The Airline: StarFlyer

StarFlyer Inc. (株式会社スターフライヤー Kabushiki-gaisha Sutāfuraiyā?) is a Japanese airline headquartered on the grounds of Kitakyushu Airport in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture. It is modeled after JetBlue Airways as a "low-cost, high-quality" carrier aimed at business and leisure travelers. The airline began operations on March 16, 2006 and is one of very few in Japan to fly Airbus A320 aircraft. In June 2007 a codeshare agreement for the Haneda–Kitakyushu route began with All Nippon Airways which significantly boosted passenger numbers

StarFlyer was founded as Kobe Airlines (神戸航空 Kōbe Kōkū?) on December 17, 2002 with the intention of being based at the new Kobe Airport. The company changed its name to StarFlyer in May 2003, and moved to Kitakyushu at the end of 2003.


StarFlyer was supported by local companies to provide a regular service initially from the Kitakyushu Airport to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda, HND) 12 times daily, including late evening and early morning flights to allow day returns for business trips and sightseeing. Once the Kitakyushu-Tokyo route is well established the airline plans to open routes to Shanghai, Beijing, and Seoul from Kitakyushu.
On August 17, 2005, StarFlyer announced a business agreement with All Nippon Airways, providing ANA support services for most StarFlyer aircraft and crews.

A booking center opened in Kokura on January 16, 2006. Seats for the first available flights sold out in five minutes confirming the popularity of the new venture especially among business travellers. Kitakyushu City is also requiring its employees to use the airline for all business trips to and from Tokyo.
From June 1, 2007 it began codesharing of its ten daily return flights of Kitakyushu-Tokyo with ANA. The NHK Kitakyushu local news reported on July 10, 2007 that seat bookings had increased to about 70% capacity from 59% after the codesharing began. On November 1, 2008 it also started codesharing on the Kansai-Haneda route.

In April 2008 the company announced that it would begin charter flights to Seoul in July. The airline said it would evaluate the flights to consider whether to start regular service between the two cities (in the meantime, its call center handles reservations for Jeju Air on this route). In addition, it has also prepared to start charter service to Hong Kong.


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The Airlines: Kenya Airways

Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. The carrier's head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its hub at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

The airline was wholly owned by the Government of Kenya until April 1995, and it was privatised in 1996, becoming the first African flag carrier in successfully doing so. Kenya Airways is currently a public-private partnership. The largest shareholder is KLM (26%), followed by the Government of Kenya, which has a 23% stake in the company. The rest of the shares are held by private owners; shares are traded in the Nairobi Stock Exchange, the Dar-es-Salaam Stock Exchange, and the Ugandan Securities Exchange. The cargo handling company African Cargo Handling Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kenya Airways; partly owned companies are Kenya Airfreight Handling Limited, dedicated to the cargo handling of perishable goods and 51%-owned, and Tanzanian carrier Precision Air (49%-owned).

Kenya Airways is widely considered as one of the leading Sub-Saharan operators. The carrier became a full member of SkyTeam in June 2010, and is also a member of the African Airlines Association since 1977

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The Airline: Zambezi Airlines

 Zambezi Airlines was a privately owned airline based in Lusaka, Zambia. Its corporate headquarter was located in Lusaka, Zambia. Its main hub of operations was Lusaka International Airport. It ceased its operation on October 31, 2011.

The airline is on the List of air carriers banned in the European Union.


Zambezi Airlines began operations in July 2008. The airline first operated an Embraer 120. In May 2009, Air Zambezi acquired two Boeing 737-500. In June 2009, operations to Johannesburg, South Africa and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania commenced.

On 30 June 2009 the airline was authorized by the Zambia Competition Commission to form an alliance with Proflight Commuter Services.

On February 23 2012 ZAMBEZI Airlines’ aircraft have been repossessed by the owners, General Electric Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) for failing to pay arrears amounting to over US$2 million. The three planes were hired from GECAS, an American company, when the airline started its operations and were repossessed on February 10, 2012. Two Zambezi Airlines planes were flown out from Kenneth Kaunda International Airport and are now parked at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. The third aircraft was already in South Africa where it was taken last year for repairs.

