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Travel Daily News
23-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Daily News
Slovakia's largest airline AirExplore marks 15 years in business
Founded in 2010 with one aircraft, AirExplore marks 15 years of growth, pioneering ACMI leasing, expanding globally, and joining Avia Solutions Group. The aviation industry in Europe has seen and weathered many crises over the last decades – from the financial crash of 2008 to the COVID-19 pandemic. And while these large-scale events led to the demise of many airlines, they also created the conditions for new players to soar. One of such examples is AirExplore – founded in 2010 with just one Boeing 737-400 aircraft, it has grown to become Slovakia's largest airline. With a fleet of 16 aircraft and with over 9 million passengers carried by the end of 2024, today AirExplore marks 15 years in operation – a time period which saw the entire business transform and pivot multiple times. Humble beginnings The company was founded by a group of aviation enthusiasts and former employees of several bankrupt Slovak airlines at a time when the local industry was in shambles. With limited resources, the company had to be creative, scrappy and inventive to get things moving. Even their first aircraft came from an unexpected source – a German aquarium equipment manufacturer, whose owner had purchased a Boeing 737-400 as a birthday present for his daughter. While they were looking for a buyer, it took persistence and enthusiasm to convince the owner that the fledgling Slovak company was a safe bet. 'As there were no direct flights to their city, we literally chipped in and paid a friend of ours to take us there on his Cessna. In three days we signed the agreement, and in about a month we got the plane to Slovakia. That was how it all started,' says Martin Stulajter, CEO of AirExplore, who was only 25 years old when their business began. 'Looking back at our journey, I think it was actually the best time to start an airline in 2010. Before AirExplore, I worked for another airline that did not survive the financial crisis of 2008. Unlike them, we began our operations when the market was starting to recover, which gave us a great boost.' Pioneering the ACMI business model Since day one, AirExplore has had a vision of operating their business in a way different from other airlines in the region. Rather than try and operate as a traditional carrier, they chose to focus on other airlines as clients, bringing them a cooperation model that is now commonly known as ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) leasing. If today, leasing a part of the fleet is a common practice for airlines seeking to maximise their potential during peak season, back in 2010 it took effort and education to get airlines onboard. 'When we started, the ACMI model was just emerging and many airlines weren't familiar with its advantages. We had to educate potential clients about how this approach could help them manage seasonal demand without the financial burden of owning additional aircraft that's underutilised during the low season,' explains Stulajter. AirExplore was one of the pioneers of ACMI services not just in the CEE region but in Europe as a whole. A defining milestone came in 2015, when the company became the first ACMI provider for Ryanair, Europe's largest airline. 'We were already in business for five years at that point but partnering with Ryanair brought a lot of learning opportunities. The experience taught us how to be very cost-effective and efficient, how to be quick, and how to use all the digital tools to ensure 20-minute turnarounds,' explains Stulajter. The partnership even influenced Ryanair's network development, with AirExplore helping to establish the carrier's Bratislava base. 15 years of growth The ability of AirExplore to adjust to changes proved helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it pivoted to transport essential medical supplies, conduct humanitarian flights, and facilitate repatriation missions while passenger services were curtailed. Over the years it has been in operation, AirExplore has achieved an impressive track record: 72,087 flights operated, 202,211 block hours accumulated, and over 9 million passengers carried by the end of 2024. From its initial 50 employees, the company has expanded to over 400 staff in 2025, representing 26 different nationalities. The airline's fleet has also grown accordingly, from a single aircraft to 16 Boeing 737-800s today. Since entering cargo operations in 2022, the company has transported nearly 30,000 tons of cargo, significantly strengthening its position in both passenger and cargo markets. Today, the company's global footprint extends to regions as diverse as Palau in the Pacific, Taiwan in Asia, Surinam in South America, and numerous African countries. Throughout its history, AirExplore has served dozens of clients across four continents, maintaining the highest safety standards with IOSA certification since 2015. Taking operations to a truly global leve A transformative moment in AirExplore's history came in June 2023 when it was acquired by Avia Solutions Group, the world's largest ACMI provider operating a fleet of 221 aircraft. 'After joining Avia Solutions Group, it took us less than a year to double our fleet,' Stulajter notes. 'We also learned to become more systematic in the way we manage the company, incorporating data at every stage of the decision making process'. The partnership brought not just access to capital but also a wide network of connections across the group and beyond it. This collaboration has accelerated AirExplore's expansion, with the company recently receiving approval from the US Department of Transportation to operate commercial flights to and within the United States. 