| Ryanair | Marseille (MRS) → London (STN) | 737-800 | Economy Class | 31/10/2021 | |
| PLAY | London (STN) → Reykjavík (KEF) | A321neo | Economy Class | 31/10/2021 | Current review |
| PLAY | Reykjavík (KEF) → London (STN) | A321neo | Economy Class | 04/11/2021 | |
| Ryanair | London (STN) → Marseille (MRS) | 737-800 | Economy Class | 07/11/2021 | Short review - 2.9/5 |
| Ryanair | Marseille (MRS) → London (STN) | 737-800 | Economy Class | 31/10/2021 | |
| PLAY | London (STN) → Reykjavík (KEF) | A321neo | Economy Class | 31/10/2021 | Current review |
| PLAY | Reykjavík (KEF) → London (STN) | A321neo | Economy Class | 04/11/2021 | |
| Ryanair | London (STN) → Marseille (MRS) | 737-800 | Economy Class | 07/11/2021 | Short review - 2.9/5 |
Hello everyone and welcome to this new Flight review.
Last summer, the aviation industry witnessed the birth of a new airline, PLAY.
PLAY is an Icelandic low-cost airline based in Reykjavik Airport (KEF/BIKF). Launched eight months after the bankruptcy of WOW Air in March 2019, well before the Covid-19 pandemic, PLAY operated its first commercial flight only on June 24th, 2021, between Reykjavik-Keflavik and London-Stansted.
Today, we're honoured to offer you an exclusive Flight review on board this brand-new airline.
Here we are at London-Stansted Airport, located in North East of London. I arrived a little earlier on the Stansted Express, the fastest way to get from London to the airport.
The airport consists of one terminal without gates and three satellite terminals with gates. The Stansted Airport Transit System connects Satellite 1 (gates 1-19) and Satellite 2 (gates 20-39) to the main building. The modern and bright duty-free appears just after security.
At the end of the duty-free area, I face a waiting area in the middle of the terminal. It seems to be constantly full of people. However, the large number of restaurants and shops is an excellent point!
My flight is already displayed on the departure board.
After a good meal in one of the terminal's restaurants, I approach the gate before the aircraft and its beautiful livery appear.
Pilots prepare the return flight to Reykjavik-Keflavik.
After a short wait, it's time to board. The excitement of discovering this new airline is great! Boarding by foot is a great opportunity to see the livery up close.
The fuselage shot is done!
We are welcomed on board by a smiling crew. Flight attendants can be found wearing white sneakers and casual, comfortable red (or dark grey) outfits. A rather casual outfit that represents well the spirit of the airline.
Then we discover a cabin with a pleasant tone. In reality, it is an ex-Interjet aircraft, having kept the same cabin. The aircraft is configured to accommodate 192 passengers in an all-economy configuration, which offers a pitch of 34 inches at every seat. It indicates a surprisingly generous pitch compared to other budget airlines operating the A321. Indeed, for example, Wizz Air's A321s are all configured with 239 seats, all having a pitch of just 28 inches. This legroom at every seat is the big plus point of PLAY, making it one of the most comfortable low-cost airlines on the market.
My original seat was 26A.
These pictures show well the huge legroom each passenger has.
Nevertheless, for the take-off, I moved forward to have a better view of the engine. The boarding is over, and we start to taxi.
Let's take advantage of the taxi to the runway to present the seat.
You can concretely see here the famous legroom.
The seat has a classic tray table. Unfortunately, there are no USB ports for charging devices.
Another excellent point in terms of comfort is this adjustable headrest.
The engines, although quiet, are in full thrust. We are taking off!
Outside, the cities of suburban London are lit up in the dark.
What can we find in the seat pocket? Unfortunately, no magazines. There is only the safety card and the Buy On-Board service menu. Nevertheless, every three rows there are collective screens, sharing some flight information.
As the aircraft was previously owned by Interjet, the screens are still programmed in Spanish.
Outside, the night cruise over the Atlantic continues.
I took advantage of the quietness of the flight to wander around the cabin, and chat with the crew who turned out to be very nice!
After more than an hour and a half of cruising, we are invited to return to our seats for landing. I look out the window to see the Icelandic land, and then suddenly something magical happens. Can you spot it?
Indeed, Northern Lights showed up. This magnificent spectacle lasted throughout the descent.
After these breathtaking visions of the dancing sky, we are lined up for the final approach.
The landing gear touches down. Welcome to Iceland, the land of fire and ice!
After arrival at the gate, passengers stand up to disembark.
It's great to be back at KEF, 9 years after my last visit! The terminal was empty at this late hour. The airport is nevertheless very modern and pleasant.
On the way to Iceland! ;-)
After baggage claim, I am out of the airport in just a few minutes. We seemed to be the only aircraft arriving, which speeds up the process of formalities.
My experience at Stansted was quite pleasant. Everything was pretty smooth. Despite a large number of people on the airside, the great number of shops and restaurants meant that one did not feel oppressed. Nevertheless, there were hardly any free seats. Perhaps a rearrangement of the waiting area would be interesting in order to accommodate the high number of people at the airport.
Since PLAY is a brand-new airline, I didn't know what to expect. Finally, my expectations were more than met. The quality/price ratio is just excellent. From the comfort of the seat and the aircraft to the kindness of the crew and the boarding device, everything was perfect! Apart from the BOB (Buy On-Board) service which is close to that of other airlines, PLAY dominates any other low-cost airline in Europe! The biggest positive point of this flight was the seat. We are far from the extra-thin seats offered by similar airlines. The adjustment of the headrest as well as the possibility to recline the seat will allow you to spend a pleasant flight. The 35 inches of legroom is immense. In comparison, Qatar Airways offers less legroom (31/32 inches) on their A350 (latest generation long-haul aircraft). However, I would like to qualify my statement by pointing out that this is an ex-Interjet cabin and that PLAY will probably make their cabin denser in the future.
My time at KEF was short but great. All formalities were fast and the airport is modern.
Thank you for reading and see you soon on Flightreviews.net!