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The Airline: Air Koryo

Air Koryo (Korean: 고려항공, Koryo Hanggong; formerly Chosŏn Minhang (조선민항)) is the state-owned national flag carrier airline of North Korea, headquartered in Sunan-guyŏk, Pyongyang. Based at Sunan International Airport (IATA: FNJ), it operates international scheduled and charter services to points in Asia and Europe.
Air Koryo has offices in Beijing, Shenyang, Macau, Bangkok, Toronto, Berlin, Moscow, as well as sales agencies in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Tokyo, Taipei, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok.


Air Koryo was established first under the name Sokao, which was founded in 1950 as a joint Soviet-North Korean concern to connect North Korea with Moscow. Services were suspended during the Korean War, to resume in 1953. The current airline was established in 1954, started operations on 21 September 1955, and was placed under the control of the Civil Aviation Administration of Korea. CAAK began operations with Lisunov Li-2, Antonov An-2 and Ilyushin Il-12 aircraft. Ilyushin Il-14 and Ilyushin Il-18 turboprops were added to the fleet in the 1960s.
Jet operation commenced in 1975, when the first Tupolev Tu-154 was delivered for services from Pyongyang to Prague, East Berlin and Moscow. However, because the Tu-154 did not have the sufficient range, the plane had to land not only at Irkutsk, but also at Novosibirsk. Along with the Tu-154, Tu-134s and An-24s were delivered to start domestic services.
The Tu-154 fleet was increased at the start of the 1980s, and the first Ilyushin Il-62 was delivered in 1982 (two of these aircraft were used in VIP configuration), allowing CAAK to offer a direct non-stop service to Moscow for the first time. During this period, Sofia and Belgrade were also destinations. However, under current European Aviation Regulations, because of maintenance concerns, Air Koryo is forbidden from landing at any European airport under Convention rules specified in the article.
The end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism in Europe saw a vast reduction in the number of international services offered. CAAK became Air Koryo in 1993. Also in 1993, Air Koryo ordered 3 Ilyushin Il-76 cargo aircraft to carry extra cargo to its destinations in China and Russia. Air Koryo recently purchased two new Tupolev Tu-204 aircraft to replace the aging international fleet. Air Koryo has also started modernizing its fleet interiors. With the new Tu-204, Air Koryo would be able to fly to Europe.
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The Airline: PBair (PeeBee Air)

PBair was an airline with its head office in the UBC II Building in Vadhana, Bangkok, Thailand. It operated scheduled domestic and international services. Its main base was Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The airline was founded in 1990 by Piya Bhirom Bhakdi, the president of the Boonrawd Brewery, the biggest brewery of Thailand. It was originally used for flights for the brewery staff only. In 1995, it received the license to offer charter flights and started operations in 1997. In February 1999, it started scheduled flights, in alliance with Thai Airways International and Air Andaman. In November 2009 all flights were suspended until further notice. In December 2009 the owner announced that the airline was to be closed for good, and would not restart operations because of huge losses. The closure was registered with the authorities on December 21, 2009.

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The Airline: EasyJet

EasyJet Airline Company Limited (styled as easyJet) is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It is the largest airline of the United Kingdom, measured by number of passengers carried, operating domestic and international scheduled services on over 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports. The parent company, EasyJet plc, is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: EZJ) and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. As of 30 September 2009, it employed 8,000 people, based throughout Europe but mainly in the UK.

EasyJet has seen rapid expansion since its establishment in 1995, having grown through a combination of acquisitions and base openings fuelled by consumer demand for low-cost air travel. The airline, along with subsidiary airline EasyJet Switzerland, now operates over 200 aircraft, mostly Airbus A319. It has 19 bases across Europe, the most important one being Gatwick. In 2010, EasyJet carried 42.4 million passengers and is the second-largest low-cost carrier in Europe, behind Ryanair.

EasyJet was featured in the television series Airline broadcast on ITV which followed the airline's operations at London Luton and later at other bases. EasyJet's founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, was featured heavily in the series.

