, Icelandair tells the passengers, because the other flight is being held. When they arrive in Iceland, however, there's no plane waiting for them—it's been overbooked, so the airline has sent it ahead and left the passengers stranded overnight.  More Â»