PLAY Airlines carried 107,236 passengers in November, which is a 42% increase from November 2022 when PLAY carried 75,396 passengers. The load factor in November 2023 was 74.5%, down from 79% last year. This decline in load factor is a direct result of the seismic activity in the Reykjanes Peninsula and resulting global news coverage of a possible volcanic eruption that could disrupt aviation. This situation impacted last-minute bookings in the month. PLAY had an on-time performance of 88.9% in November 2023.
Despite the decline in load factor in November we continued to see year-on-year growth in our unit revenue (RASK), even with a 54% growth in available seat kilometres (ASK).Average ancillary revenue continues to rise for PLAY, being 30% higher in November 2023 compared to November 2022, and the trend is looking strong for the coming months. Of all passengers flying with PLAY in November 2023, 26.2% were departing from Iceland, 32.7% were traveling to Iceland, and 41.2% were connecting passengers (VIA).
PLAY has carried 1.4 million passengers year to date with an average load factor of 84%. Of all passengers flying with PLAY so far in 2023, 26.9% were departing from Iceland, 32.6% were flying to Iceland and 40.5% were connecting passengers (VIA).
Record sales day in November
After experiencing a negative impact on demand due to seismic activity in the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, PLAY had a record sales day in the last week of November. The record came after the news coverage linked to the seismic activity had slowed down and during historically big sales days associated with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Travel Tuesday. This is a definite sign that demand has picked up after the situation in Reykjanes, but the events are still expected to have further short-term impact on the airline.