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The Airline: Aserca Airlines

Aserca Airlines C.A. (Aero Servicios Carabobo) is an airline based in Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela. It operates domestic and regional scheduled services to destinations in the Caribbean, Central America and the USA. Its main base is Arturo Michelena International Airport, Valencia, with a hub at Simón Bolívar International Airport, Caracas

The airline was established in 1968 and started operations in 1991 with small aircraft for private transport. In 1992 it entered the domestic scheduled market with a leased Douglas DC-9-30. Aserca's operations were centred around Valencia, but it managed to develop Caracas as a hub after 1994 which made it experience a significant growth in its market share, expanding its network to Bogotá, Lima and Miami (no longer in service) via Aruba. Between 1998 and 2000 Aserca had a controlling interest in Air Aruba. In 2008, Aserca took a majority stake in fellow Venezuelan carrier SBA Airlines (Santa Barbara Airlines). A proposed merger is in discussion.

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The Airline: Aero California

Aero California was a low-cost airline with its headquarters in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, operating a network of domestic passenger flights with its hub at the city's Manuel Márquez de León International Airport.


The airline was founded in La Paz, Mexico in 1960 as an air taxi operator using a fleet of Cessna and Beechcraft airplanes, initially known as Servicios Aéreos. By the early 1980s the demand for domestic charter flights had grown to an extent, that allowed for the larger Douglas DC-3 to be added to the fleet. Scheduled services were launched on June 1982, the first flight being between La Paz, Tijuana and Hermosillo using Convair 340 aircraft. In 1989, international scheduled flights were commenced, with Los Angeles being the first destination. By 1995 the fleet had been upgraded to feature only jet aircraft of various Douglas DC-9 subtypes.
On 3 April 2006 all operations of Aero California were suspended by the Mexican federal Secretariat of Communications and Transport, after the civil aviation authorities had found that the airline was not complying with its safety standards. It was given 90 days to correct the problems and was able to resume services on 11 August of that year 2006. On 23 July 2008 (at a time when the route network consisted 17 domestic destinations), the airline was again suspended, this time due to an alleged debt with the Mexican Air Traffic Control (SENEAM), which prompted a a labor strike of the employees on 5 August, which technically continues to present day. Aero California never operated any flights again, even though its license remains valid.

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The Airline: WestJet

WestJet Airlines Ltd. (TSX: WJA) is a Canadian low-cost carrier that provides scheduled and charter air service to 75 destinations in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Founded in 1996, it is currently the second-largest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada, operating an average of 425 flights and carrying over 45,000 passengers per day. In 2010, WestJet carried over 15 million passengers, making it the tenth-largest airline in North America by passengers carried.
WestJet is a public company with over 8,000 employees, and is a rarity in the airline industry as it is non-unionized. It operates variants of a single aircraft type, all from the Boeing 737 Next Generation family. The airline has its headquarters and main hub at Calgary International Airport, with another large hub at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
WestJet had passenger revenues of $2.2 billion (CAD) in 2009.

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The Airline: Ansett Australia and Vintage Uniform

Ansett Australia, Ansett, Ansett Airlines of Australia, or ANSETT-ANA as it was commonly known in earlier years, was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne. The airlines flew domestically within Australia and to destinations in Asia during its operation in 1996. The airline was placed into administration in 2001 after suffering financial collapse, and subsequent organised liquidation in 2002, subject to deed of company arrangement. Ansett operated for 66 years and 11 days (4th March, 2002) after its first takeoff from Hamilton, Victoria.

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The Airline: Royal Jet

Royal Jet is an airline based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is a charter operator aimed at the luxury market between the UAE and Europe. Its main base is Abu Dhabi International Airport, with hubs at Dubai International Airport and King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Arabic description below:

رويال جت هي شركة طيران مقرها في امارة أبو ظبي في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة. تهدف رويال جت لان تكون واحده من أكبر شركات الطيران في سوق السفر الفاخرة بين دولة الإمارات وأوروبا , قاعدتها الأساسية هو مطار أبو ظبي الدولي ، ولديها عدة قواعد أساسية في المنطقة وهي مطار دبي الدولي ومطار الملك عبد العزيز الدولي في جدة في المملكة العربية السعودية .

