Yesterday, Icelandic low-cost carrier PLAY published its traffic figures for November 2022. All in all, the red-liveried airline is in a healthier position than last year, with its passenger numbers being more than four times higher than in November 2021. PLAY has also seen its load factor and network grow in the last 12 months.

A large year-on-year increase

One of the key figures mentioned in PLAY's statement was that it exceeded the 75,000-passenger mark in November. While the carrier has had busier months, 75,396 still represents a strong showing when you consider that November is typically a quieter month for travel. This figure also marks huge year-on-year growth.

Indeed, November 2021 saw PLAY welcome 16,689 passengers onboard its flights, which, at the time, represented its second-best monthly total. However, such has been its growth in the last 12 months that its figure of 75,396 passengers this time around is four-and-a-half times higher than last November. The carrier also has reasons to be cheerful in terms of punctuality, with CEO Birgir Jónsson explaining:

"I am truly proud of PLAY’s on-time performance in November, being at 98.2%. This great achievement stems from the efforts of dedicated employees who are doing their very best every day to serve PLAY’s customers in the best possible way."

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Load factors remain steady

PLAY is also doing well when it comes to the load factors that it is experiencing onboard its flights. Indeed, while the average figure in this regard was 58.3% in November 2021, this year saw it clock in at 79.1%. This represents a fairly steady situation at the carrier, given October 2022's similar average reload factor of 81.9%.

Certain routes have been performing especially well, with flights on these corridors being more than nine-tenths full on average. These include destinations in both the city break and winter sun markets. In this regard, Jónsson explains that:

"Our traffic numbers are satisfying for November, which historically is a low-season month. It has been very nice to see more than 90% load factors for London and Paris, both very important destinations for our route network. It is also interesting to see our leisure destinations, Tenerife and Alicante, with load factors of almost 90% in November since those destinations [don't] usually perform so well in this month."

Almost four-tenths of passengers use PLAY to connect

PLAY also took the opportunity to explain the different ways that its passengers are using the airline, splitting them into passengers traveling to, from, and via its Reykjavík-Keflavík hub. The first two of these categories had a relatively even split, with 29.8% of PLAY's passengers flying from, and 30.9% flying from, Iceland.

However, the largest share fell to connecting passengers, which made up 39.3% of PLAY's customer base last month. The airline has been keen to leverage its location between mainland Europe and North America to galvanize connecting transatlantic traffic, and, by all accounts, this seems to suggest that it is working.

What do you make of PLAY's traffic figures for November 2022? Did you fly with the Icelandic low-cost carrier last month? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!