Icelandair’s 2196 Eclipse Giveaway
Most giveaways ask you to picture next summer. Icelandair has set its sights a little further ahead: 170 years further ahead.
The airline is giving one winner and three companions a trip to Iceland to see the next total solar eclipse visible here, on 26 June 2196. It is a spectacularly patient prize, and possibly the only giveaway where keeping the paperwork safe becomes a family tradition.
A boarding pass for the extremely patient
This is not simply a promise filed away in a digital inbox. Icelandair has had a three-part aluminium gift certificate made by a metalworker. One part goes to the winner, one is intended for the Icelandic Aviation Museum in Akureyri and one will be kept by Icelandair. In 2196, the pieces are meant to come together again.
The winner will be drawn on 19 August 2026 and invited to Iceland in September to receive the certificate and visit the place where the eclipse is expected to be seen in 2196. The prize covers travel for four people — a generous head start for anyone planning a very, very long weekend.
Why 2196?
On 12 August 2026, Iceland welcomed a total solar eclipse and the country’s wide western horizons became the centre of a global skywatching moment. The next total eclipse visible from Iceland is scheduled for 26 June 2196. Reykjavík will have an even longer wait: its next totality is expected in 2245.
That makes the giveaway both a clever bit of eclipse humour and a reminder of why this week’s event felt so special. Icelandair’s message is simple: if you missed it, there is another chance. You may just need a long-term succession plan.
Keep the certificate safe
The practical advice is unusually timeless: do not lose the aluminium certificate. The airline says the trip will go ahead — whether the future journey uses an aircraft, a capsule or something else entirely.
For everyone travelling in the present tense, Iceland remains a wonderful place to look up, look out and make plans that do not require a 170-year calendar reminder.
Image credit: André Gerwing, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.