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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