Passenger Numbers and Load Factor Rising Amid Increased Capacity
PLAY airlines carried 146,692 passengers in May 2024, a 14% increase from May last year when PLAY carried 128,847 passengers. PLAY's load factor in May 2024 was 86.4% compared to 84.8% in May 2023. PLAY continues its trend of increasing its load factor while increasing available seat kilometers (ASKs) between years by 11%. Revenue per passenger kilometers (RPKs) increased between years by 13%.
Of the passengers flying with PLAY in May 2024, 29.9% were travelling from Iceland, 22.4% were travelling to Iceland, and 47.7% were connecting passengers (VIA). May 2024 proved to be a strong month for traffic from Iceland, including the VIA share. Historically, demand for flights to Iceland in May has not been high, but the results demonstrate the flexibility of PLAY's network to adapt to seasonal changes.
PLAY's on-time performance was 86.8% in May 2024, which is a good result and above our annual target of 85% on-time performance.
New GDS agreement and expansion of partnership with Dohop
PLAY airlines has expanded its partnership with Dohop to become a retail partner with the launch of PLAY Connect. Tapping into new demand by connecting with launch partners Norwegian, Azores Airlines and SKY Express, with more partner airlines to join soon. This allows PLAY to offer its customers hundreds of weekly flight connections worldwide.
With 80 new destinations available, PLAY Connect enables travelers to conveniently book flight connections across multiple airline partners including ancillaries in a single booking process, complementing the 40 destinations that PLAY already serves in Europe and North America.
PLAY has also partnered with GO7, a global leader in airline technology, to broaden its distribution capability. PLAY is now activated in the major global distribution systems (GDSs) worldwide through GO7, enabling travel agencies around the globe to book PLAY's flights.
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.
