caytoo unearths 33 new airline launches for rights holders to have on their radar when it comes to selling sponsorship

Airlines are a popular target category for rights holders. They’re a near-Top 10 category, accounting for 2.5% of sponsorship deals conducted around the world over the last two years.

This has been driven primarily by Middle Eastern brands such as Emirates and Qatar Airways as well as airlines which get less attention and ‘airplay’ such as Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling and Fiji Airways. Add to that the more ‘traditional’ household names such as US airlines United and Delta and it’s an interesting mix of players.

Despite the very high barriers to entry, there are more new players to the market than people might ordinarily perceive. For instance, around 30 new airlines launched last year in some shape or form.

So, our New Airline Launches report picks out signals from 33 new airlines identified in caytoo’s news-based lead generation platform that launched in 2024 or are doing so in 2025 and beyond. These ‘launches’ are a mixture of airlines:

1. Being founded: such as Alhind Air, a new airline from the Alhind Group, a travel service operator, which has been given approval by India”s Civil Aviation Ministry to develop it. The airline will provide connectivity between regional airports in South India, initially with Kochi to Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai, before expanding to other major Indian cities and international destinations.
2. Having received certification to fly: such as LEVEL, an IAG airline based in Barcelona, which received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC), allowing it to operate independently from Iberia. This marks a significant expansion for LEVEL, enabling autonomous growth and an increase in its fleet. LEVEL will increase its US flight capacity by 9% with 300,000 seats. The expansion involves doubling staff at its Viladecans office and opening recruitment for technical and cabin crew. Future plans include exploring new long-haul markets, particularly Asia.
3. Undergoing rebrands or re-launches: such as Asia Atlantic Airlines which has rebranded to AirThailand. Asia Atlantic Airlines ceased operations in mid-2018. Despite reports of a restart, it never managed to do so but has received a five-year operating licence (OL) and has applied to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand for an air operator’s certificate (AOC). It aims to connect Bangkok to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Tokyo four times per week.
4. Commencing actual flight operations: such as low-cost Japanese airline Toki Air, whose launch was delayed for three-and-a-half years following COVID-related delays. The carrier is based at Niigata Airport and flies to three domestic destinations, but more routes are on the way next year.

So, some are clearly much further along in their journey but they’re all worth having on the radar – depending on where your organisation and audiences are – now and in the months/years to come.

The New Airline Launches report covers 10 airlines in Europe, 14 in Asia, and three in each of Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.

All these 33 launches – plus hundreds of other live leads every single day to help you spark a conversation – come straight from caytoo’s news-based lead generation platform, which you can try out for free.