A VIAT ION
Early last year, for example, budget airline 64 64
Primera Air took a gamble in expanding its business out of Scandinavia to include long-haul routes from London Stansted and Birmingham to the US. However, by October it had collapsed entirely, leaving passengers stranded because it hadn’t secured long- term financing. Fierce competition in the transatlantic market proved too tough for the airline, despite the success it had observed its low-cost competitor Norwegian having in this arena. Other airlines that met their end recently
include Russia’s Saratov Airlines, Cypriot low- cost start-up Cobalt, regional airline Jet Go Australia, US regional carrier California Pacific Airlines and Nigerian flag carrier Nigeria Air, the last of these aſter only a few months. Ten, in January, it was announced that, at
just over a year old, Air France’s “millennial- oriented” subsidiary, Joon, would be shut down. “Te brand was difficult to understand from the outset for customers, for employees, for markets and for investors,” Air France stated. Still, not everyone is being put off. Japan
Airlines (JAL) is setting up an as-yet-unnamed low-cost airline for 2020 that will be based out of Tokyo Narita and will ply medium- and long-haul routes to Asia, the Americas and Europe. Two B787-8s are being assigned to the carrier, which will receive 10-20 billion yen (£71 million-£141 million) in funding from JAL. Japan Airlines has also invested US$10 million in a new supersonic airline called Overture, which is being developed by Boom Supersonic in the US. (Branson is backing it, too.) If that gets off the ground, it really will be something special. Here are a dozen new and forthcoming
airlines (including one all-business class endeavour) that are attempting to capture their own corner of the skies…
MAR CH 2 0 19
1. BAMBOO AIRWAYS Tis Vietnamese airline, which started operations in January, wants to be a “five- star airline operating both domestic and international routes”. Tis year it will have
20 A320s – next year these will be joined by 20 A321 Neos and 20 B787-9s. Tree fare classes – Eco, Plus and Business – offer varying degrees of generosity in regard to luggage allowance, seat selection and booking changes. Initially it is flying domestic routes, connecting Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang with other leisure destinations in the country, but from 2021 Bamboo hopes to add flights to the US and Europe.
bambooairways.com
2. AIR ITALY Founded in February last year, this private Italian airline is owned by AQA Holding, in which Qatar Airways recently bought a 49 per cent stake. Formerly known as Meridiana, of which the original Air Italy was a
subsidiary (the two merged in 2013), it was rebranded as Air Italy last year, debuting new domestic routes from Milan to Rome and Naples, as well as long-haul services to New York and Miami. From next month it will serve Los Angeles and San Francisco, and from May Toronto. Its fleet features three B737 MAXs, seven B737 NGs and five A330-200s. Travellers will find 24 angled lie-flat business class seats on board.
airitaly.com
3. FRENCH BEE Based at Paris Orly, this low-cost long-haul carrier takes passengers to Réunion island, Tahiti, San Francisco and the Dominican Republic. It offers economy and Premium classes, the latter of which is essentially an economy seat with lumbar support, two extra inches of width and four extra inches of legroom. One for holidaymakers rather than business travellers.
frenchbee.com
→ bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om
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