Many airports around the world look different now. Some of the changes are minor, like the addition of COVID-19 testing stations, markings on the ground telling you where to stand or vending machines selling face masks and hand sanitiser. Plane spotters may also now notice that some of the aircraft tails at airports around the world look unfamiliar.
Sadly, COVID-19 caused more than its fair share of airline casualties. Since the beginning of the pandemic, airline brands including Tigerair, Flybe, Germanwings, Air Italy, Ravn Alaska, Jetstar Pacific, Air Asia Japan, Air Namibia, Cathay Dragon and Silk Air have ceased to exist (although Flybe, at least, is now making a comeback). We also lost airlines including Adria Airways and Thomas Cook in late 2019, and Asiana will soon be merged into Korean Air.
Even Alitalia, which has been continuously propped up by the Italian government for years despite being a grossly unprofitable business, no longer exists – that airline is now called ITA Airways. (Countless other airlines have filed for bankruptcy during the pandemic but restructured and continue to fly.)
Many aviation markets have also been disrupted with events like JetBlue launching trans-Atlantic flights, Norwegian ceasing its trans-Atlantic flights, and Air New Zealand permanently withdrawing flights to South America.
But over the past two years, a surprising number of brand new airlines have emerged. Some critics argued at the time that the pandemic was the worst possible time to start an airline, since nobody was flying. Yet, others saw opportunities in the record low aircraft leasing costs, low fuel prices, access to slots at major airports and the collapse of existing airlines. Time will tell if they were right – fuel costs are now rising again, but travel demand has rebounded quickly in markets where travel restrictions have been relaxed.
So, if you’re travelling overseas in 2022 for the first time since the start of the pandemic, what new airlines could you expect to see? Here are 13 new airlines that have emerged overseas while Australia’s international border was closed in 2020 and 2021…
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STARLUX Airlines (Taiwan)
Based in Taiwan, Starlux Airlines could prove serious competition to China Airlines and EVA Air in the years to come. Its fleet of new Airbus A321neo aircraft are fitted with spacious, modern interiors including lie-flat Business seats.
The full-service airline began by serving around a dozen destinations in Asia from its Taipei hub, but will soon launch long-haul flights to destinations including Los Angeles when it takes delivery of its new Airbus A350s currently on order.
Starlux commenced operations at possibly the worst time for a new airline, in January 2020. Shortly after, it had to suspend all its operations. But the airline is back in the skies and has ambitious growth plans. It reportedly even plans to join an alliance, which would likely be Oneworld as both of Taiwan’s other major airlines are already part of Star Alliance (EVA Air) and SkyTeam (China Airlines).
During 2020 and 2021, Starlux also offered a generous status match of which several AFF members took advantage.
Breeze Airways (USA)
Breeze Airways is a new regional airline in the United States which commenced operations in May 2021. With bases in New Orleans, Charleston, Tampa and Norfolk, its business model is to serve secondary routes within the United States without non-stop service from other existing airlines. To do this, it currently uses a fleet of Embraer E190s but has a large number of Airbus A220s on order. It promises to be the “world’s nicest airline” and offer affordable fares.
The airline was founded by David Neeleman, who also started successful airlines including JetBlue, WestJet and Azul Brazilian Airlines.
Avelo Airlines (USA)
Another new start-up airline in the United States is low-cost carrier Avelo (pronounced Av-ELL-o), based at Burbank Airport in Los Angeles. Using a small fleet of single-class Boeing 737s, it mostly flies to small airports in western USA. It also set up an east coast base in New Haven.
ITA Airways (Italy)
ITA Airways replaced former Italian flag carrier Alitalia on 15 October 2021. The new airline continues operating similar routes and largely the same physical aircraft as Alitalia, but it had to become a new company with a new name due to EU bankruptcy laws. Since then, ITA Airways has repainted a few planes in its distinct new blue livery – but the new company also purchased the rights to the Alitalia brand and may now bring it back.
Flyr (Norway)
Flyr is a new Norwegian low-cost airline with around 10 Boeing 737 jets. It was founded in 2020, during the pandemic, and commenced operations in mid-2021. Based in Oslo, it now operates a sizeable network of European leisure routes. The name Flyr means “fly” in Norwegian.
LIFT Airline (South Africa)
South African Airways was already on life support when COVID-19 hit, so the pandemic resulted in the airline effectively shutting down for an extended period. Comair, a British Airways franchise which had been consistently profitable prior to COVID-19, was also forced into “business rescue” and had to slash flights during the pandemic.
