Prospective low-cost operator Koala Airlines aims to enter the highly challenging Australian market in an attempt to take on incumbents with a “fundamentally” different strategy.
The Melbourne-headquartered operator says it is “finalising negotiations to acquire a fleet that will enable our Air Operator’s Certificate to be upgraded with the new aircraft type”.
While the airline does not disclose which aircraft it is looking at, images on its website show a Koala-liveried Boeing 737 Max 8. The planned fleet size is also not revealed.
Also unclear is when the airline hopes to launch operations, which appear initially to centre on domestic flights.
Koala’s prospective market entry comes during a tumultuous few months for the Australian aviation sector: in May low-cost operator Bonza collapsed amid mounting financial issues, while Regional Express wound up its mainline jet operations as it entered administration.
“Koala’s strategy will fundamentally differ from previous entrants in a domestic market which has been long dominated by two major airlines,” it states.
“While many new low-cost carriers have entered the market since 1990 and focused solely on offering cheaper fares, almost entirely leading to unsustainable competition, Koala is taking a more innovative route,” the airline adds.
It intends to “carve out a unique niche” in the Australian airline sector – a strategy not unlike that of now-shuttered Bonza, which eschewed the ‘Golden Triangle’ routes of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for underserved routes between smaller cities.
Koala was founded in 2018 by Bill Astling, an aviation veteran with over 40 years of experience in the sector. Astling has held senior leadership positions in airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and Singapore Airlines, according to Koala’s website.
In 2019, the airline bought air tour and charter operator Desert Air Safaris, paving the way for the eventual rebranding.
FlightGlobal has reached out to the airline for further comment.
