PLAY, Iceland‘s leading low-cost airline, carried a total of 75,396 passengers in November 2022, more than four times the number of passengers carried in November 2021.
Routes to and from London, Paris, and Tenerife were most popular, with a load factor of around 90% respectively.
London increased 27% in November 2022 compared to November 2021, when load factor was 62.6%. Furthermore, PLAY experienced a 144% increase in passenger numbers to and from London, with 40% making use of PLAY’s routes via Iceland to the USA.
PLAY’s entire load factor in November was 79.1% compared to an 81.9% load factor in October; 29.8% of the passengers were travelling from Iceland, 30.9% were travelling to Iceland and 39.3% were connecting passengers (VIA).
Forward bookings are strong and PLAY sees a strong booking trend to Iceland for the coming months.
On-time performance (OTP) in November was 98.2%, compared to 95.4% in October.
Birgir Jónsson, PLAY‘s CEO, said: “It is safe to say that our traffic numbers are satisfying for November which historically is a low-season month. It has been very nice to see more than 90% load factor for London and Paris, both very important destinations for our route network. It is also interesting to see our leisure destinations, Tenerife and Alicante, with a load factor of almost 90% in November since those destinations are usually not performing so well in this month.
“I am truly proud of PLAY’s on-time performance in November, being at 98.2%. This great achievement stems from the efforts of dedicated employees who are doing their very best every day to serve PLAY’s customers in the best possible way.”
PLAY awarded ‘Best New Start-up’
On December 2, PLAY was awarded the ‘Start-up of the Year’ for 2022 by CAPA – Center for Aviation. This is a great honor for PLAY as an impressive group of 25 airline start-ups have launched since 2020.
CAPA notes that PLAY’s management has opted for growth at a sensible rate. PLAY has also positioned itself for the future with technology and sustainability as two key pillars of its business strategy.
PLAY has already proved resilient during tough trading conditions, reported an operating profit in the third quarter of 2022 and holds a strong booking pipeline for winter 2022/2023 and for 2023.
Learn more about PLAY or book a flight at flyplay.com.
-Ends-
Notes to Editors:
- Birgir Jónsson, CEO of PLAY, is available for interview or comment upon request.
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About PLAY:
PLAY is a low-cost airline operating flights between Iceland and Europe, and North America as of 2022. Founded in Reykjavík in 2019 by a management team with significant experience in the aviation industry, the company operates flights on new Airbus A321NEO and A320NEO aircraft, offering streamlined, no-frills service that allows travelers to pay less and “play more.”
Safety comes first for PLAY. On-time performance, simplicity, happiness and low prices are the airline’s core principles.
The airline seeks to enable passengers to see the world, but not without considering its environmental impact. PLAY is being developed with sustainability initiatives and benchmarks in place to track and reduce fuel consumption, offset carbon emissions, and limit waste. Learn more or book a flight at www.flyplay.com.
