Airline entrepreneurs check-in for pandemic rebound

Bjorn Tore Larsen knows just how hard the path he has chosen will be. Founder of a global maritime services business, the veteran investor announced earlier this year that he was moving into aviation after one of the worst years in the sector’s history. “Some people say that to start an airline, first of all you have to be crazy,” Larsen says. “I’m not sure if that is quite true. But the airline business is very risky. It is very volatile. It’s capital intensive; there is strong competition; and there are a lot of unfortunate casualties in terms of financial disasters.” Larsen’s Norse Atlantic Airways is just one of a clutch of new carriers that are taking wing in 2021 and 2022. Their founders are hoping to capitalise on resurgent interest in travel after Covid-19 pushed the global industry to a record $118bn loss last year as demand plunged by two-thirds. To succeed, these start-ups must carve out profitable niches within a crowded sector by differentiating themselves from existing competitors. By the time Andrew Levy struck out on his own to found Avelo, he had already been helping to differentiate airline brands for decades. The service, which started in late April, is trying in some ways to be an American version of European carrier easyJet: a reliable, low-cost — but not super cheap — alternative for cost-conscious leisure travellers. Levy selected that audience based on lessons learnt from nearly 30 years of experience at three other airlines. First up was Valujet, which he joined six months after its 1993 launch. The low-cost pioneer initially soared, allowing it to become profitable sooner than any US airline in history. Story has more.<br/>