PLAY’s game change: low cost airline’s switch from growth to profit

PLAY's Dec-2024 passenger numbers fell by 13.5% - not the kind of performance many might expect from a still new low cost airline.

However, this is the result of leasing out one aircraft to GlobalX Airlines in accordance with its new business model, which aims to align its own operations more closely with seasonal demand.

In 4Q2024 it announced its new strategy: 'PLAY forward'.

This switches its core focus from North Atlantic connections over Reykjavik to point-to-point leisure destinations in (mainly southern) Europe, and also expands its ACMI/charter operations for other airlines.

It characterises the Iceland-North America market as highly seasonal, oversupplied with capacity, and increasingly competitive; while its point-to-point network is less seasonal, and has consistently provided a much higher contribution to overheads. The new strategy also involves a new Maltese AOC expected this northern spring 2025.

Still less than four years after its launch in Jun-2021, PLAY is making the transition from a growth-oriented start-up to focusing on profitability.