Will PLAY end up like WOW Air?

[Boeing_3019]

So if you haven’t heard, PLAY Airlines is ending all routes to the U.S. From here, I’m wondering if this will be like WOW Air, anyone have thoughts?

 

[Charter]

Yes. No more icelandic license, new Maltese license, no more routes for USA and North America, less routes for Europe (Italy has been cancelled), just flights for "holiday destinations"; then the two shareholders that want to buy the airline are selling all the other stakes and not to relaunch the airlines but, it seems, to gain money! The real fact is that, like Norwegian.com understood with many sacrifices, long haul routes can be positive only if there is a strong hub-spoke traffic linked to other strong airlines. Now PLAY wants to focus its traffic on leisure/ holiday destinations, where the competition is very strong. These routes are mainly in Greece and Spain, with (maybe) few destinations in Italy (Reggio Calabria, for example, with a beautiful sea/sun/sand very close). The fact is that in 2024 66 US$ losses, with triple that fleet, triple the employees and triple the losses respect 2022! Hard to continue in this way.

 

[BHD]

There still needs to be competition or the prices rise.. I hope they stay.

 

[JJ Skippy]

Sad to hear the demise of PLAY's US ops. I did spot one of their A321neos in MIA on a Cuba charter but never did I get to see them at their regularly scheduled ops in the northeast. It sounds like PLAY is restructuring their route network to focus on flights within Europe though so I don't think they will go under like WOW air did.