Play makes Canadian debut with flights to Europe amid low-cost airline ups and downs

Junior Sobral was nearly one of thousands of WOW Air passengers stranded when the Icelandic low-cost airline abruptly shut down in 2019.

“I was supposed to fly a week later [that] news came out,” Sobral, an avid traveler who lives in Toronto, told CBC News.

But he said that doesn’t stop him from using another low-cost carrier, Play, headquartered in Reykjavík, which got its first flights out of Canada this week, from John C. Munro Airport in Hamilton.

Hamilton – the Ontario city is listed as “Toronto” on the booking site – is now the Icelandic airline’s fifth route in North America, joining New York, Washington, Boston and Baltimore.

Play offers trips to European destinations, with a stopover in Iceland, for hundreds of dollars less than competitors. The Summer Start promotion has single flights starting at $169 Cdn.

Customers pay extra for checked baggage, food and seat selection with the Icelandic airline.

“I’ve never had any problems or concerns with it [WOW]. I was an avid fan. I was always looking for the best deals on their website,” said Sobral [Play] was based in Toronto.”

Airline launched in the US in 2022

Play’s first flight from Hamilton to Europe took off on Thursday evening.

There are flights to 26 destinations in Europe, including London, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dublin, Brussels and Stockholm, with a stopover at Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik.

It began offering flights between Iceland and Europe in 2021 and added US destinations in 2022.

Play’s no-frills service means no in-flight magazines or Wi-Fi and entertainment systems, said chief executive officer Birgir Jónsson, one of several Play executives who had worked at WOW Air.

“You’re basically paying for the services you need if you want to bring extra luggage, that’s what you’re paying for,” he said at a media event for the launch in Hamilton on Thursday. “If you want to eat something on the plane, you have to pay for it.”

Play’s model is similar to WOW’s.

While some travelers may distrust Play because of the leadership’s links to WOW, Jónsson said he has learned from past mistakes.

“Be safely funded, have enough money, don’t grow too fast, [and] choose your destinations safely,” he said. “So far we have been very successful, and this is the year where we will make an operating profit.”

Play plans to operate daily flights throughout the year, knowing that it will lose money in the winter months. It believes the consistent schedule will help increase demand for its service and generate more sales in the long run.

“In the winter you lose money and in the summer you certainly try to make it up,” Jónsson said. “That’s the harsh reality of aviation.”

Low cost airlines come in waves

Canada has seen several new entrants to the low-cost airline market in recent years, including Swoop, Flair Airlines, Lynx Air, and Jetlines.

However, WestJet recently announced plans to close Sunwing and Swoop, its low-cost subsidiaries, and merge them into its core business.

John Gradek, a professor of aviation management at McGill University, said the growth and decline of budget airlines usually comes in waves, driven by high airfares on mainstream airlines, a phenomenon we are now experiencing.

“Prices have skyrocketed,” he told CBC News in an interview in Montreal.

Gradek said Play’s strategy appears to be based on prices that are notably cheaper than the larger carriers, but not so cheap that the company can’t cover its costs.

“Your strategy will be to steal traffic, not drive traffic…I think this summer’s prices are OK to stay profitable in flight.”

Gradek expects prices to be attractive enough to entice people to travel a reasonable distance to fly from Hamilton, especially considering the delays and baggage handling issues for which Toronto’s Pearson International Airport has become notorious.

“Pearson is a hard sell,” he said.

Compare all costs, not just airline tickets

Barry Choi, a personal finance columnist based in Toronto, said factors such as cheaper parking at Hamilton airport, compared to Pearson, could also help customers use Play.

But he said it is unlikely that people will travel from further than driving distance to the city of Ontario to take the service to Europe.

He said even people from Toronto would have to add up the cost of getting to Hamilton, as well as the extra time it takes, to determine whether the savings in airfare are worth it. The distance between Toronto and Hamilton Airport, just south of the city, is at least 80 kilometers.

“Sometimes it can be worth it, but sometimes the savings are quite minimal [so] it may not be worth it at all,” he said.

He also encourages getting travel insurance that will protect them in case something goes wrong with the airline, such as a sudden shutdown.

“Travel insurance will cover all the hotels until you’ve sorted out your stuff. They won’t necessarily pay for your flight back home right away, but at least you’re not that scared.”