Washington Dulles (IAD) will become the fourth US destination to be served by PLAY, the Icelandic carrier has confirmed.
The airline, which began commercial operations in June 2021, currently flies from Reykjavik Keflavik (KEF) to Baltimore Washington (BWI), Boston Logan (BOS), and New York Stewart (SWF), offering 21 round trips per week.
Service to Dulles will start on April 26, 2023 and operate daily using Airbus A321neo and A320neo aircraft. The 4,493-km (2,426-nm) route will be offered in tandem with PLAY's existing service to Baltimore Washington, located some 93 km (58 mi.) away from Dulles.
“PLAY has had a strong summer since the beginning in the US this year, and adding IAD is an important move for our growth in the region,” Play CEO Birgir Jónsson said.
With the launch of this service, PLAY will become Dulles’s 36th airline partner and the only LCC flying from the airport to Europe.
The LCC will compete in the KEF-IAD market with Icelandair, which currently provides a 10X-weekly service using a mix of Boeing 737-8s, 757-300 and 767-300s.
Earlier this week, PLAY reported revenues of $32.5 million during the second quarter (Q2) of 2022, compared with $9.6 million during the first three months of the year. However, losses in Q2 amounted to $14.4m.
The airline carried about 181,00 passengers in Q2, and the load factor was 74.8%. It expects to carry about 800,000 passengers during 2022.
“We can safely say that PLAY has now emerged from the tough obstacle course of the startup and expansion phase and smoother sailing is ahead,” Jónsson said. “We see brighter times ahead, our booking status is strong and we plan on showing a positive operating result later this year.”
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