The Airline: Xiamen Airlines

Xiamen Airlines is the first privately owned airline in the People's Republic of China. Established on July 25, 1984 and based in Xiamen, it operates scheduled passenger flights out of Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport and, to a lesser extent, Fuzhou Changle International Airport. The Airline is owned by China Southern Airlines (60%) and Xiamen Construction and Development Group (40%).

In December 2005, Xiamen Airlines inked an order for 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft to be equipped with blended winglets, which were delivered between 2006 and 2008. This order was part of a larger 70 plane purchase agreement between CASGC and Boeing, which was signed during a state visit of then US President George W. Bush.

Initially the parent company China Southern Airlines planned to shift three Boeing 787 Dreamliners of an order for 13 to Xiamen Airlines, but this plan was dropped in 2006 in favor of more 737-800s.But on May 2011, Xiamen Airlines has been resumed to order 6 Boeing 787-8.

On June 8, 2011, Xiamen confirmed intentions to join SkyTeam Alliance. This move strengthens the alliance's position within Asia. The airline plans to join as early 2012.

On November 17, 2011, SkyTeam formally accepted the joining of Xiamen Airlines into the alliance. Xiamen Airlines begins the joining process leading to full entry into SkyTeam by the end of 2012, further strengthening the alliance offer in the southeast China region.
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The Airline: SunExpress

Güneş Ekspress Havacılık A.Ş., doing business as SunExpress, is an airline based in Antalya, Turkey.[1] It operates scheduled and charter flights to destinations in Europe. Its main base is Antalya International Airport (AYT).

Güneş Ekspress Havacılık A.Ş., doing business as SunExpress, is an airline based in Antalya, Turkey.[1] It operates scheduled and charter flights to destinations in Europe. Its main base is Antalya International Airport (AYT).

The airline was established in October 1989 and started operations in April 1990 with a charter service between Antalya and Frankfurt, Germany. SunExpress was founded as a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa. In 1995 Lufthansa transferred its SunExpress shares to Condor Flugdienst, to group all tourist flights under a single unit. In February 2007, all Condor shares were retaken by Lufthansa.
The owners of SunExpress are 50% Turkish Airlines and 50% Lufthansa. The airline carried just over 2.358 million passengers in 2006. With 617 employees, 373 of which are flight crew staff, SunExpress is the largest employer in Antalya. Including 181 staff at the Izmir office and 23 at Frankfurt, SunExpress employs 821 people in total.

SunExpress operates a fleet of 25 airplanes with an average age of 7.69 years and a seating capacity of 4800 seats. All Boeing airplanes leased by SunExpress are equipped with blended winglets installed by THY Maintenance Center.
SunExpress is the only airline in Turkey that is ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and Ohsas 18001 certified.

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The Airline: Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines (IATA: CO, ICAO: COA, Call sign: CONTINENTAL) was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines.[2] On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. (the parent company of United Airlines) announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc. During the integration period, both airlines are, for a time, running separate operations under direction of a combined leadership team of the new parent company based in Chicago. The merger transaction is estimated to be worth (USD)$3.2 billion. On November 30, 2011, United Airlines was issued a single operating certificate. From a technical regulatory standpoint, Continental Airlines has ceased to exist as a separate air carrier. United and Continental are now considered one airline by the FAA, and Continental pilots now use the "United" call sign in air traffic control. Temporarily, ground operations and reservation systems will remain somewhat separate until early in 2012.

Continental had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental was a minority owner of ExpressJet Airlines, which operated under the 'Continental Express' trade name but was a separately managed and public company. Chautauqua Airlines also flew under the Continental Express identity, and Cape Air, Colgan Air, CommutAir, and Gulfstream International Airlines feed Continental's flights under the Continental Connection identity. Continental did not have any ownership interests in these companies.

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The Airline: Travel Service Arilines

Travel Service Airlines (incorporated as Travel Service, a.s.) is an airline based in Prague, Czech Republic, a subsidiary of Icelandair Group. It has a Budapest-based subsidiary Travel Service Kft. Its low cost short-haul scheduled flights are operated under brand SmartWings.
On 18 September 2007, the Icelandair Group acquired 50% stake in the carrier and purchased further shares in 2008.

