PLAY

Customer Reviews

No Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 227 reviews
5/10
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1/10

"delayed for 26 hours"

(Czech Republic)

Trip Verified | On our way to Iceland, our flight was 12 hours delayed, with the 6 hours advance notice. However, our flight back we received a notice 3 hours before our departure that the flight is delayed for 26 hours. No other option flights, no help.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteKeflavik to Prague
Date FlownSeptember 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"never, ever use Play"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | Unbelievable airline. I was stranded in Iceland for 3 days. I submitted my claim for costs on the 1/06/2024. It is now 04/09/2024 and I have received absolutely nothing from the claims team. Not one reply directly from them. Contacting anyone else from Play, even the complaints team, is fruitless as they just refer to the fact they are not the claims team. No update is given. I also had submitted a subject access request under GDPR on the 31/07/2024. Legally, they have to respond within one month. Have they? Nope. This is in direct contradiction to GDPR law. I am at a complete impasse and am down over £500+, also down the time I was stranded in Iceland. I will never, ever use Play and would not recommend them.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLondon to Washington via Keflavik
Date FlownMay 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"refused any compensation"

(France)

Trip Verified |   The flying experience with PLAY is as good as you would expect from a low-cost airline, no more, no less. There is one little nuance though, as their commercial model is based on being a hub between North America and Europe, they would rather wait for a connecting flight than stick to the schedule. Our flight was delayed for 2 hours at Keflavik waiting for passengers from the USA. Of course we missed our connection train in Paris CDG and as it was less than 3 hours, PLAY refused any compensation. Check the records and you will see that this is not so uncommon.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteKeflavik to Paris CDG
Date FlownJuly 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"no effort to make things right"

(Iceland)

Trip Verified | I added a carry on and paid for that. Then it still said it had not been paid even though I had the invoice for it. It took a day and a half to start many conversations until I finally got connected to an Icelandic agent who understood what happened. Then at the airport they tried to charge me 18 thousand isk for the stroller even though it had been no problem on the way there. They ended up making me split it up into parts and were very rude about it. Then on the plane my toddlers seat had broken and kept sliding onto the floor making the seat completly unsafe. The airline declines the seat was unsafe and makes no effort to make things right.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBaltimore to Keflavik
Date FlownAugust 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
10/10

“a very nice experience”

(United States)

Trip Verified | It was my first time flying with PLAY, and I have no complaints whatsoever. I booked a roundtrip flight from Hamilton, CA, to Berlin, Germany, for $770 (US), PLAY Flex with seat choice in the front of the plane, and one 23 kilo piece of checked luggage included. What more can you ask for at this price!! The crews were friendly, the seats have plenty of leg room, the plane was clean. There are no screens, free movies etc., and you have to pay for drinks, i.e. 3 Euros for a cup of coffee, that's less than at the airport. I was happy to pay for my coffee, and to read a book instead of watching a movie, because I saved about $1200, compared to a flight on a US airline out of Buffalo, NY, where I live! To all those writing bad reviews regarding carry-on luggage: I've seen people carrying large duffle bags onto the plane, or a rather large suitcase, a backpack, AND a stuffed shopping bag type of bag, and the crews were very helpful finding room for those bags in the cabin! What are these people complaining about? My personal opinion: Pay a little more when making your reservation, check your luggage, and quit complaining. I don't understand the "I have to take my entire household into the cabin" mentality at all... And remember, if there are issues at the airport with carry-on luggage, or a long wait for your checked luggage, it's not on the airline, it's on the airport employees. And that is the only complaint I have, the check in people at BER are very unfriendly! But those are Swissport employees, not PLAY employees! Thank you, PLAY, for a very nice experience!
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteHamilton to Berlin via Keflavík
Date FlownJune 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
2/10

“customer service is terrible”

(United States)

Trip Verified | Sometime ago, I booked a flight to Iceland at the end of this month. A week ago I broke my knee and the duration of recovery extends past my proposed trip. While I neglected to purchase the trip insurance originally, I shared a doctors note restricting my travel during recovery, a detailed explanation of events, and a simple request to this airline to change my flight without the associated fees that will amount to over $400 US. I complained to their customer service dept, their CRO department, and have only gotten the same response - that I should have gotten trip insurance and they will not offer a trip change without the fees associated with a change. I feel as though this is any undue hardship upon me especially considering my documented injury. I will never fly with PLAY again, and hold them in low esteem. Their customer service is terrible and I do not recommend them.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypePremium Economy
RouteDulles to Reykjavik
Date FlownJune 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"offers little to no discount"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Consumer beware! Icelandic Airline “PLAY” really ought to be called “PAY” airlines, with the missing “L” standing for “LIES.” The strategy behind this company’s low fares is to upcharge on everything possible. Couples buying tickets together will be placed at opposite ends of the plane and then charged over $100US to change seats to sit together. In terms of luggage, only a carryon backpack to be kept under the seat is free; a carry-on bag is between $80-130 and checked bags are up to $190/piece. Everything onboard during the flight is also upcharged—even water. There's no wifi, video screens, radio channels, blankets or pillows. On the airline’s website, the measurements of permissible carry-on luggage is inaccurate, likely to force customers to check more luggage. Contrary to the website, rollerboards that are 9.5”X13”X23” fit in PLAY’s Airbus A320 overhead bins perfectly well. Once all the upcharges are taken into account, “PLAY” airlines offers little to no discount from “basic economy” on major international carriers.
AircraftAirbus A320
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteWashington to Amsterdam via Keflavik
Date FlownJune 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"wrongly denied boarding"