South African Airways is now slowly resuming flights and a majority stake in the carrier was sold this week to a Japanese company for just USD3. Yes, that’s $3 with no zeroes on the end!
During its downtime, the airline’s absence left a huge opening in the South African market for new entrants. LIFT Airline launched in December 2020, filling some of this void. It currently has a small fleet of modern Airbus A320s flying the main South African trunk route between Johannesburg and Cape Town. The airline promises a comfortable flying experience at low prices.
While its planes are not fitted with dedicated business class seats, LIFT Airline offers a LIFT Premium class of service which guarantees a blocked middle seat, extra legroom and on onboard refreshment – similar to European Business Class.
CemAir (South Africa)
While CemAir already existed prior to COVID-19, it has expanded its presence in South Africa significantly during 2020 and 2021 for the same reason that LIFT Airline started flying. It has even signed interline agreements with Ethiopian Airlines, Emirates and Qatar Airways.
Operating a mixed fleet of small aircraft, it now serves many destinations across South Africa as well as Luanda, Angola. However, the airline has a poor safety record having been grounded from 2018 until 2019.
ZIPAIR (Japan)
Japan Airlines’ new low-cost subsidiary ZIPAIR had planned to commence passenger services to Bangkok and Seoul in early 2020, but had to delay its plans due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. It instead began operations in June 2020 with cargo services from Tokyo to Bangkok. A few months later, it started limited passenger operations with a service from Tokyo to Seoul – although due to travel restrictions in place, the inaugural flight had only two passengers.
A long-haul airline with surprisingly comfortable seats, ZIPAIR is currently using its Dreamliners to fly passengers from Tokyo’s Narita Airport to Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Honolulu and Los Angeles.
Eurowings Discover (Germany)
Although the Lufthansa Group retired its Germanwings brand last year, it has recently launched a new long-haul, low-cost airline called Eurowings Discover. This airline primarily serves leisure destinations from Frankfurt including Mauritius, Zanzibar, Las Vegas, Windhoek and Kruger National Park using a fleet of Airbus A330s. Its aircraft have three cabins with lie-flat Business class, Premium Economy (marketed as “BEST”) and Economy.
The Lufthansa Group previously operated low-cost long-haul flights under the Eurowings brand. These flights had been operated by SunExpress Deutschland, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines which was terminated last year. Presumably, staff operating these Eurowings Discover flights are on a different contract to their counterparts at Eurowings or other Lufthansa Group airlines (meaning they are paid less).
You can earn and redeem Air Canada Aeroplan points and United MileagePlus miles for Eurowings Discover flights.
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi (UAE)
Hungary’s Wizz Air has become one of the largest low-cost airlines in Europe since it launched in 2003, offering affordable no-frills flights particularly to underserved destinations across eastern Europe.
Wizz Air recently launched a new airline based at Abu Dhabi International Airport in a joint venture with the Abu Dhabi state-owned holding company ADQ. Offering a budget alternative to Etihad Airways and fierce competition for flydubai, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi now flies from Abu Dhabi to destinations across the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Kazakhstan.
PLAY (Iceland)
PLAY Airlines was founded in 2019 by two former executives of the defunct Icelandic low-cost carrier WOW Air. Its business model is essentially a scaled-down version of the WOW Air business model, which is to offer cheap, no-frills service from Iceland to Europe and North America.
The airline operated its first flights between Keflavik and Europe in June 2021, and launched flights to the United States this year. This will also allow PLAY to offer cheap one-stop connections from the USA to Europe via Iceland.
Super Air Jet (Indonesia)
A new start-up airline aimed at millennials began operating in Indonesia in August 2021. Based in Jakarta and operating only domestic flights at this stage, the low-cost airline Super Air Jet currently has four single-class Airbus A320s in its fleet and another 16 on order.
Super Air Jet advertises itself as providing a “premium in-flight travel experience with high connectivity, reliability, and reasonably-priced transportation for modern generations”.
OTT Airlines (China)
Initially founded in February 2020, China Eastern subsidiary OTT Airlines (which stands for “One Two Three Airlines”, not “Over The Top”) ran its maiden flight from Shanghai to Beijing in December 2020. Its fleet consists entirely of Chinese-made Comac regional jets.
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