All Play Airlines articles
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NewsPlay ceases operations amid ‘deep-rooted challenges’
Icelandic low-cost carrier Play has ceased operations, blaming a “weaker-than-expected” performance in recent months that was exacerbated by “negative media coverage” of its operations.
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NewsPlay expects model shift to cut winter losses and generate profits next year
Icelandic budget carrier Play insists its underlying performance remains strong, despite higher losses over the second quarter, as it transitions to a combined model of point-to-point services and wet-leasing. The carrier is expecting “significantly reduced” losses for the upcoming winter season and “profitable operations” in 2026. Four of its 10 ...
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NewsPotential Play takeover recedes as shareholders resist delisting plan
Senior management figures at Icelandic carrier Play have withdrawn a proposed plan to take over the company, after shareholders indicated a preference for the airline to remain listed on the stock exchange.
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NewsPlay to shut Icelandic hub and shift entire fleet to Malta under takeover plan
Budget carrier Play is poised to shut down its transatlantic operation and transfer its entire fleet to Malta’s registry, as part of a proposed takeover bid. Two shareholders in Play – its chief executive and vice-chair – are seeking to acquire the entire share capital of the Reykjavik-based operator. Under ...
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NewsPlay leasing several aircraft to Maltese division of Ukraine’s SkyUp
Ukrainian operator SkyUp’s Maltese division has emerged as the partner to which Icelandic carrier Play Airlines is supplying aircraft under its new diversification strategy. Play is deploying four of its 10 Airbus A320neo-family jets for damp-lease to SkyUp MT from spring-summer this year. The agreement will run to the end ...
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NewsPlay starts transferring Airbus fleet after securing Maltese AOC
Icelandic budget carrier Play has secured a Maltese air operator’s certificate from the country’s civil aviation regulator.
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NewsIceland’s Play insists revised business model is starting to show positive results
Icelandic budget carrier Play has turned in a heavy full-year loss, but insists the overhaul of its business model is starting to show results. The airline generated a net loss of $66 million for 2024 – approaching double the previous year’s $35 million – on revenues which were up 4% ...
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NewsIceland’s Play slashing hub-and-spoke activity as it shifts to new model
Icelandic budget carrier Play expects to slash the proportion of hub-and-spoke operations in its activity from 75% to just 30% as it adopts a new business model. Leisure travel will account for 35% – up from the current 25% – while charter and wet-lease services will account for the remaining ...
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NewsPlay to diversify with Maltese AOC as competition forces transatlantic retreat
Icelandic budget carrier Play is planning to obtain a Maltese air operator’s certificate in order to diversify its activities, following pressure on its transatlantic operations.
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NewsPlay names former Bluebird Nordic executive as finance chief
Icelandic budget carrier Play has named Ruta Dabasinskaite-Vitke as its new chief financial officer, succeeding Olafur Thor Johannesson.
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NewsPlay must ‘tread carefully’ to broaden its network reach: chief
Play chief executive Einar Orn Olafsson is wary that expansion of the carrier’s model brings the potential for stiffer competition, although he floats the possibility of using an external base to operate services to Iceland. Olafsson says the Icelandic carrier – having developed rapidly since emerging in 2021 – is ...
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NewsIceland’s Play interested in A321XLR potential but not in near term
Icelandic budget carrier Play has expressed interest in the potential of Airbus’s A321XLR, but is waiting to see whether the twinjet could fit within the airline’s low-cost model. Play already uses a fleet of 10 A320neo-family jets, including the A321neo. Speaking to FlightGlobal in London on 9 May, Play chief ...
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NewsPlay finance chief steps down after steering IcKr4.6bn capital raise
Icelandic budget carrier Play’s chief of finance, Olafur Thor Johannesson, is stepping down from his position, resigning just a few weeks after the departure of chief executive Birgir Jonsson. Johannesson will stay in the role until a successor is appointed. New chief executive Einar Orn Olafsson says Johannesson has been ...
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NewsPlay partly blames ‘inaccurate’ coverage of volcanic activity for first-quarter loss
Icelandic budget carrier Play is attributing first-quarter losses partly to news coverage of recent volcanic activity, which the airline claims was “inaccurate”. Play says a $20.4 million loss before interest and tax was “heavily affected” by the coverage, although it had been expecting a negative impact. “Now the results are ...
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NewsIceland’s Play to open public share offering window in April
Icelandic budget carrier Play will aim to raise up to IcKr500 million ($3.6 million) in a public offering next month, to support funding already promised under subscription commitments. The airline will open the offer period on 9 April and it will run to 11 April. Play is prepared to issue ...
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NewsPlay seeks further investor engagement as largest shareholders commit to extra funding
Icelandic budget carrier Play is to hold talks with other investors after its largest shareholders subscribed to new shares worth IcKr2.58 billion ($18.7 million). The airline, in early February, stated that it was seeking new share capital of IcKr3-4 billion to reinforce its cash position. It has since secured binding ...
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NewsPlay expects first quarterly profit but full-year loss
Icelandic budget carrier Play is expecting to post its first quarterly profit, having generated a surplus of $12 million for the peak summer months of June-August. The airline is forecasting an operating profit of $10 million and a net profit of $4 million for the third quarter, which runs to ...
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Airline BusinessEarly signs of ‘normalisation’ effects at airlines
Many airline leaders continue to argue that although visibility is limited, strong demand and yields are persisting into the northern hemisphere winter months. But there are also significant players highlighting signs of market ‘normalisation’
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NewsFuel prices prompt Play to row back on full-year profit prediction
Icelandic budget carrier Play is pessimistic about its chances of generating an operating profit this year, owing to the rise in fuel prices. Play had been forecasting a “narrow but positive” operating margin for the full year 2023, and the operating profit for the third quarter has proven “strong” so ...
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NewsPlay seeks to extract more from ancillaries with ex-Ryanair recruit
Icelandic budget carrier Play is illustrating its stronger focus on ancillary revenues with the recruitment of Ryanair’s former head of ancillary revenues Emilio Chacon Monsant. Play’s first-half ancillary income reached $26.5 million – against $9 million for the same period last year – compared with fare revenues of $74.5 million. ...