Icelandic low-cost carrier Play has reported ‘record-breaking’ passenger numbers for the month of July.
The airline carrier 109,956 passengers last month, a 25 per cent increase from the previous month. The number of passengers flown last month is also more than the total who flew with the airline in 2021.
The airline says that the growth is largely a result of the “addition of the transatlantic hub and spoke model” connecting cities across the UK and Europe with the US via its hub in Reykjavik.
In July the load factor was 87.9 per cent compared to 79.2 per cent in June.
The airline launched transatlantic services from London Stansted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall airport in April, followed by a service to Boston in May and a service to New York Stewart International in June. It will launch flights from Liverpool in October.
Play had planned to launch flights from London Stansted and Liverpool airports to Orlando International in September and November respectively but cancelled the services in May, with the airline citing a change of fleet owing to higher fuel prices.
July marked the first month of full operations for the airline, with six aircraft (A321 neo and A320 neo) operating to 25 destinations on both sides of the Atlantic.
The airline will take delivery of four new A320 neo and A321 neo aircraft next winter, bringing the fleet to a total of ten aircraft by spring 2023.
Birgir Jonsson, CEO of Play, commented:
“It’s been great seeing so many new destinations and the full transatlantic network come into play over the past few weeks, and the positive effect it has had on our network. Our team achieved a very impressive on-time performance in the month despite a very challenging situation at many airports, a true achievement.”
“It has been truly inspiring for me to take part in and witness the great team spirit and the professionality of all my colleagues across all functions at Play and how all their hard work and dedication are driving the success of our airline. These are all factors that fill me with enthusiasm and anticipation for the coming months and the long-term future of Play.”