A boutique airline is an airline that differentiates from the competition through unique customer experience and personalization.
In the same way as boutique hotels, boutique airlines are equally appropriate for business and vacation travel. It is a category of its own, with a focus on lifestyle branding, and thus positions airline outside the traditional segmentation of four- and five-star airlines.
For traveling, the definition of boutique comes from the term boutique hotels, which refers to intimate and stylish establishments providing luxurious experiences. [1] Generally, boutique also refers to themed lifestyle or design hotels as a contrast to large hotel brands that focus on comfort and convenience in standardized packages.
Skift lists Singapore Airlines, Fiji Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Korean Air, Emirates, Finnair, Etihad Airways, TAP Air Portugal, Saudia, Qatar Airways, Virgin Australia, All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways International, Gulf Air, and Scandinavian Airlines as boutique airlines. [2] La Compagnie, BermudAir, Bangkok Airways, AirSWIFT and Sunlight Air describe themselves as boutique airlines. [3] [4]
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is the main international airport serving Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. It is located in the Sepang District of Selangor, approximately 45 km (28 mi) south of downtown Kuala Lumpur and serves the city's greater conurbation.
Thai Airways International plc (Thai: บริษัท การบินไทย จำกัด is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. Formed in 1961, the airline has its corporate headquarters in Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chatuchak district, Bangkok, and primarily operates from Suvarnabhumi Airport. THAI is a founding member of the Star Alliance. The airline is the second-largest shareholder of the low-cost carrier Nok Air with a 15.94 per cent stake, and it launched a regional carrier under the name Thai Smile in the middle of 2012 using new Airbus A320 aircraft. In 2023, it was announced that Thai Smile would be merged back into Thai Airways.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. was one of the largest companies that owned, operated, franchised and managed hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties. It was acquired by Marriott International in 2016. Starwood was founded in 1969 as a real estate investment trust. In 1995, it was acquired and reorganized by Barry Sternlicht, who was its chairman until 2005 and founder of the Starwood Capital Group. Starwood had 11 brands and owned, managed, or franchised 1,297 properties comprising 370,000 hotel rooms in approximately 100 countries.
Suvarnabhumi Airport is the main international airport serving Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Located mostly in Racha Thewa subdistrict, Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan province, it covers an area of 3,240 ha, making it one of the biggest international airports in Southeast Asia and a regional hub for aviation. The airport is also a major Cargo Air Freight Hub, which has a designated Airport Free Zone, as well as road links to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) on Motorway 7.
A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North America, most regional airlines are classified as "fee-for-departure" carriers, operating their revenue flights as codeshare services contracted by one or more major airline partners. A number of regional airlines, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, were classified as commuter airlines in the Official Airline Guide (OAG).
EVA Airways Corporation is a Taiwanese international airline headquartered in Taoyuan City. It is one of the two largest airlines in Taiwan along with state-owned China Airlines. The privately owned airline operates passenger and dedicated cargo services to over 40 international destinations in Asia, Australia, Europe & North America. Its network fully consists of international routes, with no domestic routes. It is rated as a 5-star airline by Skytrax, and is the second largest airline based in Taiwan after China Airlines. EVA Air is headquartered at Taoyuan International Airport in Luzhu, Taoyuan City. The company slogan is "Sharing the World, Flying Together".
A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called no-frills, budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fares. To make up for revenue lost in decreased ticket prices, the airline may charge extra fees, such as for carry-on baggage. As of April 2020, the world's largest low-cost carrier is Southwest Airlines, which operates primarily in the United States, as well as in some surrounding areas.
Bangkok Airways plc is a boutique airline based in Bangkok, Thailand. It operates scheduled services to destinations in Thailand, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar, Singapore, and Vietnam. Its main base is Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport with focus city operations at Palma de Mallorca Airport and Tenerife North Airport. Air Europa flies to over 44 destinations in Spain, the rest of Europe, South America, North America, the Caribbean, Morocco and Tunisia. Since September 2007, Air Europa has been member of the SkyTeam alliance.
Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide.
Oman Air is the flag carrier of Oman. Based at Muscat International Airport in Muscat, it operates domestic and international passenger services, as well as regional air taxi and charter flights.
Boutique hotels are small-capacity hotels that provide more personalized service than typical hotels. They typically have fewer than a hundred rooms, and are considered more "trendy" and "intimate", often due to their location in urban areas. They may be themed, such as by having a focus on nature, environment, cuisine, history, community and cultural immersion, attentive service, or well-being.
Opodo is a Spanish-owned online travel agency which offers deals in regular and charter flights, low-cost airlines, hotels, car rental, dynamic packages, holiday packages and travel insurance. It is a pan-European enterprise, founded by a consortium of European airlines, including British Airways, Air France, Alitalia, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus, Austrian Airlines and Finnair. The travel technology provider Amadeus owned 99.4% of the company until 2011, when it was taken over by eDreams ODIGEO.
Myanmar Airways International Co., Ltd. is a privately owned airline headquartered in Yangon, Myanmar. It operates scheduled international services to destinations mainly in Southeast Asia and is based at Yangon International Airport. Myanmar Airways International was the sponsor of the 2013 Southeast Asian Games. MAI's logo shows pyinsarupa, a traditional Burmese chimeric animal.
Ancillary revenue is revenue that is derived from goods or services other than a company's primary product offering. Examples include concessions at sporting events, baggage handling or seat selection revenue received by airlines, restaurant revenue received by hotel owners, and car-wash services sold by gas stations. Ancillary revenue may exceed primary revenues, leading to changes in business models.
Agoda.com is an online travel agency catering primarily to consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, registered and headquarters in Singapore with operations in Bangkok, Thailand. Agoda facilitates reservations for accommodation, flights, ground transportation, and activities. It is a subsidiary of Booking Holdings.
eDreams ODIGEO is a Spanish online travel company that was formed in 2011 as the successor of eDreams with the merger of online travel agencies eDreams and GO Voyages, and the acquisition of Opodo.
Trip.com is a multinational travel service conglomerate with 45,000 employees. It is one of the world's largest online travel agencies with over 400 million users worldwide, and also the parent of Skyscanner. It is headquartered in Singapore.
Curio Collection by Hilton is an upscale hotel brand within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio.
Autograph Collection is an American group of independent upper-upscale to luxury hotels within the Marriott International portfolio. The properties are independently owned and operated under the Autograph Collection name.