The airline carried 109,956 passengers during the month, which is 25% up from June when the budget carrier recorded 87,932 passengers. It is interesting to note that the number of passengers flown in July is more than the total number of all passengers carried in 2021.
In July, the load factor was 87.9% compared to a 79.2% load factor in June and 69.6% in May. This positive development is primarily due to the addition of the transatlantic hub and spoke model connecting cities in Europe and the United States.
In the spring and summer PLAY has successfully launched many new destinations and seen very positive development of the existing destinations on the European side of the network.
July was the first month of full operations for PLAY following the ramp-up to the spring, with six aircraft operating to 25 destinations on both sides of the Atlantic.
On-time performance (OTP) in July was 79%, which is very satisfactory given the number of brand-new destinations and the difficult situation at many airports that still struggle with staff shortages causing delays for many airlines.
Six aircraft in operation
PLAY’s sixth aircraft, an Airbus A320neo, arrived in Iceland at the end of June and began flying passengers in July. PLAY is now operating three Airbus A321neo and three Airbus A320neo aircraft, in line with the company’s business plan and fleet strategy.
PLAY will take delivery of four new A320/321neo aircraft next winter, bringing the fleet to a total of 10 aircraft in service from spring 2023.
“It’s been great seeing so many new destinations and the full transatlantic network come into play over the past few weeks and the positive effect it has had on the utilization across our network. Our team achieved a very impressive on-time performance in the month despite a very challenging situation at many airports, a true achievement. We continue to see our unit cost (ex-fuel CASK) being below our targeted 4$ cents, fuel prices are decreasing, unit revenue (RASK) is rising, and our future booking flow is strong. It has been truly inspiring for me to take part in and witness the great team spirit and the professionality of all my colleagues across all functions at PLAY and how all their hard work and dedication are driving the success of our airline. These are all factors that fill me with enthusiasm and anticipation for the coming months and the long-term future of PLAY.”
