PLAY Airlines, based in Iceland, has launched its inaugural route to the United States, making it the latest long-haul low-cost carrier to do so.
On April 20, 2022, PLAY’s Airbus A321neo aircraft, TF-AEW, took off from Keflavik International Airport (KEF) and landed at Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI).
The start-up airline will begin daily flights between Reykjavik and Baltimore on April 20, 2022. PLAY will expand its network by adding services to Boston and New York in May and June 2022.
“The transatlantic flights will be the main focus in PLAY´s operations and it was a huge project to establish a connection in a new continent. But now we see the fruits of our labor, a well-made, reliable, and ambitious flight plan,” said Birgir Jónsson, CEO of PLAY.
The airline’s fleet now consists of five aircraft, comprising three Airbus A321neos and two Airbus A320s. By 2025, PLAY intends to have a total of 15 planes.
PLAY is the most recent carrier to enter the transatlantic competition. The new airline will face off against established carriers like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, as well as new transatlantic entrants like JetBlue (JBLU).
JetBlue (JBLU) began transatlantic service between London Heathrow (LHR) and New York JFK airport in the summer of 2021.
Norse Atlantic Airways, a new Norwegian carrier that seized on Norwegian Air Shuttle’s transatlantic low-cost gap, is slated to begin transatlantic services between Europe and the United States in the second quarter of 2022.
