Icelandair

They called it "the hippie airline."Long before People Express or Freddie Laker, Icelandic carved out a discount niche, flying the backpack set to Europe. Much has changed since the narrow-bodied planes, chock full of flower children, hopscotched their way from New York to Reykjavik to Luxembourg.The airline, long since renamed Icelandair, has replaced its aging fleet and added a fancy business class. It serves four U.S. cities, including Baltimore, and flies not only to Luxembourg but to 20 other European cities as well.

With some 250,000 people, the volcanic North Atlantic island nation of Iceland is only slightly larger than Howard County.Despite its tiny size, this land of ancient Vikings operates an aggressive little airline that boasted rates so low that it became known as the "Greyhound of the skies" in the 1960s. Thousands of Americans -- from college professors to backpacking flower children -- remember its propeller planes that flew first to Iceland's Keflavik airport and then on to Luxembourg.Today's Icelandair, after going through some turbulent times, flies modern jetliners from a growing number of American cities.

Icelandair has announced that it will move its U.S. headquarters from New York City to Columbia. The company expects to open the office by Jan. 1.The airline's administrative, reservation and sales operations will be based in the Symphony Woods Building and employ 35 people.The company cited its growing operations at Baltimore-Washington International Airport as one of the reasons for the move.

Winter always puts a chill on the pocketbooks of airlines as business slips in the off-season, but Icelandair announced yesterday fall and winter fare discounts that it hopes will warm up its business at Baltimore-Washington International Airport."