PLAY Airlines applies for Maltese AOC amid lower-than-expected earnings
October 17, 2024
Icelandic low-cost carrier PLAY Airlines is making fundamental changes to its business model, reducing its focus on connecting North America and Europe and applying for an air operating license in Malta.
While the airline’s financial position remains secure, PLAY’s earnings before interest and taxes for the full year 2024 are expected to fall below its 2023 results. This drop, according to the airline, is due to increased capacity across the Atlantic in spring and summer 2024 which had a greater negative impact than initially anticipated.
Citing shifts in the market that demonstrate its via-route network is no longer as profitable as it once was, Einar Örn Ólafsson, PLAY’s CEO, said the adjustment of the airline’s business model to cut back on capacity on its North Atlantic routes will continue into 2025. “We will focus on the aspects of our business that have proven both successful and profitable – namely transporting passengers between Southern Europe and Iceland.”
In line with these changes PLAY will base part of its fleet outside of Iceland, for which it has applied for an air operating certificate (AOC) in Malta. The airline currently operates a fleet of 10 aircraft, six or seven of which it plans to continue operating on its Icelandic AOC, while “three to four will be allocated to other projects.” Folloiwng the completion of the new Maltese AOC in spring 2025, Ólafsson plans to move the first aircraft to Tenerife from where it will serve Keflavik and Akureyri in Iceland as well as other destinations.
In addition, Ólafsson revealed that “one aircraft will be allocated to Miami exploring a year-round project that we hope to announce soon.”
