Air travel can get very pricey for families, but for American families looking to book a flight before the holidays, Icelandic-based Play Airlines is offering a golden opportunity for parents to save big. This limited time offer runs out September 17, 2014.
Play Isn't Playing Around
According to the Play Airlines website, travelers can pay only $2 per child to have a family vacation in Europe. These are first come, first serve fares, so the offer only lasts as long as there are still seats available on select flights.
To qualify for the offer, customers will need to book a round-trip flight with Play from now until September 17. The child passengers in question must also be 10 years old or younger. This round-trip flight will involve a stopover in Iceland that connects to an additional, shorter flight to cities such as London, Paris, and Berlin. Families could possibly spend the least amount of time traveling just by settling for Iceland, though layovers from Iceland could be extended up to 10 days with no additional fees. Here is a list of departure and arrival airports that qualify for this limited-time deal:
Departure Airports | Arrival Airports |
Boston Logan Airport in Boston, MA (BOS) Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore, MD (BWI) New York Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, NY (SWF) Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C., MD (IAD) | Keflavík International Airport in Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF) Copenhagen Airport in Copenhagen, Denmark (CPH) Charles-de-Gaulle Airport in Paris, France (CDG) London Stansted Airport in London, England (STN) Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) Dublin Airport in Dublin, Ireland (DUB) Berlin Brandenburg Airport in Schönefeld, Germany (BER) Liverpool John Lennon Airport in Liverpool, England (LPL) |
This layover approach is what's known as the "hub-and-spoke" approach, where one airline essentially flies all routes to a "home base" of sorts before travelers can be connected to their ideal destination.
According to Times Union, Stewart Airport has partnered with Play to offer express shuttle buses from Manhattan, coinciding with each scheduled flight so those in New York won't need to worry about the airport chaos.
Play Airlines CEO Einar Örn Ólafsson shared a statement with members of the media regarding this special offer:
“Families with young children can’t always make it across the Atlantic with high travel costs, and PLAY designed this deal to welcome families to our flights to travel together and make memories in Iceland and other amazing destinations...These $2 fares for kids are our lowest yet, and we hope that families take this opportunity to cultures, cuisine, and educational visits together."
Play Airlines was formed in July 2019, booking its first flight on June 2021 and starting up flights to and from America the following year. The low-cost airline so far has only 10 aircraft to its fleet, consisting of six Airbus A320 Neos and four A 321 Neos — all of which can seat at least 174 people.
What To Watch Out For
The Icelandic airline certainly has a great deal on the table for Americans, but travelers eager to take it should be aware of a few things. Firstly, the $2 fares only apply to just one of the two flights to and from Iceland. Whichever flight would be cheaper would covert to the $2 flight, meaning the other flight will still cost regular price.
Secondly, this offer doesn't apply with additional baggage or seat selection. You'll end up paying the normal price for your tickets if try to add these perks. Each passenger, however, is allowed to bring a personal item aboard for free, whether it's something like a backpack, handbag or laptop bag.
Finally, Play's website states something about "Sundays" being the "weekday" under the list of destination airports, but it's not clear if your flights need to take place on Sundays for the $2 discount to apply.
Regardless, families that want to plan a European vacation for cheap can definitely consider this offer if their children are younger than 11. Play is known to be a very fast-rising airline that's consistently doing unprecedented business on each flight, so there are certainly many appealing factors that customers consider when choosing them as their European and Transatlantic airline of choice.
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