PLAY airlines carried 144,746 passengers in September 2024, a 14.7% decrease compared to last year when 163,784 passengers were flown. However, the load factor increased, rising from 85.0% in September 2023 to 87.3% this year.
Of the passengers flying with PLAY in September, 28.3% were departing from Iceland, 35.8% were flying to Iceland, and 35.9% were connecting passengers (VIA). The number of passengers flying from Iceland increased by 9% compared to last year. In 2023, PLAY had nearly 38 thousand passengers departing from Iceland, while in 2024, this figure grew to nearly 41 thousand marking significant growth in the local market.
The load factor for North American destinations reached 89.7%, an all-time high for a single month. Additionally, the load factor for EU city destinations rose by 6%.
PLAY's on-time performance in September was 90.5%, surpassing last year's OTP of 85.1%.
New destinations and Sabre launch
In September, PLAY launched ticket sales for scheduled flights to Valencia, Spain, and Pula, Croatia. Furthermore, the airline increased the frequency of flights to Split, Croatia, from one flight per week to two per week, starting next year.
PLAY also announced a new partnership with Sabre Corporation. This collaboration allows Sabre-connected travel agencies direct access to PLAY's extensive network of affordable transatlantic flights.
This partnership is a significant step in expanding PLAY's reach across North America and Europe, offering travelers more options and boosting the airline's visibility in key markets.
Einar Örn Ólafsson, CEO of PLAY:
"We saw several improvements in September despite the decline in passenger numbers. Our load factor increased by 2.3 percentage points, and our share of the local market continues to grow year over year. The summer posed challenges for our transatlantic connecting routes due to the significant increase in direct flights by other airlines. However, with adjustments to our North American routes and a favorable market outlook with reduced capacity, we expect our forward unit revenue to gain positive momentum in the coming months.
We've been adding more leisure destinations to our network, and we are optimistic that the new routes will yield positive results next year. As mentioned before, we've reduced capacity on North American routes to focus more on leisure destinations, which have shown better performance.
Our operations team continues to deliver exceptional on-time performance, once again making PLAY the most punctual major airline operating out of Keflavík International Airport. We take great pride in this achievement and remain committed to maintaining our airline's punctual performance."
