The airline that will offer flights to Europe from the US will have a stop in Reykjavik, and will use an ultralow-cost carrier model.
The new startup airline Play is promising to exercise a disciplined growth strategy as it works to achieve staying power in the competitive marketplace, in contrast to its failed discount predecessor Wow Air.
We don't like how big the company gets. Play wants to be an efficient company, according to its CEO.
Play was launched in June with service from London to London Stansted. By the end of this month it will be flying at least weekly to 16 destinations in Great Britain, Ireland and continental Europe using a small fleet of narrowbody A321neo planes.
The carrier's U.S. launch will take place in Baltimore on April 20 and Boston on May 11. Play will offer connections to 21 European destinations by then. Play's schedule will be changed to make it easier to connect from Baltimore and Boston to 10 other destinations: London, Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, Paris, Gothenburg, Sweden, and the Norwegian cities of Stavanger and Trondheim.
The carrier is offering a single cabin class and low base fares and charging extra for carry-on and checked bags, as well as advance seat assignments, food and beverages and other ancillary items.
A plan similar to Wow.
Its primary competition is the ferry company, Icelandair, which ferries passengers between 11 North American destinations and 23 European airports. Wow chose Baltimore and Boston as its first two U.S. markets, and Play's business model is similar to that of the ULCC.
Wow expanded to 13 U.S. destinations by the summer of 2018, each offering flights to and from the other side of the world. Wow collapsed less than a year after the global airline industry achieved record passenger numbers.
Jonsson, who was Wow's COO for 14 months between 2014 and 2015, said lessons from that failure haven't been lost on him or the other former Wow executives behind Play. The carrier expects to grow in the U.S. market more slowly than Wow did, with its total number of North American stations to still be less than 10 by the year 2025.
Wow's demise was accelerated by the decision of its owner to invest in expensive widebody aircraft for service to markets beyond Europe, including Tel Aviv and Delhi. Jonsson said Play, which is publicly traded on the stock exchange, will not make risky moves.
He said that they put a lot of emphasis on their decision-making process. We have to live with that because we are a listed company.
The carrier's prospects are strengthened by healthy startup capital of $90 million and favorable aircraft lease terms, which it was able to obtain due to the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the commercial aircraft market.
John Strickland, director of London-based JLS consulting, believes that Play has an opportunity to stick around.
"If they grow at a modest pace, keep with one aircraft type, focus on costs, and use digital technology to communicate with customers, then they have a good chance of succeeding," he said.
Play's use of the A321neo, which offers solid economics in terms of cost per available seat, while also easing the carrier's burden relative to widebodies in terms of the number of tickets it must sell to make flights profitable, was highlighted by Strickland.
The Pandemic-era has challenges.
Some analysts are not so bullish.
"If you define success as breaking even, then I think they can succeed," said the Amsterdam-based Propel Revenue Solutions' Judson Rollins. I have doubts if you define success by long-sustained profitability.
Play is challenged by starting up while international air travel is constrained by regulations related to the Pandemic. He doesn't think the carrier will be able to keep costs below the competition, since Play intends to sell tickets for less than its competitors.
Play should steer clear of too much route overlap with Icelandair in order to avoid a competitive response, according to a best-case scenario. He said that Germany's Condor has taken that approach.
"As soon as they start taking share from Icelandair, they're going to drop the hammer," he said. Play's 21 European airport stations have Icelandair service. Boston is also served by Icelandair. It doesn't fly to Baltimore but does serve Washington Dulles.
Jonsson believes that Play will be able to capture its fair share of the marketplace if ticket prices are kept low.
He said he doesn't spend his days looking at the website.
