Most Obscure Commercial Airline That You have Flown

[DaveinCanberra]

Thank you, but despite the reputation of the airport (and no doubt due to the skill & experience of the flight crew) both landing & takeoff were disappointingly quite tame. Of course, on reflection, tame is a very good way for landings & takeoffs to be... :shock:

Unlike most airfields there is no option for a "go around" so if cloud/fog should obscure the runway at the last minute and the pilot has committed to a landing, bad things can happen (as for example to Yeti Airlines in 2008).

I remember back in the 70's I took a plane from Pokhara back to Kathmandu; departure was delayed for some time while a mechanic (hopefully) fiddled with the port engine which was spewing oil out. A Twin Otter or similar I suppose. It leaked some oil all the way back to K, you could see it - and the wickedly sharp ridges and valleys just below. Can't remember the airline's name.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I can't remember the name, but there used to be a milk run from NTL - OOL that I flew once and probably the most obscure I've flown.

More recently, Heavilift and PNG Air.

 

[Lendav Orav]

Flew Ladeco domestically in Chile in the 90s. No longer exists but was a fairly major domestic operation at the time. Also flown from ROK to Great Keppel Island (code?) on a scheduled service but can't remember the name of the airline. Think it was something like Keppel Air?

 

[seanpodge]

Juneyao Airlines for me. Not really all that obscure (they run a bucketload of domestic and some international routes from Shanghai) but wouldn't be known much outside China, I suspect.

Also, last month I took an Air China flight that was operated by a Dalian Airlines badged plane (which CA basically own). Most interesting part of the flight was that the meal was a slice of (reasonably decent) pizza.

 

[drron]

Closer to home I have flown both Club Air and Yanda airlines MTL-SYD.
Neither they or the route exist now.

 

[Skyring]

ATA last year from Tehran-Mehrabad to Tabriz. An MD-8x with ashtrays and "assemble-your-own" meals based around flatbread. We took a bus to a remote stand to board, and as we waited for takeoff, a gaggle of Russian MiGs took off to hit Syria (I imagine). The airport is littered with ancient airliners from before the revolution. A B707 took off while we were waiting to board, so obviously some of these things are being held together.

In a few weeks time we're flying down to Tabriz. I'll try to get some more interesting photos. I don't want to be too obvious with a big lens or anything. These folk are a bit edgy.

 

[Bundy Bear]

My nominations are:

Air Chathmans, New Zealand,
Sunshine Express; they operated a few services around Brisbane before going broke.
Lufthansa Italia.
Cimber Air; on the CRJ-200 and ATR42.

I remember flying with these guys about 6 or 7 years ago in December. Internationally NCL-CPH and back was on a CRJ200 and then internally within Denmark (CPH-KRP rtn) on an ATR72. The ATR flights were the first time I'd been on an aircraft when it was de-iced. Added a little to the flight time but the Danes had it all sorted out: certainly when compared to the amateur hour in the UK as soon as any snow fell...

The other interesting thing about flying Cimber was on return into NCL at the end of the trip: whichever staffer at NCL opened the doors at the terminal side of the jetbridge maybe didn't realise that Cimber was an international airline, as they sent us pax down the wrong pathway. I thought it a bit strange when we walked past the BA Galleries lounge (airside) enroute to baggage collection. Then we popped out into the baggage claim hall without passing the UK Border immi folks. I'd done enough trips into NCL to realise the difference between a domestic and an international arrival. Those with HLO just took off straight out the doors and into their cars, taxis etc. I had checked luggage AND was in the UK on a working visa so didn't want to upset the system next time I travelled, so asked one of the staffers if our bags were going to come out on the domestic carousel. There was a bit of a flurry before they finally sent us through a side door and back down some corridors to enter the UK properly!

I flew CPH-BIL-MUC and I don't think the passport control thing was handled properly, don't remember the passport being check at all, the bag ended up in Munich which was the important part.

On my wish list is
WF Widerøe because of this;42 destinations - two weeks- unlimited flights

 

[Comoman]

Air Sudan - from Johannesburg to LGW via Khartoum. It was cheap (in hindsight for a reason).

It was in the mid-nineties - they were flying a L-1011 Tristar. I distinctly remember the takeoff from Khartoum. It was around 2am, the takeoff roll was very long and the climb performance was terrifyingly slow (due to the heat I assume). Remember seeing the minarets of the mosques level with us.

