Here's Everything You Need To Know About Play Airline
I recently flew round trip to Dublin from New York with Play, Iceland's new budget airline. If you're planning a cost-effective trip to Europe (or Iceland!), stop what you're doing and read below.
Here is a breakdown of everything you'll want to know before hitting "book."
First, the cost: I'm not being misleading when I say that the rates are fantastic. Pricing depends on a variety of factors, but you can snag round trips to Europe for as low as $325.
My round-trip flight from New York to Dublin during 4th of July weekend cost roughly $430 and was booked about three months in advance. A friend who accompanied me on the same flight booked her fare a month before our trip departure and ended up paying roughly $800 with carry-on fees! Again, we traveled during prime time (4th of July weekend), and competitor airlines were charging over $1,000 for the same flight dates. Booking far in advance or being flexible with dates will obviously get you the cheapest tickets, as it would with any airline.
The example above is for round-trip flights in September 2022 from New York Stewart Airport to Dublin. If you leave Sept. 7 and come back Sept. 12, your ticket will cost roughly $325. This price doesn't include baggage...but we'll get to that later.
Play operates out of three domestic airports and offers flights to a *ton* of cities in Europe. The 21 current destinations range from Mallorca, Madrid, and Geneva to London, Dublin, and Paris.
Flights are available out of these domestic airports: Boston Logan Airport, Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport, and New York Stewart. Logan is Boston's most central airport, Thurgood Marshall Airport is closer to Baltimore than it is to Washington, DC, and I discuss Stewart in depth below.
Pictured above is a lovely visual slice of Ireland. If you're trying to decide which European city to pick, you know my suggestion.
I flew out of New York Stewart (located an hour and a half, sans traffic, from my home in Queens), and I genuinely enjoyed it. Caveat: It's not for everyone. I'll break it down below.
I despise Kennedy Airport because it's crowded beyond belief. Now, Stewart only had two flights operating when I was there. TWO — one flight to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and one flight to Iceland — and I was through security in three minutes. The airport was so clean that I could have eaten off the floor (not that I would), and it actually felt peaceful to wait for my flight. I'm so used to the hordes of people at central New York City airports that this small detail felt divine.
Con: The drive is about an hour and a half if you're located in NYC. Granted, the route was beautifully scenic, and it cost about $75 to park my car for six days. Split between two of us, that price felt fair. That's less than the price of one Uber from my home to JFK. And if you don't drive? There's a Megabus that takes you directly from Port Authority to the airport.
The location of this airport is actually fantastic depending on where you live, though. For my friend based in Westchester County, for example, the distance to JFK and Stewart is roughly the same. The same goes if you're based farther out in New Jersey!
Would flying out of Stewart be my first choice? Because of where I live, no. But I wouldn't dismiss it entirely, given how small and well organized it is. If it weren't for the driving distance, I'd pick Stewart over JFK always.
Each flight has a stopover in Iceland, which is great for travelers who want to visit the Blue Lagoon and/or would like to organize a multicountry trip.
There is a *ton* of stuff to do in Iceland, but since the country is on the small side, it's a great two- or three-day stopover destination.
Admittedly, I wish there were nonstop flights to the rest of Europe too. I was in Ireland for five days, so it felt as if every second counted. It would have been nicer to fly directly there as opposed to stopping in Keflavik Airport, waiting three hours, and boarding a new flight. But when you consider the competitive ticket price? It works out.
Expect an ~à la carte~ approach when booking. Your base ticket fare includes a seat and a 17-by-13-by-10-inch personal item; food and baggage are not included.
My colleague wrote this fantastic review of Spirit Airlines, and I will never not refer to budget airlines as ~à la carte~ going forward.
Food: I'm perfectly content with paying a lower base fare and purchasing food at my own discretion. Why? Economy airplane food is terrible, and I'd rather a) bring my own snacks, or b) choose my meal from a larger menu.
Baggage: If you know you're going to bring a carry-on or check a bag, select those options while booking for the cheapest rate. Baggage prices vary based on route, location, etc., but here's a breakdown:
Carry-on: $26–$47 (during booking), $31–$55 (before online check-in), $48–$57 (at the airport)
Checked bag: $34–$55 (during booking), $40–$65 (before online check-in), $65–$76 (at the airport)
There is no in-flight entertainment.
Because this is a budget airline, don't expect to watch newly released Marvel movies on a small screen in front of you. Honestly? Personally? I couldn't care less. I prefer listening to podcasts or watching downloaded shows on my laptop.
But! I wanted to mention this detail, since it may be important to folks who get easily restless while flying. For reference, my fiancé would consider this a deal breaker and pay double the airfare to fly with a larger company. He's that person who paces up and down the plane aisles.
I thought the food was really good! Far better than the soggy pasta that economy is known for.
The no-frills menu consists of sandwiches and Swedish snacks, but said sandwiches were solid and much better than the prepackaged fare you get at grab-and-go stores in the airport. I had a ham and cheese baguette, and the bread was crispy, fresh, and warm. Highly recommend, 10/10. It also cost about $9, which means it was cheaper than what the airport stands were selling.
*I realize the blurry photo of said ham and cheese baguette does not do it justice, but I wanted to include it anyway.*
The seats recline (!), and the extra-legroom option is worth it.
Play uses an Airbus A321neo aircraft with a 3-3 seat configuration; each seat has 29 to 30 inches of space *and* a reclining option, the latter of which is usually unheard of for a budget airline.
I highly recommend opting for extra legroom, which feels super roomy, giving you 32 to 35 inches of space. On my trip to Dublin, this addition cost $37.84.
You have to make an account to book a flight. As someone who *really* hates sign-up roadblocks, I found this a tad frustrating.
AnaMaria Glavan / BuzzFeed
It is helpful to have all of your information stored in one convenient spot (especially if you intend on becoming a repeat flyer), but this detail was one of my pain points with the airline. It quite literally only takes two minutes to register your email...but still.
Final verdict: Play Airlines is a solid choice if you're trying to stick to a budget, want to visit Iceland, and don't mind the waiting time for a connecting flight.
Would you fly with this new Icelandic budget airline? Let us know in the comments below!
BuzzFeed was provided this ticket free of charge; however, we were under no obligation to give a positive review.
