Icelandic low-cost carrier PLAY has announced four new European additions to its 2022 summer schedule. Flights to Prague and Lisbon will be available from May 2022, while flights to Bologna and Stuttgart are set to begin from June 2022. The airline also revealed a strong Q3 after its launch in June this year.

Four new European destinations for PLAY

PLAY has added four European destinations to its summer network next year, with flights beginning in May 2022. The four cities are:

  • Bologna, Italy
  • Lisbon, Portugal
  • Prague, Czech Republic
  • Stuttgart, Germany

All flights will be to and from PLAY's hub at Reykjavík–Keflavík Airport, Iceland's main airport. Lisbon and Prague flights will be up and running as soon as May 2022, with Bologna and Stuttgart set to begin in June.

PLAY's CEO has plans to bring his brightly liveried aircraft to Canada. Photo: PLAY

Birgir Jónsson, CEO of PLAY, said,

"These four new destinations will strengthen PLAY´s route schedule and open up Iceland as an ideal adventure for more Europeans in 2022. We are confident that these destinations will boost PLAY´s operations and that our flights between Iceland and these cities will be popular among those living there."

With the addition of these four new cities, PLAY's European network will offer a total of 21 destinations.

A strong Q3 after a successful launch

Last week, PLAY announced a "strong Q3" with a steadily rising load factor and continued growth. After its launch (or relaunch from the ashes of WOW) in June 2021, the airline has added 63 new employees, including 41 cabin crew members, 12 flight crew members, and 10 office employees.

PLAY
PLAY is Iceland's newest low-cost airline and looking to fill in WOW Air's absence from the market. Photo: PLAY

Load factor in July was 41.7%, rising to 46.4% in August. In September, the load factor increased to 52.1% and grew to 67.7% in October. PLAY stated that "the improved load factor reflects recovering demand both to and from Iceland."

However, the airline noted that "the financial results for Q3 were under expectations, due to the effect COVID-19 had on revenue."

North America is up next

PLAY plans to expand rapidly over the next six months, including a foray into North America. While details are still scarce, popular East Coast destinations such as New York, Boston, Washington, and Toronto are likely to be in the mix.

After setting a prospective launch date of Spring 2022, PLAY applied for US flight permission in August. PLAY added that it "will have added new aircraft to its fleet before launching services to North America." Currently, the airline is operating with a small fleet of three Airbus A321neo aircraft.

PLAY A321neo
The airline hopes to launch North American flights next year. Photo: PLAY

The airline also announced it is opening a new office in Vilnius, Lithuania, in December. While its headquarters will remain in Iceland, the Vilnius office "will host various support and technical functions... and ensure access to a larger talent pool of specialists in IT services, digital development, marketing, finance, and customer service."

Are you excited about PLAY's new European destinations and North American expansion? How have you found your experience flying with PLAY? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.