As is the case with any year, 2024 was kinder to some companies within the global airline industry than it was to others. We have seen our fair share of casualties over the past twelve months, though, with several major carriers succumbing to a range of internal and external pressures and having to cease operations and shut down as a result.
Conversely, the year seems to have created just the right market conditions in which a handful of startup carriers have been able to take to the air for the first time – full of ambition and anticipation for the exciting times that may lay ahead.
As we say goodbye to 2024, AeroTime looks back on those carriers that failed to survive the year, with their names and operations now confined to the aviation history books. We will also run through the newcomers of 2024 – airlines that, possibly after years of planning and gathering the finance and regulatory approvals needed, saw their first commercial flights get airborne and start earning revenue.
Note: This article will be limited to major passenger and cargo airlines and is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Air taxi operators and private jet/general aviation companies are not included, nor are companies that have been incorporated but have not yet operated their first commercial service.
Note: All data included in this article was sourced from ch-aviation unless otherwise stated, and was current as of December 23, 2024.
An ever-changing landscape
2024 proved to be another fascinating year for the airline industry. With some elements of the industry still struggling to find a firm footing three years after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, other sectors are soaring, with surging demand and airlines searching for ways to match supply with demand.
The process has not been helped by supply chain issues impacting the deliveries of new aircraft from the leading manufacturers, paired with a blizzard of issues at Boeing that all began with the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 blow-out incident in January 2024.
The lack of aircraft capacity in the short term saw a monumental shift toward the use of wet-leased aircraft under ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) contracts. Under such agreements, specialist carriers supply seasonal capacity to airlines, allowing them to meet the peaks in demand, while providing the flexibility to offload that extra capacity once demand subsides.
The growing use of ACMI aircraft, plus the retention of older aircraft in airline fleets that may have been earmarked for retirement, have undoubtedly been the two most significant trends within the global airline sector in 2024. It would be foolhardy to expect these trends to subside significantly as we head into 2025.
And yet, set against the backdrop of a global airline industry that in many respects has never had it so good, some companies were simply unable to navigate their way through the twelve months of 2024. Whether through strained finances or other factors, the year saw more casualties than it did new startup airlines, the latter having made it through the myriad complexities involved in starting an airline to watch as their maiden flights took to the air.
Airline causalities of 2024
2024 saw the demise of seven major carriers worldwide, with Canada and Australia seeming to be a focal point for hardship in their respective airline industries.
The year kicked off with the failure of a historical carrier in the Caribbean. LIAT (to give its full name, Leeward Islands Air Transport) had been operating inter-island scheduled and charter flights around the Caribbean Sea since its first flight in 1956. However, the airline had run into severe financial difficulties during the pandemic, not only from a lack of passengers but also from ongoing aircraft lease costs. In early 2020, it was placed into administration by its majority shareholder, the government of Antigua and Barbuda.
With losses continuing to mount while in administration, despite a recovery in traffic figures, a decision was made in late 2023 to close the airline down, ending over 70 years of flight operations. At the time of its demise, the airline utilized a fleet of ATR 42/72s, plus De Havilland Canda DHC-6 Twin Otters and DHC-8 turboprops. However, out of the ashes of LIAT came a new carrier named LIAT20 – for further details, see ‘Newcomers’ below.
Next to go under was Canada’s Lynx Air in February 2024. This Calgary-based low-cost airline operated a fleet of nine Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft on scheduled flights around Canada. The airline only started operations in April 2022 (having rebranded from a charter carrier named Enerjet). Anticipating rapid growth, it had made commitments for up to 46 737 MAX planes to be introduced over the coming years.
However, via a statement issued on February 22, 2024, the ultra-low-cost carrier announced that it would cease operations immediately, citing mounting financial pressure as the primary cause. In its statement, the airline said that, in the face of “rising operating costs, high fuel prices, exchange rates, increasing airport charges, and a difficult economic and regulatory environment,” the decision had been made to close.
