Ukrainian low-cost airline SkyUp became the seventh fastest growing airline in Europe in terms of Network Growth in 2018–2019, according to the latest Anker Report.
Ryanair, an Irish low-cost airline, took first place in the ranking, as it reportedly added 417 new destinations to its schedule, including 40 from Ukraine.
AirFrance was runner-up with 192 new destinations. WizzAir, an Eastern European low-cost carrier popular with Ukrainians, took third in the ranking, launching 121 new flights.
SkyUp comes just behind EasyJet, a British low-cost airline, with 93 new routes from Ukraine.
The report refers to SkyUp as an “impressive newcomer” and compares the new airline with famous, low-cost budget airlines such as Ryanair and WizzAir, both popular airlines within Ukraine.
Along with being one of the fastest-growing airlines, the Anker Report also ranks SkyUp as one of the airlines that have had the biggest effect on airports where they previously had not worked. The report puts SkyUp on its “biggest new bases for airlines in 2019” list.
Leading the way is Ryanair at London SouthEnd Airport, with 2,231 flights in 2019. Then comes LOT Polish Airlines at London City Airport with 1,536 flights, followed by WizzAir’s new base in Krakow, adding 1,415. At number four is SkyUp, which added 1,362 flights to Kyiv Boryspil Airport.
SkyUp’s launch was first announced in December 2017 by Ukraine’s ex-Minister of Infrastructure, Volodymyr Omelyan. Ticket sales for the airline began in April 2018.
The company started operations on May 21, 2018 with cheap flights from Kyiv’s Zhuliany Airport to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, a popular holiday destination for Ukrainians.
In summer 2019, the airline then moved its main base to Boryspil Airport, Ukraine’s largest international airport.
The airline provides cheap flights to popular summer destinations like Barcelona, Spain and Tenerife, Canary Island, and recently announced on Facebook a list of direct flights to destinations that were previously only available through connecting flights. These include direct flights to the Greek islands Heraklion (Crete island), Corfu and Zakytnthos.
Direct flights to Corfu, for example, are available to buy from May 30. A round trip costs from Hr 5,700 (around $230), which is Hr 1,200 (around $50) cheaper than what a non-direct flight to Corfu would have cost a week earlier.
SkyUp also offers the cheapest tickets to other popular destinations. A round trip to Rome, for example, cost only Hr 3,700 ($150).
The main shareholders of the company are ACS-Ukraine Ltd, Tetyana Alba and Yuri Alba who are all owners of JoinUp!, a leading tour operator in Ukraine with more than 40 of its own destinations.
Frequently in news
SkyUp has made the news often.
First, Olena Lytvynenko, a controversial judge, was fired by the High Council of Justice, the Ukrainian judiciary’s highest governing body, on Jan. 9 over a case related to SkyUp.
In 2019, Lytvynenko suspended SkyUp’s license on the grounds that the airline allegedly provided customers with poor service, failed to adhere to Oksana Pasenko. However, investigative journalists later discovered that Pasenko had never set foot on any of SkyUp’s planes — or any airplane, for that matter — suggesting that the case was a sham and her identity was likely stolen to file it.
Then, SkyUp announced that, starting on Feb. 1, it would suspend all its flights to Sharjah, a city in the United Arab Emirates, due to the recent closure of airspace over Iran and Iraq. On Jan. 9, Iran shot down a Ukraine International Airlines flight that had just taken off from Tehran, killing all 167 people on board.
“The need to fly around the territories of these countries increased the flight duration and also caused the need for refueling. This creates inconveniences for passengers and also provokes changes in the schedule of other flights,” SkyUp stated on Facebook on Jan. 17, adding that it will fully reimburse tickets that have already been purchased to Sharjah.
Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China, the airline has also announced that it will be halting its flights to China between Feb. 3 and March 28, 2020.
“The safety of our tourists is our highest priority,” the airline said.
JoinUp! also announced on Jan. 27 that it will “return our tourists from Hainan,” a Chinese province, on Jan. 29 and Feb. 1, 2020.
