While many airlines have struggled during the recovery, many new startups are trying to get off the ground in 2021. Worldwide, there are plans for more than 300 new airlines which are in various startup phases. As many as 90 airline startups are expected to take to the sky, this year.
The massive growth in the industry pre-2020, has attracted investment dollars. The sudden availability of aircraft and staff, along with historically low interest rates is fueling the creation of new startup airlines and causing some charters, cargo and small regional airlines to try more aggressive business models.
Cirium’s latest report “Taking to the skies,” analyzes the trend in startup airlines and provides examples of five different sample North American airlines in different startup phases.
Startup airline profiles
- Avelo, a low-cost carrier serving smaller U.S. West Coast cities and secondary airports.
- Breeze Airways, a low-cost carrier servicing mid-sized markets without existing direct service.
- OWG, a Canadian charter looking to move into regular passenger service between key Canadian and Cuban airports.
- Flair Airlines, a Canadian low-cost carrier, under significant expansion in the past few months, going from seven destinations to 20.
- Swoop, a spin-off from WestJet, with a seasonal schedule, specializing in ultra low-cost leisure travel in the U.S. and Canada.
