Icelandic Start-up PLAY Announces Routes to Baltimore & Boston

PLAY — the newest Iceland-based low-cost carrier — has announced its first U.S. destinations.

From April 20, 2022, Baltimore (BWI) and Boston (BOS) will be added to the airline’s route network.

“We’re proud to expand PLAY’s service to the United States with services to and from Boston and Baltimore/Washington D.C. offering both American and European travelers a new way to reach iconic destinations,” said Birgir Jónsson, CEO of PLAY.

The flights will connect Baltimore and Boston with nonstop service to Reykjavik (KEF) — the capital of Iceland — and offer onwards connections to 22 destinations across Europe.

Let’s find out more.

PLAY’s First U.S. Destinations

The first U.S. airport to welcome the arrival of PLAY will be Baltimore (BWI) on April 20, 2022, with the following schedule for the new daily flights:

• Depart Reykjavik 3:05 p.m. — Arrive Baltimore 5:50 p.m.
• Depart Baltimore 7 p.m. — Arrive Reykjavik 5 a.m. (+1) 

The airline will then begin flights to Boston (BOS) a few weeks later on May 11, 2022, with the flights scheduled as follows:

• Depart Reykjavik 3:30 p.m. — Arrive Boston 5:35 p.m. 
• Depart Boston 7 p.m. — Arrive Reykjavik 4:30 a.m. (+1)

While both Baltimore and Boston are new destinations for PLAY, both cities are already connected to Reykjavik by Icelandair — Iceland’s flag carrier.

More About PLAY

PLAY is stepping in to fill the gap in the market left by ultra-low-cost airline WOW Air, which ceased to operate in March 2019.

Marketing itself as a low-cost carrier rather than an ultra-low-cost carrier, this subtle change in operation style business model could potentially mean PLAY will have more financial success than WOW Air and Iceland Express — former operators in the transatlantic-via-Iceland low-cost market.

As per its website, PLAY flies from Reykjavik to 22 destinations across Europe including Alicante (ALC), Amsterdam (AMS), Barcelona (BCN), Berlin (BER), Bologna (BLQ), Brussels (BRU), Copenhagen (CPH), Dublin (DUB), Gothenburg (GOT), Gran Canaria (LPA), Lisbon (LIS), London (STN), Madrid (MAD), Málaga (AGP), Mallorca (PMI), Paris (CDG), Prague (PRG), Salzburg (SZG), Tenerife (TFS), and Trondheim (TRD).

Many of PLAY’s destinations will also be served by Icelandair — Iceland’s flag carrier.

However, PLAY will fly to 10 destinations that Icelandair doesn’t (see emboldened cities in the list above) meaning travelers from Baltimore and Boston will have 10 exciting destinations available to them via a 1-stop, low-cost flight via Iceland.

Where both airlines serve the same European and American destinations, PLAY hopes to tempt passengers with its low-cost offerings and cheaper round-trip fares via Iceland.

PLAY’s aircraft are a mixture of brand-new Airbus A320 family aircraft: 3 Airbus A321neos and 1 Airbus A320neo.

The fleet is already set to grow, with 2 more A320neos scheduled to be delivered from Airbus in March 2022; 1 additional A320neo and 1 A321neo will join the fleet by spring 2023.

Final Thoughts

There’s a new low-cost airline coming to PLAY in the U.S.

Depending on how PLAY’s arrival in Baltimore (BWI) and Boston (BOS) goes, this could just be the start of a whole host of U.S. route announcements for the Icelandic low-cost start-up.