There had been last-gasp talks held with fellow budget Canadian operator Flair about a possible merger, but the failure of these talks was the final nail in Lynx Air’s coffin. The airline ceased all operations, with its fleet of aircraft being repossessed by their lessors.
In March 2024, yet another historic carrier failed, namely Air Malta. The state-owned legacy carrier of the Mediterranean island group of Malta and Gozo had been loss-making for years. Its operations had been bankrolled by the Maltese government repeatedly, in breach of EU anti-competitive regulations banning the state aid of airlines. By the end of 2023, with Air Malta facing increasing competition from European low-cost carriers, some of which had even set up their own bases on the island nation, the Maltese government decided that enough was enough. Having limped on for years, the national carrier was to be shut down.
On March 31, 2024, Air Malta operated its last-ever service, a flight from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Malta, ending 50 years of continuous flying. In accordance with the Maltese government‘s plan, the same day saw the inaugural flights by KM Malta Airlines. This new legal entity was ostensibly Air Malta in all but name, using the same fleet of seven Airbus A320s and employing many of the staff who had been employed by the now-defunct carrier. KM Malta Airlines continues to operate today, albeit in the same competitive environment in which its predecessor failed (see below).
With Spring arriving in the northern hemisphere in April 2024, Winter had set in south of the equator – notoriously a difficult time for any airline operating on tight margins. Bonza, a new airline startup in Australia, had just celebrated its first anniversary in January 2024. It was expanding cautiously with a handful of leased Boeing 737 MAX 8s which were each given stereotypical Australian names such as ‘Bruce’ and ‘Sheila’.
Although things appeared to be “bonza” from the outside, with passenger numbers building and new routes being added to its network, it soon became clear that the company’s finances were under strain. In April 2024, the airline’s owners, Miami-based investment firm 777 Partners (itself under investigation at the time), withdrew support for Bonza, leaving it struggling with mounting debt and effectively no way out. As creditors circled, on the morning of April 30, 2024, administrators were appointed who acted quickly in suspending all flight operations, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
Despite early efforts to save the airline, lessors were quick to take the view that there was little real hope and that their aircraft could be placed more profitably elsewhere. With the jets soon departing from Australia, chances of the carrier taking to the air again became very slim. The ‘thumbs up’ logo of Bonza had morphed into a real-life ‘thumbs down’, leaving a low-cost gap in the Australian domestic air market once again.
With the Australian market lamenting the loss of Bonza, it was not long before another well-established domestic carrier would come unstuck trying to compete with the well-established duopoly of Qantas/Jetstar and Virgin Australia on the domestic trunk routes between state capitals. In March 2021, Rex Airlines (Regional Express) began using a small fleet of Boeing 737-800s to compete with its larger rivals on routes between the major cities of Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra.
However, the Boeing 737 operation faced increasing competition from the larger incumbent carriers from the outset and losses at the airline began to mount. Before the arrival of the jets, Rex had mastered the art of running small regional turboprop operations linking rural communities with larger commercial centers.
A boardroom coup ensued in early July 2024, and by the end of the month trading of shares in Rex had been suspended by the Australian Stock Exchange. This suspension sent shockwaves around the Australian airline industry, and on July 31, 2024, administrators were called in to rescue Rex.
The first thing the administrators did was to ditch the lossmaking 737 routes, returning the airline to what it seemed to do best – serving small communities with its fleet of around 60 Saab SF340 turboprops. These operations continue today, though now financially supported by the Australian federal government, with many of the routes classified as ‘lifeline’ or public service routes.
So, while not an airline failure in the truest sense, Rex’s time as a second-tier carrier on the Australian domestic scene ended in 2024 – for the time being, at least.
Back in Canada, as August 2024 arrived, another recent startup budget carrier was struggling to survive. Canada Jetlines had been jostling to find its place within the Canadian domestic scene alongside the likes of Flair, Lynx Air, and WestJet’s Swoop subsidiary almost since its first commercial service in September 2022. With its scheduled services failing to make a return, the carrier announced that it would pivot towards charter and wet-leasing services using its fleet of four Airbus A320s.
