Iceland Aviation Inc turns up the heat on its Nordic competitors

The debate continues as to whether or not Scandinavia's airlines would benefit by merging in the current economic climate (meaning SAS Group, Finnair and Norwegian), but across the southern Arctic Ocean to the west there is another airline, together with its home airport and country, that are doing rather well and which, like Copa, Tocumen Airport and Panama City, are gaining regional influence that belies their relative size.

While Iceland/Icelandair/Keflavik Airport may not yet be Singapore/SIA/Changi Airport, or Dubai/Emirates/Dubai Airport in size and scope they are, owing - perversely - partly to a financial crash and an aberrant volcano, a collective force that cannot be ignored. But there is a caveat. Downtown Reykjavik's Lake Tjörnin is a famous magnet for internationally travelling geese and other birds during the summer season. Yet could the influx of airlines that has taken place in Iceland during the year, and which looks likely to gain momentum, kill the goose that laid the golden egg?