The first two routes to the United States were announced by the new low cost carrier. PLAY announced its third route to the New York area at the beginning of February. The airline has a fourth destination in the United States. In the spring of 2022, PLAY will be launching flights to Baltimore, Boston, and New York, as well as the fall of the following year, when PLAY will be launching flights to Florida. PLAY will use an all-economy plane. While passengers can use these flights to travel between the United States and Iceland, a lot of PLAY's business model is based around connecting travelers to other points in Europe. Schedules are designed to minimize travel time. Let's go over the routes to the US. PLAY will begin operating daily flights between Keflavik and Baltimore on April 20, 2022. OG101 Keflavik leaves at 3:05PM and arrives at 5:50PM. OG101 Baltimore to Keflavik arrives at 5:00AM on the day.PLAY Iceland routes to the United States
PLAY’s flight from Iceland to Baltimore (BWI)
The 2,762-mile flight is blocked in both directions.
PLAY will operate daily flights between Keflavik and Boston on May 11, 2022.
OG109 Keflavik to Boston arrives at 5:35PM.
OG 112 Boston to Keflavik arrives 4:30AM on the day.
The flight is blocked at 6 and 30 minutes.
On June 9, 2022, PLAY will begin operating daily flights between Keflavik and Stewart.
OG 121 Keflavik to Stewart leaves at 3:15PM and arrives at 5:35PM.
OG122 Stewart to Keflavik arrives at 4:40AM.
The 2,553-mile flight is blocked in both directions.
PLAY will operate 3x weekly flights between Keflavik and MCO as of September 30, 2022, with the following schedule.
OG131 Keflavik leaves at 3:00PM and arrives at 7:21PM.
The OG132 is leaving at 3:20PM and arriving at 4:35AM on the day.
The flight is blocked at 8 and 7 hours. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the flight will operate to the city of Orlando. This will be a seasonal flight that will be targeted at Europeans, since not many Floridians are looking to head to Europe in winter.
The plane will sit on the ground in Florida for 22 hours with each rotation. PLAY's business model is about connecting people efficiently between the United States and Europe. The only way the airline can do that is to have the plane overnight in Orlando since the service is longer than the other flights.
PLAY's fares are high, or maybe they are just too low on other airlines. I don't see where the value proposition is. There is a route that has some competition. I decided to search for Boston to Lisbon fares since Lisbon tends to have pretty competitive fares.
Oneworld and Star Alliance airlines have fares of over $400 in May and June.
PLAY's lowest fares are over $500.
You have to factor in that PLAY charges fees for just about everything, with prices being per segment, and if you are traveling beyond Iceland, you are looking at four segments on a roundtrip. You will pay at a minimum.
PLAY's fee structure is complicated, so fees could be even higher. You'll pay $50 for a carry-on bag and $76 for a checked bag on high season flights from the United States. Sheesh.
Legacy carriers are often competitive on price in economy since they also get revenue from business travelers and cargo.
Booking PLAY would only be attractive if you wanted a stop in Iceland, or if you had to pay for extras.
Ultra low cost carriers are great for consumers. They offer low fares, but they also cause legacy carriers to have to lower fares as well.
Long haul ultra low cost carriers don't have a great track record of being profitable. WOW Air ceased operations in 2019. PLAY is essentially replicating what WOW Air did, except the airline is growing at a more sustainable pace, and I would assume it also has a better cost structure.
The core business model of an airline like PLAY is not really a core business model, as it only operated between Iceland and other points in Europe. PLAY can start using Iceland as a hub now that the airline has extended service to the US.
It will be worth watching which destinations PLAY adds next, how frequencies are adjusted, etc.
PLAY will begin flights to the United States in the spring of 2022. Initially, the airline will fly to Baltimore, Boston, and Stewart, and then as of the fall will add service to Orlando. Travelers will be able to get to other points in Europe with these flights.
In this environment, PLAY's pricing seems way off to me. PLAY seems to be priced in line with legacy carriers, while charging fees for just about everything.
What do you think about PLAY's expansion to the US? Do you think the airline will succeed?
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