In early 2024, the airline declared that it had placed two of these aircraft with Air Arabia under lease agreements for the bulk of that year, with the remaining two aircraft being made available for charter flights. However, it seemed a case of ‘too little, too late’ for Jetlines. With losses spiraling out of control, in June 2024, the airline’s CEO stepped down, quickly followed by the resignation of four board directors in August 2024. Even Brigitte Goersch, the airline’s replacement CEO, called time on her whistle-stop career with Jetlines at this point.
On August 15, 2024, the company suddenly paused all operations, announcing that it was to seek creditor protection. The carrier’s aircraft were swiftly repossessed by their lessors and have since remained in storage, in Amsterdam and Maastricht in the Netherlands, Lourdes-Tarbes in France, and at Miami Opa-Locka Airport in the US.
Entering the last quarter of 2024, the global airline industry said goodbye to two airline brands that had both carved out names for themselves, albeit for different reasons.
Czech Airlines (or ČSA) had been flying as the national carrier of the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia) since 1923, However, since the early 2000s and the attendant rapid growth of the low-cost airline phenomenon across Europe, the airline had struggled to establish a profitable place for itself in an increasingly crowded market.
In 2018, realizing that the carrier was fighting to survive, the Czech government (which owned 97.7% of the airline’s shares) sold out to independent local airline group Smartwings, which largely specialized in charter and wet-lease operations with a sizeable fleet of Boeing 737s. Following a restructure, Czech Airlines continued to operate as a separate brand under the Smarwings group. In June 2022, another investor, Prague City Air, took a 70% share in the airline, with Smartwings retaining 30%.
On October 26, 2024, in an unusual twist to the story, Czech Airlines became the parent company of Smartwings. As part of this transition, Smartwings took over the operational management of all flights previously operated by Czech Airlines whose brand was to be wound down under the plan. The last official flight of Czech Airlines took place on October 28, 2024, from Paris to Prague with flight number OK767 using Airbus A320 OK-IOO.
Although Smartwings suggested that it may operate some aircraft in the Czech Airlines livery purely for nostalgia, the airline itself has ceased flying, bringing an end to exactly 101 years of aviation operations.
The final casualty of 2024 was the Indian full-service carrier Vistara. First established in 2015, the airline was jointly owned by the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines. It was set up to become a new national carrier for India, a country where its flag carrier, Air India, had become a sad shadow of its former self.
Vistara was growing nicely, expanding its network, building a fleet of modern Airbus and Boeing airplanes, and earning itself a loyal customer following. However, things would abruptly change direction in November 2022 when the Tata Group purchased Air India from the Indian government. With the purchase complete, plans were set in place that would see Vistara initially compete alongside Air India, but eventually be swallowed up by, and merge into, the rejuvenated flag carrier.
As 2024 progressed, the merger plans were developed, and a wind-down timetable for the Vistara brand was set in place. November 11, 2024, marked the last full day of Vistara operations in India as a separate airline entity. After that day, All Vistara operations fell under the Air India banner, although flights operated by Vistara aircraft would be flown under a specially allocated two-letter designator for an interim period. Vistara flights dropped the airline’s ‘UK’ flight designator on November 12, 2024, to be replaced with the ‘AI’ code of Air India, albeit with a ‘2’ before each new flight number.
In the first month following the merger, Air India expected approximately 1,150,000 customers with pre-merger Vistara bookings to travel with the newly unified airline. In a social media message posted on its final day of operations, Vistara took to social media to convey a special farewell message to its customers and employees. “As the plane ascends, so do our dreams; let’s glide toward the future, where the sky isn’t the limit, but just the beginning,” the airline said as it bid farewell to its followers.
As a resurgent Air India re-invents itself as the all-new and reenergized flag carrier for India, many will lament the loss of Vistara – an airline that was seen in 2015 as a trailblazer, breathing new life into the ailing Indian commercial airline scene. Ironically, that same market has become the fastest-growing aviation market in the world in 2024, with Air India itself leading the charge with an outstanding order book for over 400 new aircraft.
