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Play Airlines announced the end of US service in a news release on Monday, June 9. While it had already cut back on North American flights, the airline still flew to three US cities: Baltimore, Boston, and Newburgh, New York.
The US routes will officially end in October.
"This is primarily a plan for practical changes to the operations of the Icelandic airline Play," said CEO Einar Örn Ólafsson. "We're focusing on the profitable aspects of the business — sun destination flights — and discontinuing those that have not yielded results."
Play provided Americans heading to Europe with an ultra-low-cost option to cross the Atlantic Ocean. All US flights were nonstop to Reykjavík, where travelers could connect to dozens of European cities.
The decision comes as Ólafsson and board vice chair Elías Skúli Skúlason lead a takeover offer to buy all outstanding shares in Play.
The group plans to streamline the airline's operations by focusing on flights from Iceland to warmer European destinations.
"We look forward to continuing to foster competition in the aviation market with our red aircraft and Icelandic crews," Ólafsson said. "Our main goal remains to offer Icelanders affordable flights to the sun."
Play's offices in Malta and Lithuania will receive increased emphasis under restructuring, though the airline says most passengers won't notice any visible changes. Crews will remain Icelandic, working under local labor contracts, and the brand won't change.
Another Icelandic airline, Wow Air, also tried to offer similarly cheap flights in the US before the carrier ultimately went out of business in 2019.
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