Hello all.

I was lucky enough to receive a complimentary ticket aboard Play's first flight from the UK to Iceland on day one of operation. I suffered quite a few technical problems with my camera and editing software. So please see these two Youtube links for footage and accept my apologies for the lack of pictures and quality of my footage.

Outbound Play Day One (incl. bonus footage of Iceland)
https://youtu.be/7pYlx22ln9o

Fire and Ice plus Play Keflavik to Stansted
https://youtu.be/tWgzu4maMH8

TF-AEW PLAY AIRBUS A321NEO
Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN):8008
Aircraft Type: Airbus A321neo
Age: 3.2 Years
Test Registration: D-AYAL
Production Site: Hamburg (XFW)
Delivered to: Interjet Mexico





Booking

As a guest, I can’t really review this stage. Play’s website is a little unusual, requiring you to register for an account. Here you save your payment details and passport information. In theory your bookings should appear too. My experience was that sometimes it did and sometimes it didn’t. Rather strangely, the “Passengers” tab isn’t for passengers, you can kind of register friends and family there.

Other issues were that my friend couldn’t purchase check in baggage, which then meant I couldn’t check in due to there being a phantom unpaid amount. So in all it’s a very confusing set up that doesn’t appear to function very well. Definitely a lot of work some beta work required.

Check in

For the outbound flight I was able to check in online. For some reason this was available 23 hours in advance, not 24. I think this might be because the website didn’t appreciate the difference between UK Summer Time and GMT in Iceland.

The process was frustrating because it needed me to re-enter all of the details I’d already given. I guess in time they will flow through. In the end I almost immediately received an email with a pdf boarding pass. Good stuff.

My friend, although not me, received an email or text saying all passengers had to report to the checkin desk before passing security. This was to check everybody had the correct documentation.

I arrived at Stansted around 1 p.m. and was surprised by just how deserted it was. I didn’t expect the place to be bustling with passengers and activity, but given that we’re now in June and Iceland is Green List for the UK, I’d anticipated a few more double-vaxers looking for a quick getaway.

Since I was only planning to stay in Iceland for a couple of nights, I didn’t have hold luggage with me. Unfortunately Play’s IT wasn’t working at check in, which caused the ground agents a lot of problems. Rather frustratingly I queued as I’d be told to in the check in line, then someone from Play management told me to go queue in another line. So in all I was there for about 30 minutes, despite being person 3 in the queue.

The lack of passenger traffic also meant that fast-track security wasn’t in operation, so I went for the standard queue. Almost every passenger had their bag selected for secondary screening. So in all, it took me 90 minutes from train to the departure lounge.

The rest of the terminal was quiet, with a number of retail stores and restaurants shut entirely. Even Wetherspoons, usually buzzing with excitable holiday goers, was closed. I sat for a while in Joe and the Juice, which was a relaxing experience.

Boarding

So far, my experience hadn’t hinted at any kind of fanfare around the inaugural flight, and sadly, that trend continued at the boarding gate.

I anticipated there might at least have been an announcement that this was Play’s first journey. I guess with UK social distancing rules, that would have been difficult. The nearest was a rather stern announcement about oversized baggage.

In the end, at the boarding stairs some ground staff handed out celebratory Stansted Airport branded cookies, but that was all. I felt sorry for the PR guys.

On board

The all-economy cabin was arranged in a typical 3-3 configuration, and by the time everyone had boarded, it was only at about 20% occupancy. I was thankful to have a block of seats to myself, as it made the experience feel that little bit more premium.

My seat was at the rear. It was made of fairly thin material with plastic armrests, but it was reclinable, had adjustable wings and offered a whopping 34 inch pitch. So overall, a very comfortable plane. The best feature was the ample leg space in front of me. I stand at 5 foot 11 inches and have size 12 clown feet, so it was a real joy being able to stretch them out.

Low-cost carriers usually don’t have the best reputation for service, but the flight attendants were friendly, courteous and helpful in an understated kind of way.

We were offered a free drink to celebrate Play’s first day. I went for a Prosecco, which was very dry and a very good choice for drinking at altitude.

Afterward that a normal buy on board run commenced. The nearest thing to hot food was pot noodle, which I opted for. Otherwise the range was pretty basic, but perfectly adequate for a 2-3 hour flight. It was certainly on a par with Icelandair, but behind Ryanair for range.

The rest of the flight was fairly uneventful, but it felt fantastic to take in those irreplaceable window views.

Arrival

Iceland allows tourists who have been double vaccinated. That means showing a range of certificates upon arrival, followed by a PCR Test taken at a temporary medical centre next door to arrivals. From there, you are free to travel to your accommodation, but must remain in quarantine until told by the authorities pending a negative result. In my case this took 18 hours. Overall Iceland is quite efficient at managing COVID.

The verdict

Leaving teething troubles to one side, the flight was unspectacular, but Play was comfortable and their booking horizon looks affordable.

A very vibrant livery! You're lucky to have got to fly at LCC fares with seats/interiors better than FSC's in that region. I'm guessing though, when they install their own seats, it'd move to a high density layout.
The hot springs at the end look beautiful.

avier wrote:

A very vibrant livery! You're lucky to have got to fly at LCC fares with seats/interiors better than FSC's in that region. I'm guessing though, when they install their own seats, it'd move to a high density layout.
The hot springs at the end look beautiful.

Thank you. I think they'll add more seats in time too. The springs are new and were very enjoyable, just what I needed!

This is great!, im considering flying on PLAY airlines, and i really like their livery!