Play Airlines--Changes

Posted by Frank II (Freedonia) on 06/25/25 12:53 PM

Play Airlines, the Iceland based discount carrier, will cease all North American flights by October. The airline said the North American flights and its connections were not profitable. All ten of its aircraft will focus on Europe.

Additionally, the airline will move from its base in Iceland to Malta. It will keep four planes in Iceland for some flights but the company and the rest of the planes will be based in Malta.

The airline is currently being taken over by its largest shareholder and its CEO.

Play Airlines replaced WOW Airlines when the latter went bankrupt. Some WOW executives took part in operating Play.

Posted by justsweetjs

Upstate NY

06/25/25 06:11 PM

275 posts

I hated hearing this! I flew Play to Dublin last year from Stewart Airport (Newburgh, NY). It was such an easy flight, loved the fact that I got to stop in Iceland, AND, it was so much less expensive! I also was a huge fan of WOW, so, very disappointed.

Posted by Frank

Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

06/25/25 06:19 PM

23799 posts

.... it was so much less expensive!..... and its connections were not profitable...... I wonder if there is a connection here? Somehow somewhere there has to be return.

Posted by David in Seattle

Seattle, WA, USA ☔️

06/25/25 06:31 PM

7137 posts

"Wow" indeed - quite the sudden switch from Iceland to...Malta. Really - Malta?!

Well, as anyone who has ever been there can attest, Iceland is not an inexpensive place to be. Malta is certainly cheaper (and has weather that's more appealing to more European holiday makers). But Malta is not exactly ideally located as a natural "stopover" connection (unless the execs driving this have some reason to expect an upcoming boom in travel to Africa and the Middle East, both of which seem particularly unlikely, at least right now...).

I've been to Malta (and liked it), but it seems an odd choice for this move. Maybe they were just one step ahead of the repo man and needed to find someplace where things were loose to move the planes and set up operations, and Malta was available.

WOW, then Play. Soon to be replaced by YIKES Airlines, followed by OMFG Airways, then finally Hmmmm Air. /jk

Posted by Frank II OP

Freedonia

06/25/25 10:34 PM

17468 posts

The move to Malta is for its headquarters. That doesn't mean all their flights will be via Malta.

As was stated, Malta is less expensive than Iceland and the weather is much better. Less of a chance of cancellations due to weather.

I have a feeling, and this is just a guess, that Play may be looking to get heavily into the charter market.

Posted by joe32F

Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂

06/26/25 02:15 AM

12594 posts

Operationally, PLAY is shifting gears. Instead of chasing transatlantic connecting traffic, the airline will focus on point-to-point leisure routes from Iceland to sunny southern European destinations, western Africa, and western Asia. The carrier will also reduce service to destinations in northern Europe. This restructuring builds on the profitability of PLAY’s European leisure routes, which have outperformed its transatlantic network
https://avgeekery.com/play-airlines-to-exit-us-market-in-fall-2025/