Birgir Jónsson is the CEO of Icelandic budget airline Play. He told BI how Iceland's geography lends itself to cheap flights and volcanic tourism.
Bernhard Kristinn/Courtesy of Play
Birgir Jónsson is well aware of how a budget airline's fortunes can quickly turn around.
From 2014 to 2015, he was the deputy CEO of Wow Air, an Icelandic ultra-low-cost carrier that went bankrupt in 2019. Shortly afterward, two former Wow executives set up its spiritual successor, Play. Jónsson was brought on as CEO in 2021.
Play is now one of, if not the cheapest way to fly transatlantic. It made headlines in 2022 for $99 flights between the US and Europe — but that was only for one leg of a roundtrip.
Looking at flights for next month, a roundtrip from New York to London starts at around $450.
It costs at least $560 for the same journey with Icelandair — the country's flag carrier which Jónsson calls its main competitor since both would include a connection in Reykjavík.
For Norse Atlantic, the low-cost airline that instead uses widebody jets for direct flights, return tickets in April start around $400. Although with varying prices, Play is still cheaper on some days.
Play is run by a CEO with an unconventional medley of experience.
Speaking to Business Insider over a video call while wearing a black t-shirt and jacket, Jónsson was modest in saying: "I'm not an interesting guy."
His foray into the sector began as CEO of Iceland Express, which was acquired by Wow. But unusually for an airline boss, he has also had several jobs outside aviation.
Jónsson's LinkedIn lists him as the co-owner of a Reykjavík perfumery and, until 2018, the drummer for a metal band called Dimma. YouTube videos show his tattoo sleeve on display during concerts.
He told BI his past jobs included turning around the Icelandic Post Office and running a Romanian printing company.
"I've done a lot of things, but it's always the same things," he said. "Running companies, creating a team, building a good culture, and getting shit done, basically."
Courtesy of Play
With a fleet of only 10 jets covering 41 destinations (some of which are seasonal), Play is able to operate the low-cost model across the Atlantic thanks to Iceland's geography: it's two hours closer to New York than London is.
It's a similar airline to the likes of Southwest and Ryanair in the sense that it's strictly no-frills. There's no in-flight entertainment, minimal legroom, and it flies to smaller airports like New York's Stewart International, a nearly-unused facility about 60 miles from Manhattan.
Costs are also saved on training and maintenance by only using one type of jet: the Airbus A320neo and A321neo.
Plus the fleet is almost constantly in the air — around five flights a day for a total of 12 or 13 hours, Jónsson said.
"That's the only way to make money in this game, you know," he added. "The aircraft, they're meant for flying."
Transatlantic flights aren't the only part of the business model. Jónsson also pointed to the flow of tourists between Iceland and mainland Europe.
He told BI the average Icelander travels abroad two or three times a year because "it's a relatively affluent place."
The island nation with a population of 370,000 — about the same as New Orleans — has a long history with aviation.
Back in the 1960s, Icelandair started offering connecting customers the opportunity to extend their stay in Iceland for no extra cost — a benefit also offered by Play. That helped put it on the map as a tourism destination.
Tourists are also drawn by the country's incredible scenery and volcanic activity. Iceland sits on the meeting point of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
Volcanic activity is dangerous for planes: if ash gets into the engines, they can stop working, as in the case of British Airways Flight 009 back in 1982.
But Jónsson says volcanic eruptions are great for the country's image because tourists "want to experience brutal nature, ice and fire."
"This is what we're selling, as long as we don't lose any people or lives," he added.
Jónsson pointed to the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, which caused huge disruption to European air travel.
"That made Iceland a household name everywhere and started a massive tourist boom," he told BI. "So that was the greatest marketing campaign ever done by a destination in the history of the world, basically."
Etienne De Malglaive/Getty Images
"So we are not doing anything new. We are doing the same business model that has been operating here in Iceland for decades," Jónsson said. "We just knew that if we could do this with a lower cost and offer lower fares, we would be successful."
However, Jónsson is also wary not to repeat the mistakes of Wow Air.
He pointed to different financing and bad business moves. Wow was privately owned by one person whereas Play is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Wow, the extinct airline increased spending by using three Airbus A330 jets to expand its offerings to the likes of India and Los Angeles — instead of keeping to one type of plane like most budget airlines.
Play's jets are all part of Airbus' single-aisle A320 family, and Jónsson said it's also eager to order the A321XLR. The extra-long-range version of the A321 could open up California and Dubai as destinations, without the need to retrain pilots, he added.
Another advantage for Play is that it has the youngest fleet in Europe. Born out of the pandemic, it was able to start on a more even footing as other airlines suffered lower demand, as well as getting good deals on new aircraft.
"We were able to get the neos, the latest generation Airbus, brand new at exceptional prices," Jónsson said. "They're probably 30, 40% more expensive now."
Play was also in the rare position of benefiting from sanctions against Russia. While other airlines had to avoid the country's airspace — lengthening journey times — Play got planes at discount prices.
"I think we got one of the aircraft that were confiscated from Russia, so we even got that on very good terms," he told BI.
Jónsson said last year came with "unbelievable" pressure on Play as it expanded: hiring 200 new people, adding 30 destinations, plus a "really big hurry" to get to 10 aircraft.
"So we are all here — I'm not gonna say taking a breather — but we're focusing on our daily jobs, and not just always on growth," he added.
"That's what I'm excited about. Actually, we will emerge from this year stronger than before."