Never flew them again.

 

[93Revisited]

I flew United Airlines of Bangladesh (UBD) from Dhaka to Chittagong and it wasn't my favourite experience (the fibre glass tape on the wings and the wrecks of planes being dismantled at Dhaka airport did nothing for my pre-flight confidence).
Next trip to Chittagong, I flew on Regent Airlines. No fibre glass tape this time but the plane are still being broken up at Dhaka airport. Both airlines flew very early versions of Dash 8s.

 

[Skyring]

Next trip to Chittagong, I flew on Regent Airlines. No fibre glass tape this time but the plane are still being broken up at Dhaka airport. Both airlines flew very early versions of Dash 8s.

They had a very short fuselage, the old Dot 8s.

 

[Ben170292]

For me I would say Air Costa in India. When I flew them they had a fleet of 2 E170 and 2 E190. I flew on the E170. They currently only have 2 E190 and I have read they might be closing down.

edit: According to wikipedia they suspended operations 28 Feb 17.

 

[ajd]

T'way Airlines, which I flew cough->ICN for 6470 JPY per person. They weren't bad at all - a decent aircraft and quite good in flight service especially for an LCC!

I should add that the prices on their Japanese website were half that on the English website... Google Translate to the rescue...

 

[juddles]

Just wondering, does the RAAF count? A domestic "leg" in a Caribou is what I would have to describe as the ultimate in LCC

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Just wondering, does the RAAF count? A domestic "leg" in a Caribou is what I would have to describe as the ultimate in LCC

If it does, then I'll add the Prime Ministers 707, "Richmond Town" as possibly not my most obscure, but certainly the most unique for me.

 

[Boris spatsky]

Just wondering, does the RAAF count? A domestic "leg" in a Caribou is what I would have to describe as the ultimate in LCC

They were called 'Wallaby Airlines' so i guess it must

 

[drron]

Sunshine Express an obscure airline?Thems fighting words.
Based at MCY we once began and finished a DONE4 on them as they were a QF partner.Flying MCY-BNExx_xx_-BNE-MCY.

 

[vitagen]

I flew Atlas jet in turkey they were pretty good

 

[banger2]

I don't know if its obscure, but it is (was) interesting...

Asian Spirit - a Filipino airline, subsequently called Zest Air and now called AirAsia Zest.

A few things stand out with my experiences....up to my first flight with Asian Spirit in the early 2000's I'd only ever flown 1 Fokker 27 with East West Airlines (when I was about 10) and a handful of Qantas B767's. So getting onto a NAMC YS-11 - a Japanese plane from the 1960s, was interesting. It had no overhead lockers...just a hat rack! Flight was from Manila to Baguio....Baguio Airport is at 1296m, with deep ravines at either end of the runway
The next flight was on an unbranded Asian Spirit LET-410...and the most memorable thing on this occasion was the guy standing near the left engine with a fire extinguisher whilst it started. If there was an issue with fire...I doubted the little extinguisher would have helped - so that wasn't really confidence inspiring!
The next flight was on a DHC Dash7 - a really cool plane...but also the first time I experienced significant misting inside the cabin....I didn't know it was normal at that time!
One of the last flights with them was on a BAE ATP - very modern compared to the rest of their fleet.

All good experiences in hindsight...I'm glad I got to fly on them

Asian Spirit was locally know....get on Asian...get off a Spirit .
I was quite amused to find out they later got sold/re-branded to Zest Air....as the Zest-o Corporation was involved via the new owner (who owned Zest-o and was co-branding the airline to match that business name)...and they made popular juice pouches!

 

[oobi doobi]

Kish Air on a Tupolev 154. The flight was from Tehran to Shiraz some 6 years ago.

 

[JMEL]

I once had an SAS flight operated by Cimber Sterling, which has been named a few times already.

Otherwise, Air Baltic (Latvian state-owned low cost carrier) is the most obscure airline I've flown. Perhaps not particularly obscure, but I certainly hadn't heard of them before I started searching for the most convenient connection from Vienna to Tallinn a few years ago. The Riga to Tallinn leg was on a Fokker 50. Have ended up flying with them twice more since then!