Play launches Malta-based Play Europe subsidiary
April 6, 2025
The new Play Europe airline will operate three aircraft, the first of which is Airbus A321-251N 9H-PEA (the former TF-AEW, c/n 8008), which was transferred from Play. The aircraft was ferried from Reykjavik Keflavik to Ostrava on 25 March and then to Nottingham East Midlands on 28 March. Play Europe will not operate under the original Play brand, and the aircraft is to be repainted.
Play Europe will offer Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance & Insurance (ACMI) flights to third parties, initially for a two year contract with an unnamed East European operator. Play is diversifying its business model in the face of a slump in demand by transatlantic passengers. The new company will be operated separately from Play, and its staff will be recruited in Malta.
The new carrier has already secured a wet-lease agreement with an as yet unnamed East European carrier, for whom Play Europe will operate three aircraft.
Einar Örn Ólafsson the chief executive of Play and Play Europe explained that: “These leasing projects will generate profitability for PLAY in line with previous projections and will make the company’s operations more predictable and stable, with a positive financial outlook.”
Play was founded in 2019 as an Icelandic low-cost airline headquartered in the capital, Reykjavík. The airline was established by executives from the former WOW Air, which had gone bankrupt and ceased operations earlier in 2019, after it added wide-bodied Airbus A330-300s and began moving away from the low-cost model. The new airline was originally tentatively named WAB (“We Are Back”) air, before rebranding as Play in November 2019.
Play initially acquired three Airbus A321neo aircraft, formerly operated by Mexican defunct airline Interjet. The company built up to a fleet of six Airbus A320neo and four Airbus A321neo aircraft, which operate from a main hub at Keflavík International Airport.
