Icelandair launched its Stopover Buddy program several years ago, offering travelers a unique service: the chance to be paired with a local Icelandic guide based on shared interests. Whether exploring Reykjavik’s culinary scene or Iceland’s natural wonders, the program brought a personal touch to Icelandair’s stopover service. However, as a global airline, Icelandair needed to effectively communicate this initiative to diverse markets in multiple languages. That’s where LanguageLine came in.
The Stopover Buddy program faced several key challenges:
Translating creative, promotional content while preserving the original tone
The promotional materials for the Stopover Buddy program had a quirky, conversational style aimed at engaging travelers with a friendly tone. The challenge was to maintain this tone across eight different languages while ensuring that linguistic and cultural nuances were respected. A direct translation wouldn’t suffice—what was needed was localization that captured the spirit of the original content while resonating with international audiences.
Ensuring factual accuracy for functional texts
In addition to creative materials, Icelandair required precise translations for functional texts such as FAQs, terms and conditions, and other instructional content. These documents needed to prioritize accuracy over creativity, as they contained essential legal and procedural information. The challenge was to balance the need for accuracy with the linguistic demands of each target language, ensuring these documents were legally sound and easily understood by passengers.
Maintaining consistency across languages
With the Stopover Buddy program being promoted across Europe and North America, consistency in messaging was crucial. Icelandair needed to ensure that the same core ideas and values were communicated in each language, while accounting for cultural differences that could impact how the content was received. The challenge was to standardize the brand’s voice while allowing for necessary adaptations in each language, requiring careful management of terminology and style across all translations.
LanguageLine built a dedicated team of linguists to handle the unique needs of the Stopover Buddy project. This team included both translators and proofreaders familiar with Icelandair’s brand, ensuring the content retained its original charm and appeal in every language.
Creative Promotional Content
The promotional content needed to resonate in eight languages. LanguageLine delivered this through a flexible localization approach. Linguists were selected for their ability to maintain Icelandair’s playful tone while adapting the content for different cultures. Instead of direct translations, the team localized the material, adjusting humor, idioms, and cultural references to engage local audiences. A detailed style guide was developed in collaboration with Icelandair to ensure the brand’s light-hearted personality was consistent across all languages.
Functional Texts
Icelandair also needed translations for practical materials such as FAQs and terms and conditions. These texts required accuracy and clarity, as they contained important legal and procedural information. LanguageLine adopted a literal translation approach for these documents to preserve the integrity of the information. The team ensured that every term and instruction was translated precisely, without ambiguity. To further ensure compliance, LanguageLine worked closely with Icelandair to meet legal requirements in various jurisdictions while keeping the language clear and understandable for passengers.
Terminology Management and Glossary Creation
As part of the localization process, LanguageLine developed an Icelandair-specific glossary. This glossary contained key terms and brand-specific language that needed to be used consistently across all translations. Created in close collaboration with Icelandair’s internal team, it included unique service-related terms and technical airline terminology, ensuring accuracy and brand alignment. The glossary was regularly updated to reflect new terms and changes in brand language, keeping the translation team aligned with Icelandair’s evolving content needs.
Proofreading and Final Checks
Every piece of content underwent a rigorous proofreading process before being delivered to Icelandair. Proofreaders reviewed the translations for linguistic accuracy, consistency with the style guide, and cultural appropriateness. Beyond error-checking, they made stylistic adjustments to maintain the creative flair and engaging tone that Icelandair aimed to convey. Additionally, each document was reviewed for cultural fluency to ensure it felt natural and approachable in the target language.
The combination of creative and factual approaches paid off. The Stopover Buddy program received widespread praise, and travelers from across Europe and North America could now access promotional and functional texts in their native languages. This helped Icelandair reach a broader audience and ensured customers fully understood and embraced the unique offering of the Stopover Buddy program.
“LanguageLine Solutions provided their usual great level of support for us on the Stopover Buddy project. Although the timescales were tight, they were always willing to help and were very responsive. They contributed enormously to making the Stopover Buddy project the success it has been.” —Árni Björn Gestsson, Specialist, Distribution and e-Business Development
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Please call 1-800-878-8523 or email Translation@languageline.com.