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The Airline: Volaris

Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A. de C.V., operating as Volaris, is a low-cost airline from Mexico, and the country's second largest airline after Aeroméxico, thus being a leading competitor in the Mexican domestic market, with a market share of around 13-14% of domestic traffic.

Volaris' headquarters are located in Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City, and its operational base is located at the Lic. Adolfo López Mateos International Airport (TLC) in Toluca.

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The Airline: Dragon Air

Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited (T: 港龍航空有限公司, S: 港龙航空有限公司, Cantonese: gong2 lung4 hong4 hung1 jau5 haan6 gung1 si1, Pinyin: Gǎng​lóng​ Háng​kōng Yǒu​xiàn​gōng​sī), operating as Dragonair, is an international airline and flag carrier headquartered in Hong Kong; with its corporate headquarters, Dragonair House (港龍大厦, 港龙大厦, C: gong2 lung4 daai6 haa6, Pinyin: Gǎnglóng Dàshà), and main hub at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline operates a scheduled passenger network to 32 destinations in 12 countries and territories across Asia, including codeshares. It has an all Airbus fleet of 31 aircraft, consisting of A320s, A321s and A330s. Dragonair is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong's flag carrier, Cathay Pacific, and is an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. The airline was founded on 24 May 1985 by Chao Kuang Piu, the airline's present honorary chairman. Its maiden flight departed Hong Kong for Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia after being granted an air operator's certificate (AOC) by the Hong Kong Government in July 1985. In 2009, Dragonair, together with its parent, Cathay Pacific, operated over 56,000 flights, carried nearly 25 million passengers and over 1.52 billion kg of cargo and mail.

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The Airline: Avianca

Avianca S.A. (BVC:AVA) (acronym in Spanish for Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia S.A., currently Aerovías del Continente Americano S.A.) is the flag carrier airline of Colombia since December 5, 1919 when it was initially registered under the name SCADTA. It is headquartered in Bogotá, D.C. with its hub at the El Dorado International Airport. Avianca is the largest airline in Colombia and a major one in Latin America: Avianca together with its subsidiaries has the most extended network of (both passenger and cargo) destinations in the Americas and one of the largest and most modern aircraft fleet in the continent. It is wholly owned by AviancaTACA S.A., a Latin American holding company established in the Panamá and specialized in air transport. The company is listed in the Colombia Stock Exchange.

On October 7, 2009, it was announced that Avianca would merge with TACA but both airlines have stated that each will maintain their own identity and operate separately for the moment. In 2009 Avianca turned 90 (years) making it the second world's oldest airlines still in operation; It is actually the oldest continuously operating airline in the Western Hemisphere.

Since April 26, 2010, OceanAir is being rebranded Avianca in the same way as it was done with SAM years ago and it would do with other subsidiaries (for example, VIP is partially rebranded) to place Avianca as the leading airline in Latin America.

On November 10, 2010, Avianca and Taca were accepted to be part of Star Alliance in a process that will last around 18 months until both airlines fulfill all requirements to be official members of the Alliance. Before that happens (by April 2012), all airlines under AviancaTaca umbrella will be completely unified under an unique single brand.

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The Airline: Gulf Air

Gulf Air (Arabic: طيران الخليج‎ Ṭayarān al-Khalīj) is the principal flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Headquartered in Muharraq, adjacent to Bahrain International Airport, the airline operates scheduled services to 45 destinations in 28 countries across Africa, Asia and Europe. Its main base is Bahrain International Airport. and major destinations include London, Paris, Dubai, Karachi, and Mumbai.

The airline is part of the Oneworld global explorer fare. It has extensive codeshare agreements with other airlines and special partnerships with Jet Airways and Oman Air's Frequent Flyer Programmes.

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The Airline: LAN Airlines

LAN Airlines S.A. (NYSE: LFL) is an airline based in Santiago, Chile. LAN is currently positioned amongst the largest airlines in Latin America, serving Latin America, United States, the Caribbean, Oceania, and Europe. It is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. LAN Airlines is the 49th oldest air carrier in the world from its foundation date, and the 10th oldest airline in operation today.

Its main hub is Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, Santiago, with hubs/focus cities at Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Buenos Aires, Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil, Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Barajas International Airport in Madrid and Miami International Airport in USA.

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