New airlines launched in 2022 - the list is closed now (as of 31/12/22)
Which new airlines are being launched in 2022?
Some in this list have been in the making for quite some time, in fact there is no clear dividing line as to which period should an airline be attribute to. Some airline that will start flying this 2022 have already been included in the 2021 new airline list (btw, you can also check the 2020 and 2019 airline bankruptcy lists), since the project looked solid enough that we could say the airline was already in existence, this would be the case, for example of Norse Atlantic Airways, or, in some cases, the launch has been delayed after being originally announced, like in the case of Islas, a new seaplane operator in Spain.
In any case, it is comforting that the worse crisis in the history of commercial aviation hasn’t dented the enthusiasm of airline entrepreneurs. Through this list I am going to track new airlines being launched throughout the globe this year of 2022. Please, bear in mind that gathering this information is somehow an artisanal process and the list is not exhaustive, feel free to send tips and suggestions!
Akasa Air (India)
A new Indian ultra low cost carrier backed by a billionaire investor and former Jet Airways executives. The Indian airline market has been quite dynamic these last past years, this rather ambitious project (with a planned fleet of over 70 Boeing 737 MAXes on order) should make sure this continues to be the case. Akasa Air is expected to start operations sometime in mid-2022 as soon as it gets is AOC, but already before the end of 2021 it presented its corporate identity (see the video below for a news report on Akasa AIr ivery presentation).
Greater Bay Airlines (Hong Kong)
I opted to include this one in the 2021 list, since it received its first plane, its AOC and performed the first cargo flight in Q4 2021 (even if passenger flights aren’t expected until later in 2022)
FlyArna (Armenia)
A Joint Venture between Air Arabia and a local group. This would be the second new carrier in the Armenian market in a period of about six months. Expected launch is in the spring of 2022.
Bonza (Australia)
A rather interesting LCC project in Australia, focused mostly on the domestic market. At the helm is the former CEO of FlyArystan (Air Astana’s lcc). Expected to launch in the first half of 2022.
Ultra Air (Colombia)
Still undergoing certification, this is going to be a new LCC operating domestically in Colombia and to some international destinations in the region.
Ukrainian National Airline (Ukraine)
This is a new government-owned airline, not to be confused with Ukraine International Airlines, which, although it has been a sort of de facto flag carrier of Ukraine, is, actually, a privately-owned airline. Ukrainian National Airline is expected to launch sometime in 2022. So far, it has signed a deal with Airbus for 22 aircraft of the A320 family and is, possibly getting some locally-made An-158 aircraft, as well.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the subsequent war and the closure of Ukraine’s air space to civilian traffic this project is extremely unlikely to materialize this year (or in the foreseeable future for that matter)
Surcar (Spain)
A new seaplane operator based in the Canary Islands. The idea is to connect the archipelago’s two main cities (Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife) with a regular seaplane service. Travel time would take some 30 minutes and be more direct than the current regular jet service. This airline is backed by Nordic Seaplanes, the only regular seaplane operator in Europe, which runs a regular service between Copenhagen and Jutland, in Denmark. Interestingly, it seems that another Canarian airline, Binter, is also planning its own seaplane airline, while another startup is planning to do the same in the Balearic Islands, Spain’s other major archipelago.
Niceair (Iceland)
The northern Icelandic city of Akureyri (pop. 18,000) also wants a piece of the action (Iceland being perhaps the country in the world with the largest airline industry in relation to population). The idea is that an A319 aircraft, operating under a third party AOC, will connect the city with international destinations. Akureyri has an international airport, although the only non-domestic link is a seasonal to Amsterdam operated by Transavia. The new airline’s website is up at the moment, but shows only a “countdown to takeoff”, which indicates a launch towards June this year.
Update: Niceair has already received its first A139 and flown its first flights too!
Eswatini Air (Eswatini)
The new carrier of the country previously known as Swaziland has received its first two E-145s (which used to be operated by Air France subsidiary Hop!). The new airline is a brand of Royal Eswatini National Airways (RENAC), which, despite its name, seems to limit itself to provide aviation services, but lately didn’t operate any planes. As reported by Ch-Aviation there seems to be some controversy over whether this new airline is necessary or not in such a small market when there is already an airline called Eswatini Airlink.
