Low-Cost Icelandic Airline PLAY To Hit Million Passenger Mark In 2023

25.07.2023 - 04:19 / forbes.com

The low-cost, long-haul airline business is a tough one. The airline world is littered with the carcasses of airlines that tried to fly multitudes of people thousands of miles at affordable prices. But so far, Icelandic carrier PLAY is reaping the benefits of a successful summer schedule that could

With its strategic location between North America and Europe, Iceland is an ideal stopover point for relatively short flights between the two continents. Iceland is also, of course, a destination in itself.

What makes PLAY stand out from existing competitors and previous failures? PLAY CEO Birgir Jónsson points to “a hub-and-spoke model that connects passengers between North America, Iceland, and Europe. All PLAY flights stopover in Iceland before continuing on to the U.S. or Europe, in order to collect travelers between destinations to fill flights. The hub-and-spoke model enables PLAY to provide convenient service and affordable fares.”

PLAY offers service to Iceland and over 30 European destinations (including Berlin, Paris, Venice, Warsaw, Prague, Stockholm, London, Madrid and Lisbon) from five major East Coasts markets. PLAY flies from Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), New York Stewart International Airport (SWF), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), and Toronto (YHM). In terms of frequency, PLAY operates daily flights from BOS, BWI, IAD, and SWF to Iceland, with connections on to European destinations.

PLAY recently passed its one-year mark of U.S. operations. The airline will release its Q2 results later this week.

According to a spokesperson, so far this year its East Coast routes helped increased PLAY’s passenger load to over 604,000 people, up 154% compared to the first half of 2022. As of June 2023, PLAY’s load factor was 82.4%. The load factor for June alone was 87.2%, with the airline flying over 160,000 passengers.

PLAY says it has maintained an 84% on time arrival rate in 2023. Meanwhile, the airline says it has expanded its fleet to ten aircraft, launched 20 new destinations, and hired 200 new employees to keep up with increased travel demand. According to CEO Jónsson, PLAY is on track to becoming operationally profitable in 2023.

Based in Reykjavik, Iceland, PLAY operates a fleet of 10 Airbus A320 and A321 neo aircraft. If you fly PLAY, don’t look for Business, First Class or Premium Economy seating. As a true low-cost airline, PLAY operates all-economy aircraft.

For a low-cost carrier, it’s all about the fares. Although airline fares have soared this summer, PLAY still has some attractive deals.

For example, a roundtrip fare on Play from the New York area to Reykjavik in September and October starts at just $286. The fare