62k passengers, 77% load factor, and strong booking trend into the year
PLAY carried 61,798 passengers in January 2023 which is more than five times the number of passengers PLAY carried in January 2022. The load factor in January was 76% compared to an 82.8% load factor in December. The January load factor and passenger number is very satisfactory for a traditionally difficult month in travel and demonstrates the continued growth and effectiveness of PLAY’s distribution and commercial activity.
PLAY’s popular route to and from Tenerife had an impressive load factor of over 90% in January, while the Paris route performed nearly as well with an almost 90% load factor.
30% of PLAY passengers in January were traveling from Iceland, 37% were traveling to Iceland and 32% were connecting passengers (VIA).
Forward bookings in January were strong, beginning the year on a very positive note as January was a record sales month for PLAY.
In January, 84.3% of PLAY’s flights arrived on schedule, ensuring a smooth and punctual travel experience for our passengers despite very challenging winter operations in Iceland.
PLAY takes off to Canada and expands significantly in Denmark
Four new destinations were added to the network on January 5: Danish cities Aarhus, Aalborg and Billund, as well as the great business and fashion city Düsseldorf in Germany. These destinations fit perfectly with PLAY’s transatlantic routes to North America. The inaugural flights to these destinations are all in early June.
On January 10, PLAY launched ticket sales for daily flights to Toronto Hamilton Airport in Canada, with the first flight scheduled on June 22. This new route is PLAY’s fifth destination in North America and will offer connections to 15 destinations in Europe. Ticket sales for the new route have exceeded all expectations and it is safe to say that the addition of Toronto to the network was the natural next step for PLAY.
“Traffic numbers in January were healthy despite the month being one of the weakest in terms of demand. We decreased our capacity in the month, reduced frequencies and adjusted the network to lower costs during this low season, thus showing the flexibility of our network and business model in action. The year begins with very strong booking trends and we are very positive for the upcoming year. Our capacity in summer 2023 is growing by close to 77% compared to summer 2022 and we are adding four new aircraft to our fleet and welcoming around 200 new team members, it is a real pleasure to see the PLAY team continuously growing stronger and working hard on reaching our goals for the year,” says Birgir Jónsson, CEO of PLAY.
