Fly to Europe from the United States for less than $100—but you’ll have to act fast
Traveling to Europe from the United States just got cheaper—if travelers are willing to forgo all the frills and lighten their travel. Iceland low-cost airline PLAY announced $99 flights from the US to Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dublin, Liverpool, Paris and Reykjavik. They can be booked as one leg of a round-trip flight, for travel between October and March 2025, departing from East Coast airports in the Boston, New York and Washington areas.
But there’s a catch: Airfares will only be offered as part of a flash sale from September 26 to October 3, and the airline is not disclosing how many are available. However, it is part of a growing trend as new low-cost airlines compete for passengers.
Low-cost flights are PLAY’s basic airline tickets, allowing passengers to bring only one small personal item such as a handbag that can fit under the seat. Anything else—large carry-ons or in-flight food and beverages including water—is subject to an additional fee, starting at about $49 for carry-on baggage and priority boarding. There’s no in-flight entertainment or Wi-Fi, so don’t expect to keep up with the latest movie releases or do much.
PLAY tries to offer low fares by flying to smaller airports, which provide an alternative to the continent’s main hubs. Flights to London land at Stansted, 40 miles from central London, as opposed to the main hub of Heathrow, 24 miles away. Flights to New York depart from New York Stewart International Airport, about 70 miles north of Times Square in Orange County, instead of JFK or LaGuardia. And all PLAY flights are carried out on narrow-body Airbus aircraft of the A320 series with a 3-3 seat configuration, transiting at Keflavik airport in Reykjavik, where the airline is headquartered. For some, it could be an excuse to extend the layover and turn it from an inconvenience into an opportunity, especially as Iceland prepares for a seismically active winter that could lead to this year’s especially brilliant display of the aurora borealis.
The flash sales come as a number of new low-cost airlines seek to enter long-haul routes and compete for brand awareness and market share. PLAY itself is a relatively new airline, founded in 2019 and launching its first transatlantic flights in 2022. Atlantic Nordic Airlineswhose first flight takes off from Oslo to New York in June 2022, is also offering tickets from New York to Berlin starting at $119 this October. Norse Atlantic was unwilling to confirm the exact number of tickets available at this low price, but at the time of writing, there were easy-to-find seats for $123.
In addition, US carrier JetBlue Airways airline group begin operating flights between New York and London in 2021and adding service to and from Paris in 2023 and Dublin and Edinburgh this year. And of course basic economy fares are available becoming a mainstay of traditional carriers in recent yearsoffers discounts for those willing to go without amenities.
All of that points to a landscape where soon you won’t need to discount fares to cross the Atlantic for under $200, even if that means packing light and earn a few dollars for soda on the train.
