The mantra of never wasting a good crisis is more prevalent in the aviation industry than in any other business. These last couple of years have proven that, with airlines embracing agility in their businesses to ensure their survival. Icelandic startup PLAY has been tightly grasping every opportunity that presents itself, including recruiting the industry’s best talent for the airline’s future.
Opportunity in crisis
While nobody would ever argue that the last couple of years have not been the most awful ever experienced by the aviation industry, time and again we hear of small silver linings in the vast COVID cloud. Despite everything that’s happened, small glimmers of hope continue to shine bright. As Albert Einstein once famously said,
“In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.”
Over the past two years, Simple Flying has spoken with numerous airline CEOs who have found that opportunity. Some have taken the downtime to revisit their operational structure, with easyJet’s CEO telling us his airline will leave the crisis ‘stronger and better’ thanks to the changes they’ve made. Others, like Virgin Atlantic, have taken the initiative to clear out older planes, waving goodbye to the likes of the 747 and A340, and leaving the pandemic a cleaner and more efficient airline.
But for some airlines, the pandemic isn’t about changing what’s already there; it’s about starting something brand new. One such airline is PLAY, an Icelandic startup that launched at the height of the crisis, in mid-2021, nixing all naysayers and flying more than 100,000 passengers in its first few months of operations.
The benefits of starting an airline in the midst of a travel downturn have been widely communicated. Airport slots are readily available, leasing rates are at an all-time low, and the competition is stifled. But a big win for PLAY was not any of these elements, but the availability of something equally as important – talent.
You can replay our interview with PLAY’s CEO here:
Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests.
5,000 applicants for 150 jobs
PLAY is rapidly expanding, with its fleet set to double from three to six aircraft in the next few months. With plans to fly to the US for the first time this spring, it has been busy recruiting the right people to bring these plans to fruition. Simple Flying spoke to CEO Birgir Jonsson about the hidden benefits of the pandemic, and he explained,
“Slots have not been an issue for us at all. I probably couldn't get a slot at Heathrow that I wanted, but I wouldn't want to fly there anyway. For us, it's access to people.
“We are hiring 150 people, cabin crew and flight crew. And we got 5,000 applications. This means we can create a great team, especially when you need some kind of specialist, for example digital specialists that are good at travel tech and stuff like that. It's very easy to hire those kinds of people now that the industry is in a slump. Before, you’d have had to headhunt them.”
Finding the right talent for his airline is just one of the smart ways PLAY is leveraging its advantage in the pandemic environment. Mr Jonsson also explained that some of its future aircraft will be coming to it straight from the production line, rather than as two- or three-year-old models as its present fleet has been.
For a startup, getting new planes delivered from the factory within a year or two of launch would have been unheard of in the past. But the downturn has opened those delivery slots, and PLAY is ready to make hay while the sun shines.