Icelandair shares are soaring by just over 8 percent on the Reykjavik stock exchange after the airline raised its profit forecast for 2019.

The situation looks more favorable than previously feared, the company writes in a press release.

For the full year 2019, Icelandair expects a loss of 35–55 million dollars, of which 110–120 million euros are related to the effects of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft being grounded.

Icelandair expects to be able to return the grounded Boeing 737 Max aircraft to service only in February 2020. This means that the extraordinary costs of using the aircraft model again will be postponed until next year. This is said to be the main reason for this year's better-than-expected results.

Other contributing factors to this year's better-than-expected results are, according to Icelandair, that the company has optimized its network of flights, better revenue management, and the effects of measures taken to deal with the problems with the Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

Source: TT