Flybe (UK) - RELAUNCH
We are seeing how quite a few airlines that ceased operations during the great cull of 2020 are back on their feet and ready to re-launch. One of the them is UK regional carrier Flybe. The reborn Flybe will operate along the same lines as the old one and with the same aircraft type that used to make most of its fleet, the Bombardier DHC-8-Q400. Btw, this is also a great opportunity to recover the very first episode of The Allplane Podcast, with no less than former Flybe pilot, Sal Artigas!
Aeroflyer (Canada)
Canadian air cargo operator KF Cargo is launching its own passenger airline, Aeroflyer, as reported by CH Aviation. Interestingly the initial fleet will be composed of a pair of rather rare aircraft, the Boeing 737-600, although may later switch to the -700 as the operation consolidates and expands beyond its initial market niche servicing corporate customers for ad-hoc charters to remote locations.
Equair (Ecuador)
This airline launched in early 2022 operating a small domestic network with a couple of Boeing 737-700s (the first of which was ferried from Lleida-Alguaire, an industrial airport that we have covered on this site)
Céleste (France)
Céleste is a new regional airline set up at Morlaix airport, in Brittany, in the West of France, in order to cover the gap in the market left by the withdrawal of Air France’s regional subsidiary Hop! Céleste is expected to launch in the summer of 2022 with CRJ1000 aircraft.
Air Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo)
The new flag carrier of the RDC is expected to launch shortly with the support of Ethiopian Airlines (one more link in the pan-African network the Ethiopian carrier is building one airline at a time) , which is providing 7 aircraft to start operations (1 B787, 3 B737s and 3 E190s).
Air Alderney (Channel Islands)
A small airline based in the island of the same name, connecting it to the remaining Channel Islands as well as a couple of small airports on the South coast of England with Britten-Norman BN2B-26 Islander aircraft. The airline was set up in 2017 but didn’t start operating until early 2022.
Fly Jinnah (Pakistan)
This is a new low cost carrier that aims to start operations in June 2022 in Pakistan, based out of Karachi. Fly Jinnah is backed by the Lackson Group, a Pakistani business conglomerate, and Air Arabia.
Q-Airways (Pakistan)
Yet another of the current wave of new low cost carriers preparing to launch in Pakistan. Q-Airways has already received governmental approval, although the launch date is not yet confirmed.
Aeroitalia (Italy)
The new Italian airline of Germán Efremovich (former owner of Avianca) is preparing to launch from its base at Forlì airport, near Rimini, from where it will launch a domestic network. It will operate B737-800s, at least for now.
Silk Avia (Uzbekistan)
This new operator expects to launch before October 2022 with a fleet of ATR-72 aircraft. Its goal is to provide connectivity across its home country of Uzbekistan, not just from the capital, Tashkent, but also improving regional connectivity between secondary airports.
JetSmart Perú
The latest addition to the JetSmart family of ULCC airlines in Latin America, all backed by Indigo Partners, has received governmental approval for launch.
Wizz Air Malta
Another airline of the Indigo Partners group, Wizz Air, getting yet a new AOC, this time in Malta. Although most likely this new subsidiary will operate seamlessly under the Wizz Air brand. Pan-European airline groups like Wizz Air or Ryanair are currently operating a whole portfolio of airlines (with separate AOCs) to best optimize the legal, financial and operational aspects of their large networks.
Fly Dhaka (Bangladesh)
A new low cost airline in Bangladesh that is getting consulting support and know-how from AirAsia (although it seems no equity investment so far). It plans to operate an ATR-72 fleet.
L’Odissey (Switzerland)
A luxury, boutique airline that plans to operate a Saab 340, primarily out of Geneva airport, but also between multiple leisure destinations throughout Europe, such as, for example, Deauville to London City.
Air Astra (Bangladesh)
Another LCC preparing to launch in Bangladesh and planning also to operate an ATR-72 fleet.
Kuva Air (Zimbabwe)
Initially modest dimensions (Kuva Air operates at the moment a single Embraer EMB-120, or to be more exact, the aircraft is actually operated by a charter airline called “Executive Air”), the interesting thing about this new Zimbabwean domestic airline is that it defines itself as the “first blockchain-powered airline) whatever that means.
For Norse Atlantic Airways (Norway), please see the 2021 list of new airlines! (yes, I know the first commercial flight of this airline was on June 2022, but it was accounted for the moment it was incorporated!)
Southwind (Turkey)
This airline has been put together in record time after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions and airspace closures left Turkey as the most direct and main connecting point between Russia and the rest of Europe. Although not clear where it got its aircraft (2 A330s and 2 A321s apparently) and its funding, it seems that Southwind received its AOC and it is about to start flying. Interestingly, it won’t be focusing only on the Russian market, but fly to Europe as well as perform some religious pilgrimage charters as well.
