Icelandic startup Fly Play CEO welcomes comparison to defunct Wow Air

Ask Icelandic startup Fly Play CEO Birgir Jónsson about comparisons between his carrier and defunct Wow Air and he’ll tell you he welcomes them. Wow, which shut down in March 2019, is remembered by many as the epitome of the overambitious budget carrier whose over-expansion led to its demise. “I am not ashamed or offended if someone compares us to Wow. I think, in many ways, that’s a great compliment,” Jónsson said. And the comparisons come in spades: Play was founded by a number of former Wow executives, including Jónsson himself, who was deputy CEO of Wow before its closure. Its business plan outlines the same volume business connecting budget-conscious travelers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean over a Reykjavík hub. And its fleet consists of the same Airbus A320neo-family jets. But that’s where Jónsson thinks Play is different. The carrier, which began flights in June, is taking the disciplined approach to the market that Wow did not. It plans to stick to A320neo and A321neo jets — none of Wow’s Airbus A330s — and focus on a flexible operation connecting major Eastern U.S. cities to Europe via Iceland, with the added benefit to Icelandic tourism to boot. And Play only targets a fleet of 15 aircraft by the end of 2025 — Wow’s peaked at 23 aircraft — with three A321neos already in its fleet and another six A320neo and A321neos under contract from lessors.<br/>