Newcomers
Although relatively quiet in terms of new airline startups, 2024 did see a handful of new carriers take to the air for the first time, while more established airlines consolidated their positions and expanded where and when suitable opportunities arose.
Of the newcomers in 2024, there were no new major airlines commencing operations, but a few smaller carriers began their journeys within the industry. A mix of cargo and passenger carriers, these airlines originated in Gabon, Brazil, Cyprus, Malta, and the Caribbean.
Starting in the African state of Gabon, Gabonese ATR operator Afrijet rebranded and relaunched itself as FlyGabon, a new flag carrier for the Central African country. Founded in 2004, Afrijet saw its role as providing a new national carrier, after the demise of Air Gabon in 2006. The launch of FlyGabon was part of the Gabonese government’s strategy to revitalize its air transport sector, coming in the wake of the government acquiring a majority stake in Afrijet through a company called Fly Gabon Holdings.
Following the move, Afrijet was to operate under a new FlyGabon brand. The newly launched carrier aims to serve all nine provinces of Gabon once airport infrastructure meets commercial standards, enhancing accessibility and offering affordable pricing to help combat the high cost of living.
#flygabon pic.twitter.com/VoG2OcMMC2
— Dworaczek-Bendome (@DworaczekBendom) June 16, 2024
FlyGabon initially operated a single ATR 72-600 aircraft, with a capacity of 72 passengers, with its first flight taking place on August 31, 2024. A second ATR has since joined the airline’s fleet for further regional flights.
In late 2024, the nascent airline received its first jet aircraft in the form of the 2004-built Airbus A320 ZS-GAB, a former Etihad Airways machine. The addition of this leased aircraft has allowed FlyGabon to commence international flights from the capital city of Libreville to Johannesburg in South Africa. According to the carrier, it aims to add further narrowbody jets to its fleet over the coming years, bringing the total to six aircraft by 2031.
Meanwhile, staying within the continent of Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) saw the birth of a new carrier in the form of Mont Gabaon Airlines. Based in the capital city of Kinshasa, the airline operates domestic scheduled flights to Goma, Lubumbashi, and Kinshasa using an eclectic fleet of wet-leased aircraft, including a 33-year-old Boeing 737-500, a 16-year-old ATR72 and a 34-year-old Boeing 767-200ER leased from Air Zimbabwe.
Little else is known about the airline at present, with its website proving to be rather rudimentary, to say the least. The airline has said that it hopes to expand beyond the borders of the DRC in the future, with more Boeing 737s set to join the airline in 2025.
✈️ One of Air Zimbabwe’s two parked Boeing 767s is back in service – but now flying DRC colours for new airline Mont Gabaon Airlines. The 767, tail number Z-WPF, still spots its name Chimanimani. It flew from Harare to Goma on May 4
📸 @ArcelvandenBerg pic.twitter.com/mNPOadml7V
— ZimLive (@zimlive) May 5, 2024
Over in South America, Brazil saw the launch of an all-new cargo-only airline in 2024. Levu Air Cargo. The carrier, ‘Levu Transporte Aéreo e Logística’ to give it its full name, has its headquarters in Campinas, Sao Paulo, and forms the Brazilian arm of German Logistics giant DHL, transporting express parcels and other time-critical items around the Brazilian domestic market.
To get off the ground, the private owners of Levu Air Cargo announced an initial investment of $103 million to acquire four aircraft into its fleet, all of which would be operated under contract to DHL. In May 2024, the airline received its first aircraft in the form of Airbus A321P2F, registration PS-LVU, leased from European ACMI operator SmartLynx Airlines.
The airline’s second aircraft, an Airbus A330-300P2F (to be registered PR-LVU) is currently in Chateauroux, France, in the process of being converted from a passenger to a freighter variant. Currently, the carrier is operating regular cargo flights on behalf of DHL between Campinas, Recife, and Manaus in Brazil using its sole A321P2F.
