Ben Mutzabaugh

USA TODAY

Icelandair will make Portland, Ore., its newest U.S. destination. Beginning May 20, the carrier will launch seasonal service to its hub at Keflavik International Airport near the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik. Icelandair will fly between the cities two times a week through Oct. 21 on Boeing 757 aircraft.

Icelandair says in a statement that thanks to the new flight, "Portland metro area's 2.3 million residents will gain access to one of the region's fastest elapsed flying times to popular European destinations including London, Copenhagen, Paris, Stockholm and Munich."

Portland will be Icelandair's 10th U.S. destination. The airline's other year-round and seasonal destinations include Anchorage, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York JFK, Newark Liberty, Orlando Sanford, Seattle and Washington Dulles. Icelandair also flies to the Canadian destinations of Edmonton, Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver.

Icelandair has been on a growth spurt in recent years, saying its upcoming route network for the next year will be "the largest in the airline's history with flights to more than 20 destinations throughout Europe" in addition to 14 in North America.

"The past six years have been very positive for Icelandair and we aim to continue on the same path in 2015," Icelandair CEO Birkir Hólm Guðnason says in a statement.

He says the Portland announcement allows Icelandair to "continue to strengthen our position in the international market between North America and Europe, offering increased flight capacity, new gateways, and more aircraft than any year prior."

And for Oregon's Portland International Airport, the Icelandair service is the second transatlantic route to be announced in as many weeks. German discount carrier Condor announced last week that it would begin offering nonstop flights to Frankfurt in June.

The Oregonian newspaper says that route "fills a gap created when Lufthansa ended its service between Portland and Frankfurt. Lufthansa flew to Portland between 2003 and 2009."