In 2021, we saw the launch of PLAY Airlines, an ultra low cost carrier in Iceland that intended to use Reykjavik (KEF) to connect points in North America with points in Europe, just as Icelandair does. Unsurprisingly, this business model hasn’t proven to be a success, and the airline has been losing money since launch.
Continue reading: Iceland’s PLAY Airlines Ends United States Flights, Plots New Strategy
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
They're picking a bad week to make this decision. Surely US-bound travel from Europe is about to skyrocket.
Who knows what summer 2026 will look like but I suspect we’re going to see transatlantic flying drop even further below normal winter levels. I would be shocked if we don’t see cuts to existing schedules. I noticed EI cleverly announced DUB-CUN this winter and I assume that is because there will be less demand for DUB-MIA. Americans are still traveling in large numbers eastbound this summer but Europeans flying westbound is already down for peak season.
Sad for me - I had a wonderful flight with them from BOS/KEF in April and was looking forward to another.
Entirely predictable, but also sad. I flew them once and really enjoyed flying out of Stewart Airport rather than slogging through traffic to JFK or EWR. The flight was perfectly comfortable, and also left a bit earlier in the day than the competition (I hate redeyes in economy).
To say "However, they believed things would be different this time around." is a very superficial analysis. The replacement airlines have different capital structures and different sized fleets. Wow had 24 planes at its max, while Play only had 15. To assume these executives aren't learning from the mistakes they made is a bit presumptuous.
US carriers didn't make money for years, and now have sustainable business models. Based on Ben's logic, United should have liquidated after its first or second (or third, I lost count) bankruptcy.
I think this leisure play is doomed as well. Iceland's population is less than 400,000 people so it will be difficult to sustain service anywhere without connecting traffic. They are smart to avoid competing head-to-head with FI on most routes, but this is still a difficult strategy. Seems the best option would be an acquisition by FI so it can have a leisure-focused subsidy that still gets flow from FI's North American network.
I'm skeptical about this leisure strategy. Iceland's population is less than 400,000 people so relying on pure point-of-origin traffic is tricky. I'm not sure there is enough local demand year-round to support it. Play is smart to avoid competing with FI, but the best option is to be acquired by FI so they can add a leisure component with flow from its existing North American network.
Except that US carriers make the vast majority of their profits from credit card affiliations & leveraging their frequent flyer programs, not actually transporting pax, ironically !
This news is interesting juxtaposition to the rumor that Southwest could start international service to ..... Iceland ... on their own metal ...
Their fares wee always high for a low cost Trans-Aatlantic airline, so I wouldn't use them, a shame they didn't realize that they were uncompetitive.
The fact is that when you add in hold luggage, any seat and basic drink/meals costs. These low cost carriers are no cheaper than legacy airlines value fares. Plus while I am happy to use Ryanair and ULCCs in Europe and will pay more to go direct rather than change planes (Ryanair/EZY isn’t always cheapest option), for longer haul I prefer a more premium experience. I actually like Icelandair and them retaining both US domestic style business class and extra legroom economy seats, as well as tv screens seems to be the a better transatlantic model, so I get where they are coming from with external factors. But also for such a small national market respectively, one international carrier is probably enough.
Nonstop Y cash fares to Europe on full service airlines are dirt cheap post of the year.
Why connect on an LCC?
Well, better to hear this news in June than in the fall, Had two family members booked R/T on PLAY from BWI to KEF (Nonstop was a nice thing) in December to see the Northern Lights. Thanks to OMAAT, I saw this post and quickly rebooked them on Icelandair, same route and in the end a few dollars less for same flights. Booked it immediately as I expect that the law of supply and demand may push Icelandair to raise its prices a bit.
That said, now I need to have Icelandair actually cancel our flight so I can get a refund on my AMEX GOLD.
They are only going to have 4 aircraft. Most services will be maybe twice a week. That's sustainable for the market size.
They must be adjusting the North American schedule due to the new threat posed by Global Airlines.
I have flown PlAY many times and always felt safe and liked it. So sorry to see it go. Iceland will suffer with this change. Sorry for that. I hope it gets picked up by someone. Sad!
Nothing points to failure more than implementing a previously failed strategy employed by a bankrupt predecessor. Iceland Express, Wow Air, and now Play sought to go head-to-head with Icelandair by competing in the same markets but falling short. Instead of trying to serve gateways that were already well served by their major competitor, Play should have looked for alternative gateways with good potential and built new routes. And at a time when many (probably most) Europeans have no interest in visiting the United States, why did Play ignore Canada altogether? Play's North American (read: U.S.) routes have been grounded due to a lack of imagination on the part of the company's leadership.
Good luck, WOW left thousands stranded all over the world. I never heard passengers got reimbursed for flights that never happened.
Flew PLAY a few years ago to Iceland with Family. Very memorable experience and sad to see this Airline go away.
As an increased demand for Canada vs the US from European customers, it does really make sense to try Canadian routes. I am not avion expert, but there cannot be anywhere near the same competition on those routes as there was on the US ones in NY Boston Baltimore etc.... Unless there is a particularity with the Canadian market of which I am not aware, I cannot believe that Air Canadia can monopolise things to the extent of squeezing out innovative low cost models.