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In May 2024, PLAY Airlines carried 146,692 passengers, marking a 14% increase from the 128,847 passengers in May 2023. The load factor improved to 86.4% from last year’s 84.8%, continuing PLAY’s trend of enhancing load factors while increasing available seat kilometers (ASKs) by 11% year-over-year. Revenue per passenger kilometer (RPK) also saw a 13% rise compared to the previous year.
Of the passengers in May 2024, 29.9% traveled from Iceland, 22.4% to Iceland, and 47.7% were connecting passengers (VIA). This month was notably strong for traffic from Iceland, including the VIA share. Historically, demand for flights to Iceland in May has been low, but these results highlight PLAY’s network flexibility to adapt to seasonal changes.
PLAY’s on-time performance in May 2024 was 86.8%, exceeding the annual target of 85%.
New GDS Agreement and Expanded Partnership with Dohop
PLAY Airlines has expanded its partnership with Dohop, launching PLAY Connect to become a retail partner. This new service connects PLAY with partners like Norwegian, Azores Airlines, and SKY Express, with more to join soon. PLAY Connect offers customers hundreds of weekly flight connections worldwide, adding 80 new destinations to the 40 destinations PLAY already serves in Europe and North America.
Additionally, PLAY has partnered with GO7, a global leader in airline technology, to expand its distribution capabilities. Through GO7, PLAY is now available in major global distribution systems (GDSs) worldwide, enabling travel agencies to book PLAY’s flights globally.
Einar Örn Ólafsson, CEO of PLAY airlines: We are showing adequate results for May. Our passenger numbers and load factor are trending higher while we increase our available seat kilometers. This is a positive sign but we want to do even better for the coming peak season, and we are determent to do so.
We see significant demand for flights from Iceland, and our VIA flights have allowed us to maintain a decent load factor, despite the demand for flights to Iceland having wavered a bit.
There are a couple of reasons why the demand for flights to Iceland has not met our expectations. First is the misleading coverage of volcanic activity on the Reykjanes peninsula. Additionally, our neighboring countries have launched robust marketing efforts that are proving successful, benefiting their tourism industries and treasuries. To boost demand for flights to Iceland, we need a concerted effort from the Icelandic tourism industry, as well as substantial support from the authorities. With a strong push from all parties, I believe we can increase demand for flights to Iceland and attract more visitors to experience our amazing country.
The month of May was operationally satisfactory, as demonstrated by our on-time performance of 86.8%. This achievement is the result of the tremendous work my colleagues at PLAY have done over the past month. They deserve all the praise for delivering an on-time performance that exceeds our annual target of 85%.
The new agreements with Dohop and GO7 are significant steps for PLAY and will enhance our profile in both North America and Europe. Our expanded partnership with Dohop will provide customers with a variety of connections, allowing them to reach their dream destinations for less. The agreement with GO7 will make our flights available to a large group of travel agents, extending our brand further into existing and new markets.
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