Here's Everything You Need To Know About Play Airline

Here is a breakdown of everything you'll want to know before hitting "book."

My round-trip flight from New York to Dublin during 4th of July weekend cost roughly $430 and was booked about three months in advance. A friend who accompanied me on the same flight booked her fare a month before our trip departure and ended up paying roughly $800 with carry-on fees! Again, we traveled during prime time (4th of July weekend), and competitor airlines were charging over $1,000 for the same flight dates. Booking far in advance or being flexible with dates will obviously get you the cheapest tickets, as it would with any airline. 

The example above is for round-trip flights in September 2022 from New York Stewart Airport to Dublin. If you leave Sept. 7 and come back Sept. 12, your ticket will cost roughly $325. This price doesn't include baggage...but we'll get to that later. 

Flights are available out of these domestic airports: Boston Logan Airport, Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport, and New York Stewart. Logan is Boston's most central airport, Thurgood Marshall Airport is closer to Baltimore than it is to Washington, DC, and I discuss Stewart in depth below. 

Pictured above is a lovely visual slice of Ireland. If you're trying to decide which European city to pick, you know my suggestion. 

I despise Kennedy Airport because it's crowded beyond belief. Now, Stewart only had two flights operating when I was there. TWO — one flight to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and one flight to Iceland — and I was through security in three minutes. The airport was so clean that I could have eaten off the floor (not that I would), and it actually felt peaceful to wait for my flight. I'm so used to the hordes of people at central New York City airports that this small detail felt divine.

Con: The drive is about an hour and a half if you're located in NYC. Granted, the route was beautifully scenic, and it cost about $75 to park my car for six days. Split between two of us, that price felt fair. That's less than the price of one Uber from my home to JFK. And if you don't drive? There's a Megabus that takes you directly from Port Authority to the airport. 

The location of this airport is actually fantastic depending on where you live, though. For my friend based in Westchester County, for example, the distance to JFK and Stewart is roughly the same. The same goes if you're based farther out in New Jersey!

Would flying out of Stewart be my first choice? Because of where I live, no. But I wouldn't dismiss it entirely, given how small and well organized it is. If it weren't for the driving distance, I'd pick Stewart over JFK always. 

There is a *ton* of stuff to do in Iceland, but since the country is on the small side, it's a great two- or three-day stopover destination. 

Admittedly, I wish there were nonstop flights to the rest of Europe too. I was in Ireland for five days, so it felt as if every second counted. It would have been nicer to fly directly there as opposed to stopping in Keflavik Airport, waiting three hours, and boarding a new flight. But when you consider the competitive ticket price? It works out. 

My colleague wrote this fantastic review of Spirit Airlines, and I will never not refer to budget airlines as ~à la carte~ going forward. 

Food: I'm perfectly content with paying a lower base fare and purchasing food at my own discretion. Why? Economy airplane food is terrible, and I'd rather a) bring my own snacks, or b) choose my meal from a larger menu. 

Baggage: If you know you're going to bring a carry-on or check a bag, select those options while booking for the cheapest rate. Baggage prices vary based on route, location, etc., but here's a breakdown:

Carry-on: $26–$47 (during booking), $31–$55 (before online check-in), $48–$57 (at the airport) 

Checked bag: $34–$55 (during booking), $40–$65 (before online check-in), $65–$76 (at the airport)

Because this is a budget airline, don't expect to watch newly released Marvel movies on a small screen in front of you. Honestly? Personally? I couldn't care less. I prefer listening to podcasts or watching downloaded shows on my laptop.

But! I wanted to mention this detail, since it may be important to folks who get easily restless while flying. For reference, my fiancé would consider this a deal breaker and pay double the airfare to fly with a larger company. He's that person who paces up and down the plane aisles.

Play uses an Airbus A321neo aircraft with a 3-3 seat configuration; each seat has 29 to 30 inches of space *and* a reclining option, the latter of which is usually unheard of for a budget airline. 

I highly recommend opting for extra legroom, which feels super roomy, giving you 32 to 35 inches of space. On my trip to Dublin, this addition cost $37.84.