'This is a fantastic moment for AirExplore as we continue to grow our international presence,' Stulajter remarks. 'The approval reflects the benefits of being backed by Avia Solutions Group and presents exciting opportunities for our future development.' Expanding reach The ACMI model continues to gain importance as airlines seek operational flexibility without high capital expenditure. 'There is a lot of uncertainty in the market, and with OEMs struggling to deliver orders, the issue of capacity has never been this acute. As ACMI providers, we can solve this headache and help airlines maximize profitability,' observes Stulajter. Looking beyond Europe, AirExplore is expanding its focus to emerging markets with significant growth potential, particularly in Asia and Africa. The company is investing in sustainability initiatives, including exploring sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) to reduce its carbon footprint. Looking toward the future, Stulajter's aspirations remain anchored in a passion for aviation rather than purely financial metrics. 'My ultimate goal is to keep the company running, to keep the company growing, and to make sure that we are always a preferred provider to our clients. We are becoming one of the oldest airlines ever in Slovakia. I'd like to see AirExplore in the air as long as possible.' From a single aircraft secured through an unlikely connection to Slovakia's aviation success story, AirExplore's journey embodies the power of entrepreneurial vision, adaptability, and technical excellence in the ever-evolving world of aviation.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Another cargo airline downsizes operations as parcel business dries up
AirExplore, a Slovakia-based contract carrier for other airlines, is disengaging from cargo flying because of limited demand for narrowbody freighters and will focus on its passenger business, FreightWaves has learned. The news follows other recent examples of small or midsize airlines that provide supplemental capacity to network carriers discontinuing or downsizing cargo operations amid a glut of standard-size freighters and stagnant parcel volumes. AirExplore, a subsidiary of Lithuanian-owned holding company Avia Solutions Group, earlier this month issued a vague statement about changing its approach to cargo operations to align with market conditions. The statement was buried in a news release about airlines securing additional airlift from third-party providers to keep up with travel demand. The airline is reducing its cargo fleet by two or three aircraft, returning aircraft to lessors and subleasing some units to other carriers because of the slowdown in business, spokesperson Silvije Sileike said in an email message. It continues to seek long-term transportation service agreements for its remaining aircraft.'We were presuming that the e-commerce and narrow-body freighter market would grow more significantly after Covid, but the situation in the market is not as we expected. Currently, we are optimizing our fleet and focusing on the passenger business,' she explained. As recently as last month, AirExplore's operating fleet included eight Boeing 737-800 converted freighter aircraft. It added some cargo jets last year and in November earned U.S. approval to begin passenger and cargo operations in U.S. airspace under a conditional foreign carrier permit using large aircraft on charter from other providers. Aircraft tracking site Flightradar24 shows only two cargo jets currently in operation – one in Europe and one in Africa. The database shows three aircraft are in parked status. Sileike said AirExplore has leased one freighter aircraft to Allied Air Nigeria, which operates for DHL Express in Africa, and another to Ascend Airways Malaysia, a new carrier owned by Avia Solutions Group that expects to begin operations late this year. Air Ascend Malaysia, a business-to-business passenger and cargo airline, is waiting for Malaysian authorities to issue an air operators rethink about air cargo operations is not unique. Sister company SmartLynx Airlines is shelving its fleet of Airbus A321 narrowbody freighters after losing a contract with DHL Express in Europe and having difficulty finding other customers. It too is returning planes to lessors, placing some aircraft with affiliated companies and subleasing to other carriers. Avia Solutions Group last year shut down Iceland-based Bluebird Nordic, which operated Boeing 737-400 and 737-800 converted freighters, because it couldn't generate enough business during and after the airfreight downturn that lasted until the second half of 2023. The airline, which provided crewed aircraft to DHL, FedEx, UPS and other airlines, returned its fleet to lessors. Canadian passenger airline WestJet closed its freighter division, which utilized four 737-800s, after one year because it couldn't generate enough business providing scheduled cargo service. Global Crossing Airlines in Miami last year capped its freighter fleet at four Airbus A321 freighters because of thin business but has recently seen a pickup in demand. Miami-based Amerijet, which operates larger Boeing 767 converted freighters, cut its fleet in half over the past two years and currently runs about 11 aircraft. Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch. SmartLynx Airlines disbanding cargo charter fleet Icelandic cargo airline Bluebird Nordic shuts downThe post Another cargo airline downsizes operations as parcel business dries up appeared first on FreightWaves.
