Icelandic ultra-low-cost carrier PLAY has announced an additional flight to the Dutch city of Amsterdam for its summer schedule of 2023. This will mark PLAY’s first ever flight to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and will commence from June 5th.
The airline plans to fly 5 flights weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. According to the website, the Icelandic carrier is now selling tickets for Amsterdam flights.
Unfair advantage
The airline perhaps has an unfair advantage of being located between two large markets of Europe and North America. Meaning that PLAY can take advantage of its geography by capturing the market flow between the two continents.
The carrier operates from Keflavik International Airport in Iceland, where the Icelandic flag carrier Iceland Air is also based. The launching of the Dutch market this summer strengthened PLAY’s position in the transatlantic market.
The Dutch market is lucrative, with its low-cost predecessor WOW Airlines flying to Amsterdam on a frequent basis before the pandemic, along with Iceland Air, which is still serving.
Passengers originating from Amsterdam can fly conveniently to cities in the United States and Canada, with seamless transit via Iceland, such as New York, Boston, Washington DC, and Baltimore, as well as Toronto.
Passengers originating from both ends can take advantage of the stop in Iceland, by exploring the volcanic island, adding value to the Icelandic economy, and offering one more reason to fly PLAY rather than flying non-stop across the Atlantic.
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Impressive expansion
Since its launch in June 2021, the Icelandic ultra-low-cost Carrier has expanded its workhorse fleet, the Airbus A320neo from three to six in 2022.
This year, the carrier expects that it will operate 10 Airbus A320/A321neo aircraft. This makes the carrier very lean and flexible.
Impressively, the average age of the airline’s aircraft is as young as 2.3 years. This makes the onboard experience for passengers very safe, comfortable, refreshing, and importantly reliable.
PLAY´s CEO, Birgir Jónsson, commented on the re-launch of flights to Amsterdam saying: “We are thrilled to bring back our services to Amsterdam and connect more customers to our affordable travel options.”
“Amsterdam is one of Europe’s biggest hubs and a vital destination for our VIA operations between North America and Europe. At PLAY, our mission is clear: to provide low-cost flights and offer our customers more value for their money.”
“We aim to give the competition a run for their money with our low prices, providing people in our markets the opportunity to save money on their flights and enjoy more experiences in their destination. As we like to say at PLAY: Pay less, PLAY more.”
A lesson learned
PLAY was “resurrected” from the ashes of WOW Airlines, as the new airline was founded by two ex-WOW Airlines executives. PLAY has a similar business plan to WOW but minus the wide-body A330 aircraft.
Currently, the Icelandic carrier has a network of nearly 40 destinations and has flown over a million passengers since the time of launch, with an impressive track record of 87% on-time performance last year.
