In response to strong demand from Scandinavian travellers looking for winter sun in the US, PLAY, Iceland’s newest low-cost airline, has announced the first route of its winter schedule, with a new route connecting Stansted to Orlando International Airport via Iceland.
As part of the winter flight schedule, which runs between 30 September and 23 April, passengers can fly out of Stansted on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with an elapsed time of 12 hours 40 minutes, while flights from Orlando to Stansted will run on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays with an elapsed time of 12 hours and 15 minutes. PLAY will be the only carrier to connect Orlando to London Stansted Airport.
PLAY recently reported that daily bookings increased threefold from December when it entered the US market, most recently adding flights from New York Stewart International Airport on 31 January. In response to growing consumer travel confidence and strong ticket demand, PLAY will add a new Airbus A321 neo LR to its fleet to launch flights between Europe and Orlando, further expanding the airline’s presence in the US.
This new route will support the winter travel season, particularly for PLAY’s Scandinavian destinations, where Florida is the top US destination for long-haul winter sun. Travellers will also have quick access to other destinations in Florida via South Florida’s high-speed train service, Brightline, which will have a new rail line connecting Orlando to Miami.
PLAY CEO Birgir Jónsson: “PLAY is strategically growing its presence in the United States, and our decision to add the addition of this route to our winter schedule is driven by increasing consumer confidence in and demand for affordable travel. We anticipate this route to be popular with European passengers, particularly from Scandinavia, seeking to escape the cold winter to experience Florida’s popular parks and resorts, as well as with American travellers visiting Europe to see family for the holidays or to tour festivals and winter attractions.”
