PLAY airlines carried 87,415 passengers in January 2025, compared to 99,704 in January last year. This reflects an 11% reduction in PLAY's capacity for the month, a direct result of the company's decision to lease one of PLAY's aircraft to GlobalX in Miami and adjust its network to better match seasonal demand, as previously announced.
PLAY's load factor in January was 72.9%, down from 74.8% in January 2024, in line with PLAY's increased focus on leisure destinations in Southern Europe. The share of leisure routes in PLAY's network grew by five percentage points, from 21% to 26%, year-on-year in January. While leisure traffic delivers higher yields, these markets primarily operate on a point-to-point basis without VIA feed, leading to a lower load factor.
This strategic shift is also evident in PLAY's unit revenue, which has seen significant growth. By capitalizing on seasonal demand and prioritizing high-yield routes, the airline continues to strengthen its financial performance.
January marked the fifth consecutive month of year-on-year unit revenue growth. As stated in previous traffic reports, PLAY maintains a positive outlook for unit revenue in 2025.
More Icelanders traveling with PLAY
In January, 32.2% of PLAY's passengers traveled from Iceland, 37.6% to Iceland, and 30.1% were connecting (VIA) passengers. Despite reduced capacity, PLAY saw year-on-year growth in passengers traveling from Iceland, increasing from 27 thousand in January 2024 to 28 thousand in January 2025. Similarly, the number of passengers traveling to Iceland rose from 31,000 to nearly 33,000 over the same period.
PLAY's on-time performance (OTP) in January was 79.2%, improving from 78.1% in January last year. The month remains a challenging period for flight operations in Iceland due to difficult winter weather conditions.
US and European destinations
PLAY has unveiled an exciting flight schedule, with tickets available for travel to popular destinations in the United States and Europe well into 2026. In the U.S., PLAY will operate flights to Boston, Baltimore and Washington DC via BWI Airport, as well as New York, offering seamless connections to key European cities.
The European lineup features sought-after sunny destinations such as Tenerife, Las Palmas, Alicante, Lisbon, Malaga, Madeira, and PLAY's newest addition, Antalya in Turkey. For city-break travelers, PLAY offers flights to vibrant destinations like Copenhagen, Barcelona, Madrid, London, Liverpool, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin.
Einar Örn Ólafsson, PLAY's CEO:
"The growing share of Icelanders traveling with PLAY shows that we are their airline of choice when booking a flight to a sunny destination. The increasing number of passengers flying with PLAY to visit Iceland is also a positive indicator of our rising brand awareness in foreign markets.
I am incredibly proud of my colleagues at PLAY for improving our on-time performance year-on-year in January. Winter months pose significant operational challenges, but our team remains committed to maintaining strong punctuality, ultimately enhancing passenger satisfaction and reducing operational costs.
We will continue our mission to provide great service and affordable flights, making PLAY the go-to choice for travelers heading to sunny destinations, visiting Iceland, or flying between the United States and Europe at competitive prices."
