PLAY, a new low-cost airline based in the United Kingdom, has announced additional flights to the United States that will begin operations this summer. PLAY is situated in Reykjavik, Iceland, and promises to provide a service that will link the United States and Europe. WOW air was demolished and the ashes of PLAY were gathered in 2019. The airline has been operating flights to continental Europe for the last year, and it has ambitious plans to expand into the United States market in the near future.
PLAY plans to launch services to four US cities by the end of the summer. Including:
- Beginning on June 9th, the New York Stewart International Airport will be open.
- Beginning on May 11th, the Boston Logan International Airport will be open.
- Beginning on April 20th, the Baltimore/Washington International Airport will be open.
- Beginning in September, the Orlando International Airport will be open.
All itineraries to continental Europe will have a stopover at Iceland’s Keflavik International Airport. In many ways, it’s a fantastic midway place to break up the journey! The flights will then carry on to one of the following central European destinations: London Stansted, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Brussels, Stuttgart, Trondheim, and Gothenburg (in addition to the original destination).
The airline also provides very affordable prices to and from Iceland, which has quickly risen to become one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. This country has risen to the top of many traveller’s wish lists in recent years, thanks to its natural beauty, outdoor experiences, and lively local culture. With all of Iceland’s travel restrictions being lifted just before the peak vacation season, this may be the best time of year to visit the country.
Because of its merging with previous WOW management, many people are suspicious about PLAY’s long-term success. Birgir Jonsson, the company’s CEO, recently addressed these issues in an interview.
“Actually, Play and Wow are rather tightly connected, to put it another way. Many members of our senior management team, as well as a significant portion of our flight crew, were formerly employed by Wow. For a brief period of time, I worked as the deputy CEO of WOW.
As a result, we are familiar with the narrative. And, in reality, WOW was a fantastic firm that was performing very well under the same business model that we were [then] using. It was only after Wow began operating wide-bodied planes like as Airbus 330s and flying to the West Coast of the United States that the company was able to compete on a long-haul and low-cost basis — a mountain that many brave troops have sacrificed their lives on several occasions.”
How does PLAY compare to the other major carriers?
On the subject of competition, the CEO compared his airline to IcelandAir (the country’s flag carrier) and Ryanair (the world’s biggest low-cost carrier).
“In Ryanair’s instance, the flights are rather short in duration. If I decide to go to New York, the flight will take five hours. You must be able to recline your seat as well as have some leg room and other amenities available. As a result, we’re not going to go as extreme as that. In the event that there is a difference between a low-cost product and an ultra-low-cost product, I would argue that we fall into the low-cost category.
If you were to compare us to Icelandair, I would say that the product is almost exactly the same. Okay, so we don’t have a business class in the traditional sense. However, when it comes to the whole experience aboard, both airlines require that you pay for your meals, beverages, bags, and other such items.
Legacy airlines are already in the process of changing themselves into low-cost goods. If I were to come up with a list of ten factors that would justify it, the first five items on the list would be “pricing.”
If PLAY is successful in this initiative, they will undoubtedly become a dominant power in the transatlantic market.
Many low-cost airlines have gone out of business in recent years, mostly as a result of COVID and unethical business methods. However, with travel restrictions being lifted all around the globe, there is a strong desire to go worldwide.