Born in the North. Reimagined for Europe.

Some of the strongest ideas are born where conditions are the toughest.

NICEAIR was originally founded in Akureyri, Iceland, with a simple ambition: to improve connectivity for Northern Iceland and create direct access between regional communities and Europe.
Operating from one of the world's most challenging aviation environments, the airline quickly became known for its entrepreneurial mindset, customer focus,
and determination to connect places that were often overlooked.

2022

NICEAIR was founded in Akureyri in 2022 by a group of Icelandic aviation and business entrepreneurs
led by Þorvaldur Lúðvík Sigurjónsson. After more than 2 years of market analysis and preparations,
NICEAIR was able to launch operations.

In order to reduce huge Overheads and Operational Challenges, especially Icelandic weather,
NICEAIR decided not to obtain its own Air Operator Certificate (AOC) but to lease an Aircraft
through an Operational Specialist. Here a dedicated Airbus A319 with 150 seats
and the entire Operational Expertise was contracted from Portuguese Charter Specialist HiFly.
This decision resulted in a Reliability of 97% throughout the entire Operation. A golden decision.

May 30, 2022

On May 30, fresh painted NICEAIR Airbus A319 “Sulur” touched down in Akureyri, setting a milestone in Aviation history in Akureyri and Iceland.
Especially by the fact that Akureyri hosts the popular Icelandic Aviation Museum.

With the strategy to launch 2x weekly flights to Copenhagen, London Stansted and Manchester, where UK flights were covered and sold through a Leading Tour Operator,
the solid fundament was set to develop and grow the Operations to market demand.

Due to Brexxit – United Kingdom catapulted itself back into history, challenging Aviation with old-operation schemes, invalid traffic rights and operational freedoms valid in the European Union.

As a result of this regulation, operations between Iceland and UK were declined, removing NICEAIRs strategic backbone and most significant market.

With main season in full steam and half of the schedule being crushed by UK Aviation Authority, replacements needed to be found.
Here todays owners, whitesharkgroup, came into play. Mandated to introduce and distribute NICEAIR in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and BeNeLux –
whitesharkroup got insights to DNA, culture and market potential.

Due to very limited time, destinations as Alicante, Tenerife and Düsseldorf could not catchup.

April 6, 2023

Following the unexpected loss of its sole operating aircraft in April 2023,
caused by a leasing dispute between third parties, NICEAIR was forced to suspend all flight operations.
Despite a successful first year of operations, the company was unable to secure replacement
capacity at short notice.
The original NICEAIR subsequently ceased trading, marking the end of its first chapter—
but not the end of its vision.

A New Beginning

Following the acquisition of the NICEAIR brand and intellectual property in December 2025, whitesharkgroup started “NICEAIR 2.0” as a new company / entity using the acquired brand.

Today's NICEAIR is not a traditional airline.

It is Europe's first hybrid virtual airline.

Instead of owning and operating a fixed aircraft fleet, NICEAIR combines proprietary commercial, operational, and distribution capabilities with carefully selected airline partners across Europe.
This asset-light model allows every route to be operated with the most suitable aircraft, operator, and frequency—creating significantly greater flexibility, lower capital requirements, and reduced operational risk.

As the first hybrid virtual airline worldwide, NICEAIR 2.0 operates as an Airline with all procedures and requirements - without own planes. Operated by dedicated partners on a ACMI minus model -
NICEAIR 2.0 can guarantee service and product quality at all times, independent of which Operator / Partner executes the flights.

Rooted in Iceland. Based in Europe.

The spirit that inspired the original NICEAIR remains unchanged.

Entrepreneurship.
Innovation.
Regional connectivity.
Customer focus.

What has changed is ownership and vision.

Today, NICEAIR is developing a pan-European aviation platform designed
to connect regions and rethink how airlines can be built in the 21st century.

Our roots are in Akureyri.

Our future is across Europe

Akureyri

Although NICEAIR has evolved into a pan-European aviation platform, its heart will always remain in Akureyri.
The city where the journey began continues to represent our identity, our values, and our belief that regional communities deserve world-class air connectivity.
We remain deeply committed to Northern Iceland and see Akureyri as an important part of NICEAIR's long-term future.
When the time is right and the conditions are sustainable, we look forward to once again strengthening the region's international connectivity and bringing the NICEAIR story back to where it all began.
Because while our ambitions now extend across Europe, our roots will always be in Akureyri.