(Germany)

Trip Verified | After having completed the first leg of my flight from Boston to Reykjavik, I was wrongly denied boarding on my onward flight to Berlin. I was pulled out of the regular waiting line to have the dimensions of my carry-on luggage checked. The person checking the lines before the check-in station told me to put it into a special box for checking the dimensions of pieces of luggage. This had been the third time in a row that Play intercepted me and other passengers in Reykjavik en route to their final destinations to check the dimensions of my luggage. On the previous two occasions, I had passed this test without problems with the same carry-on roller that I had used on all my flights for several years. However, this time Play had apparently changed the box for luggage measurements, as one of the people at check-in confirmed. Another lady who checked in passengers at the check-in station demanded immediate payment of 80 Euros. I noted that other passengers were also distressed, and one fellow passenger left her little suitcase roller behind, leaving the airport employees from security and at check-in in a state of disarray as they did not know what to do with the pieces of luggage that people had left behind because they were unable or unwilling to pay. The situation was chaotic and felt unsafe. I pointed out to the lady at the check-in station that the same piece of luggage had passed inspection by Play Airlines twice before and that this must be some kind of mistake. She refused to hear my argument and insisted on immediate payment with credit card. I told her that I wanted to talk to her supervisor. She told me she was the supervisor. I then told her that I wanted to complain about her decision to Play Airlines and wanted to write down her name. She turned around her ID tag so that I could not see or record her name. She claimed I had been rude to her. I offered to pay the 80 Euros to let me board the airplane and I would follow up with Play Airlines later. However, she denied me boarding despite my repeated assurances that I was willing to pay the 80 Euros in front of security personnel, who were also present at the counter. While boarding was ongoing, I contacted Airport Police around 5:50 am, who said that this incident was outside of their authority since it was a private contract between me and the airline. I then was able to locate another Play representative at the service desk in the same terminal (I think it was D). She told me to write a WhatsApp message to Play Airlines. I wrote the message but received no timely response. Since I had urgent business to do in Germany, and since there were no other Play Airlines flights going out to Berlin, I booked a flight with Iceland Air and was able to continue with my journey with a delay of 11⁄2 hours but was forced to pay for the ticket. Play Airlines did not reply to me until a few hours later by WhatsApp (see WhatsApp protocol) and refused to reimburse me for the ticket. They claimed that complaining to the airline constitutes rude behavior and therefore the lady was within her rights to deny my boarding. Beware of ground personnel and complaints. Inexperienced staff, random selection of people from the lines at check- in who are squeezed for $.Possibly profiling passengers based on accent and nationality and take out their frustrations. Low-cost airline - good start but getting greedy and quality deteriorating.
AircraftA320
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBoston to Berlin via Keflavik
Date FlownMay 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

“crew was eager to help”

(Greece)

Trip Verified | Boarded by bus on an distant location, A320N on a very good condition, crew was young people friendly and eager to help passengers to place carry-ons to the bins. Legroom was tight, I was lucky my next seat was left empty and the flight was barer able. We departed on time. 20 min after departure they served coffee (no free) and 3 hours within the flight, they served lunch from Buy on board Menu. Flight was 95% full and almost all passengers transferring to North American destinations.
AircraftA320n
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteAthens to Reykjavík
Date FlownMay 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes

23rd May 2024 : PLAY response

Thank you for taking the time to write us a review! We truly appreciate getting all feedback from our customers, and hope we can welcome you on board with us again in the future.

4/10

"demanded us to pay 80 Euros"

(Iceland)

Trip Verified | Flight OG700 from Keflavik (Iceland) to Berlin (Germany). When boarding, (a group consisting of 6, thereof several minors) the service desk person (attendant) asked us to show our boarding cards. This turned out to be tedious because we had more than one booking reference. And because we had done the check-in procedure online, we had the boarding cards in our email (not printed). The attendant ordered us to get off the queue and to gather together as a group. She then requested my wife to check whether her personal item would fit in the corresponding metal frame. Though I had measured this cabin suitcase at home (thought it would fit), the wheels would not fit by less than 1 cm. She demanded us to pay 80 Euros at the boarding gate, otherwise she would refuse us to board the plane. I think that this behaviour speaks for itself. 1. We had obviously not intention to betray the flight company (since actually the body of the case would have fit) 2. The percentage of the violation of the flyplay regulation does not correspond to the amount demanded. 3. Obviously it was the personal decision of the attendant to ask for this amount, therefore the decision came from her arbitrary mood at this point of time. I will remember this incident as an arbitrary abuse of "power by authority" and the absence of tolerance. My guess is that I will rather book our next flights with Icelandair instead. Cabin staff were very friendly, but this could not make up for the enlightening occurance which we had at the gate.
AircraftA320
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteKeflavik ro Berlin
Date FlownMay 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no

23rd May 2024 : PLAY response

Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed feedback with us. We truly appreciate your insights, and we're sorry to hear about the challenging check-in experience you encountered at KEF airport. At PLAY, our baggage policies are designed to ensure a smooth and consistent experience for all passengers. During the booking process, you get the option to select your preferred baggage allowance and our guidelines are clearly outlined on our website during the booking process, in our FAQs, and during online check-in.  Our airport staff uses standardized equipment to ensure that all baggage complies with the specified size and weight limits. If your baggage exceeds the allowance specified in your booking, the appropriate charges are applied according to our policies. Your comments are invaluable to us, and we hope to regain your trust in our service on your future travels with us. Thank you once again for bringing this to our attention.