Jet Airways (India)
This is a re-launch more than a properly new airline. Quite a few interesting moves in the always dynamic Indian airline market, with Akasa and Jet entering and Air India under new ownership, will be an interesting one to watch. In this case, the new owner, Indian entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan has stated its intention to have a fleet of 50 aircraft soon, but not much is known yet about the exact composition or roll out of the fleet. As of July, the new Jet Airways has started hiring A320 and B737 rated pilots, though.
Air Connect (Romania)
In July this year, Romanian airline startup Air Connect received its first leased ATR-72, with which it plans to start domestic services shortly. At the helm of Air Connect is the former CCO of another Romania-based airline, Blue Air. It appears that the new airline will be primarily providing additional air connectivity to and from Romania’s secondary cities, between themselves and on leisure routes to the Mediterranean.
Jetlines (Canada)
This one has been in the making for almost a decade, but, after many false starts, it seems that - finally! - Canada’s new low cost carrier is ready to take off. Jetlines has received its AOC and its first aircraft, an A320.
RIA (Saudi Arabia)
Bit by bit we are learning more details of the planned new Saudi carrier. Adding it to this list may be a bit premature, since it is unlikely to start operating before the end of this year, but since it appears to have been firmly greenlighted, I think it is worth mentioning. The figures that have been touted are, so far, staggering, with some $30B allocated to the project, which means the proponents of the new Saudi airline are thinking big, on an Emirates or Qatar Airways scale. One to keep an eye on!
Arajet (Dominican Republic)
This is actually a re-launch of a pre-existent airline called Dominican Wings and, later on, Flycana. Arajet will operate under an ultra-low-cost (ULCC) model and it aims to become a major player in the Caribbean region. It starts with 5 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and has another 26 on order, including 20 of the larger 200-seat B737 MAX 200 model that is favoured by Ryanair and other budget carriers.
FitsAir (Sri Lanka)
Ok, this is also not an entirely new operator, since ExpoAir (as the company was previously known, has been in the air cargo and domestic market for over two decades). However, what’s new is that its owner, Aberdeen Holdings Group, is re-launching it as a low cost carrier with an initial fleet of 3 Airbus A320 aircraft. The initial routes will be to Dubai and the Maldives, making of FitsAir the first private international airline in Sri Lanka.
ValueJet (Nigeria)
The Nigerian airline industry is quite an interesting case, since it seems to be well below its potential considering the size and population of the country. It is not for lack of startups, that, nevertheless, seem to have a hard time consolidating. This month has seen the launch of ValueJet, which starts operating a domestic network with some CRJ-900 aircraft.
Aeroexpress Regional (Hungary)
A regional airline focused on providing connections between Budapest and several regional destinations in Hungary and Romania. The flights are actually operated by a charter operator called Base Air, which operates an Embraer E-120 turboprop aircraft.
Antigua Airways (Antigua and Barbuda)
This airline is the result of an agreement between the government of this Caribbean country and some Nigerian investors. Antigua Airways, which has been surrounded by some controversy around the solvency and solidity of the whole project, aims to connect the Caribbean to Lagos and Accra, in West Africa, as well as Toronto, Canada, with a Boeing 767-300 operated by Portuguese ACMI operator Euroatlantic.
Marabu (Germany)
A new German airline catering to the leisure market. The actually flying (and AOC) is going to be done by Estonia-based Nordica. The new carrier is going to launch from Hamburg and Munich this summer season, flying mainly to destinations in the Mediterranean. Marabu has close links with Condor, including the same majority shareholders and several members of its management team.
(I was wondering whether to include Marabu in the 2022 list of new airlines or wait to the 2023 one, a similar situation to that of the recently announced AirAsia Cambodia, but I opted to include it here, since the AOC is already in place, via Nordica)
MYAirway (Malaysia)
A new budget carrier in Malaysia which started operating in November 2022 out of Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2). In many respects ressembles a lot Air Asia, even the livery. They even use this, apparently, as a commercial motto “Fly the new Red!”.
Panorama Airways (Uzbekistan)
According to the local media, just days before the end of the year, this new Uzbek carrier flew its first commercial flight, between Tahkent and Urgench. The airline had, technically, been founded in 2021, but apparently hadn’t started operating until now.