MARCH 2019 businesstraveller.com
- SWOOP
A low-cost subsidiary of
Canada’s Westjet, Swoop
began flying last year out
of cities such as Winnipeg,
Halifax and Edmonton to Las
Vegas, Phoenix and Oakland.
Swoop operates on the
build-your-own-flight model
so starting fares can be very low but quickly add up once
hold luggage and so on are added. Services are operated by
189-seat B737-800s. flyswoop.com - AIR SENEGAL
Less than a year old, the new
national airline of Senegal is
based out of Blaise Diagne
International, and flies from
Dakar to African cities such
as Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and
Banjul (Gambia). Paris and Sao Paulo will come soon. This
year it will receive a new A330-900 that it wants to deploy
on routes to Brazil and North America. Tickets cannot be
purchased online – only at sales agencies. Cash is accepted.
flyairsenegal.com
Get the
train to work.
AVIATION
- SWISS SKIES
Tipped to make its debut this year (although the
website is very minimal as we go to press), Swiss Skies
will be a low-cost start-up based out of Basel, with
routes to the US planned for its fleet of A321 Neo
aircraft. Last autumn it announced that it was seeking
to fundraise US$100 million to get the project off
the ground. According to the Financial Times, the
business plan foresees the need for 16 aircraft by the
second year of operations, and 38 by the fourth.
ch-airways.com - FLY ARYSTAN
Kazakhstan’s Air Astana is planning to launch Fly
Arystan as a new low-cost subsidiary by this summer,
with plans to have 15 aircraft flying by 2022. It will
begin with four A320s that will initially fly domestically.
There is a possibility that it will also start flights to
Russia, the Caucasus and Ukraine. flyarystan.com - GENGHIS KHAN AIRLINES
This Chinese start-up is owned by government
enterprise Inner Mongolia Aviation Tourism
Investment, and will begin domestic services out of
Hohhot Baita International airport in Inner Mongolia