- Founded in 2019, the Icelandic low-cost carrier provides affordable transatlantic flights between North America and Europe.
- PLAY airlines operates 10 aircrafts, connecting North America with Europe, including routes to Boston, New York, Toronto, London, Paris, and Berlin
SOUTHLAKE, Texas and REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Sept. 19, 2024 – Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR), a leading technology provider to the global travel industry, and Play airlines, a fast-growing Icelandic low-cost carrier, today announced a multi-year distribution agreement. Through this partnership, Sabre-connected travel agencies will have seamless access to PLAY airlines’ expanding network of affordable flights across North America and Europe.
This strategic agreement comes as PLAY airlines continues to grow its presence in key markets, including the Nordics, the United States, and Canada. The carrier’s low-cost model offers travelers cost-effective transatlantic travel options, with Iceland serving as a hub for both North American and European travelers. The airline currently operates a modern all-Airbus fleet, connecting passengers up to 40 destinations in 2024.
This is in line with Sabre‘s ongoing investments in multi-source content and capabilities, and its commitment to addressing the growing content fragmentation challenge, enabling the efficient integration and normalization of content, and ensuring travel buyers retain the choice, transparency, and service standards they value today.
“By bringing PLAY airlines’ content into Sabre’s GDS, we are enabling our agency partners to offer more value and choices to their clients,” said Alessandro Ciancimino, VP Airline Distribution at Sabre. “This agreement is part of our broader strategy to expand low-cost carrier content in the Sabre travel marketplace in 2024 and beyond, helping agencies seamlessly access the diverse travel options their customers demand.”
PLAY airlines continues to expand its route network, with new flights to Aalborg, Denmark, launching in June 2025, and recent additions to Toronto and Washington D.C. in North America, increasing the carrier’s connectivity across key transatlantic markets, enriching the options available to Sabre-connected agencies and providing their clients with a broader range of affordable travel choices.
PLAY’s CEO, Einar Örn Ólafsson, commented, “Partnering with Sabre is a significant milestone for us as we expand our footprint in the North American and European markets. Sabre’s strong agency network in these regions will play a crucial role in driving sales and enhancing our visibility to new audiences.”
This multi-year agreement further supports PLAY airlines’ ongoing growth by enhancing distribution and visibility through Sabre’s extensive global travel marketplace.
# # #
About Sabre Corporation
Sabre Corporation is a software and technology company that takes on the biggest opportunities and solves the most complex challenges in travel. The Company connects travel suppliers and buyers around the globe and across the ecosystem through innovative products and next-generation technology solutions. Sabre harnesses speed, scale and insights to build tomorrow’s technology today – empowering airlines, hoteliers, agencies and other partners to retail, distribute and fulfill travel worldwide. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the world. For more information visit www.sabre.com.