Another cargo-only startup in 2024 was Euroavia Airlines, based at Larnaca International Airport (LCA) in Cyprus. Established in April 2024, the airline operates a single Boeing 767-300ER converted freighter, leased from Air Transport Services Group. The aircraft, registered 5B-DEE, is 32 years old, having first taken to the skies with German leisure airline Condor in 1992. It was operated by Condor until June 2023, at which point it was converted into a freighter variant before being delivered to Euroavia on August 13, 2024.
The airline operates cargo charter flights across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, with the aircraft having most recently operated regular flights between the Cypriot airports of Larnaca and Paphos, plus sectors to Dubai in the UAE.
EuroAvia Airlines🇨🇾
5B-DEE (ex.N437CM)
ex,D-ABUAB767-330/ER(BDSF)(WL)
LN/455 (32.0years)ILN-SNN-LCA delivery
キプロス🇨🇾に初のB767-300ERが導入されたようです。 pic.twitter.com/bVbxJ1N9MP
— 𝐕𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐀 (@Vespina_ZZ336) August 13, 2024
Having almost reached the end of a rather short list of 2024 airline startups, we now revisit two brands that we have already seen earlier in this article, albeit in slightly different guises.
Back in the Caribbean (and previously mentioned in the ‘Casualties’ section), LIAT failed at the start of 2024. However, out of the ashes of that carrier came a newcomer, based on its predecessor but operated as an entirely new legal entity. As such, LIAT 20 is a new inter-island airline serving multiple islands in the Caribbean Sea. With a route network that emulates that flown by its earlier incarnation, LIAT20 was initially incorporated in Antigua and Barbuda in July 2020 in collaboration with private Nigerian airline Air Peace.
Air Peace holds a 70% stake in the company and has been responsible for the leasing of the new Embraer E145s that are being used for the airline’s initial routes. Air Peace and the government of Antigua and Barbuda invested $65 million and $20 million, respectively. The airline received its first two new Embraer E145s in April 2024 and inter-island connections were prioritized, with the government looking to reprise previous LIAT routes, including those to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
LIAT20’s inaugural flight to Port-of-Spain receives the traditional water cannon salute at Piarco International Airport. The Embraer ERJ-145, operating as 5L365, arrived at the Piarco International Airport just after 9:30am on Thursday. This marks the start of a 5x weekly service… pic.twitter.com/AD41MIUyuj
— CNC3TV (@CNC3TV) December 19, 2024
The airline commenced operations on August 6, 2024, with an inaugural flight to Castries, Saint Lucia. The airline now serves a total of 25 routes to 10 destinations in 10 countries across the Caribbean with its pair of Embraer 145 regional jets. The airline also expects to receive its first ATR42-600 shortly, to operate on islands with shorter runways.
Finally, we end with one of Europe’s newest flag carriers – KM Malta Airlines. Born out of the demise of the aforementioned Maltese national carrier Air Malta (see above), KM Malta Airlines operated its first flight on March 31, 2024, and has since developed a Europewide network that largely mirrors that flown by its predecessor.
Currently, the airline operates flights to 17 airports across 15 key European cities from Malta – Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Catania, Dusseldorf, London (Heathrow and Gatwick), Lyon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris (Charles De Gaulle and Orly), Prague, Rome, Rome, Vienna, and Zurich. The current fleet sees seven former Air Malta Airbus A320neos being deployed on all routes.
Summary
With such an array of carriers entering and leaving our skies during 2024, the global airline landscape has changed once again. Heading into 2025, and with geopolitical and economic environments the way they are, we are highly likely to see further changes in the year to come.
There will probably be more casualties as certain airlines fail to keep a firm eye on their costs and rising debt levels, while others will simply not attract enough fare-paying passengers to survive. Of the newcomers welcomed in 2024, some will stand the test of time and make a great success of their business models, while others may even feature on our list of casualties when 2025 draws to a close twelve months from now.
Either way, history tells us that as we enter a new year of commercial airline operations, there will always be winners and losers, although only time will tell which category each is set to fall into.