The potential low-cost airline Koala Airlines wants to enter the extremely demanding Australian market and is trying to compete with the established providers with a “fundamentally” different strategy.
The Melbourne-based operator says it is “finalising negotiations to acquire a fleet that will enable us to upgrade our air operator certificate to the new aircraft type”.
While the airline does not disclose which new aircraft it is, images on its website show the airline’s livery on a Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. The size of the airline’s fleet is also not disclosed.
It is also unclear when the airline plans to start operations, but it looks like it will operate domestic flights first.
Koala’s planned market entry comes at a turbulent time for the Australian aviation industry: in May, low-cost airline Bonza collapsed amid growing financial problems, and Regional Express ceased its main flight operations when it was forced to file for bankruptcy.
“Koala’s strategy will be fundamentally different from that of previous market participants in a home market that has long been dominated by two major airlines,” it says.
“While many new low-cost airlines have entered the market since 1990 and focused exclusively on offering cheaper fares, which almost exclusively led to unsustainable competition, Koala is taking a more innovative approach,” the airline adds.
To that end, the airline intends to “carve out a unique niche” for itself in the Australian aviation sector – a strategy not dissimilar to that of the now-defunct Bonza, which avoided the “Golden Triangle” routes of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in favour of underserved routes between smaller cities.
Koala was founded in 2018 by Bill Astling, an aviation veteran with over 40 years of experience in the industry. According to an article on Koala’s website, Astling has held senior positions at airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and Singapore Airlines.
In 2019, the airline purchased air travel and charter operator Desert Air Safaris, paving the way for its later renaming.
FlightGlobal has contacted the airline for further comment.
