SkyUp


SkyUp Airlines LLC is a Ukrainian charter and low-cost airline, which began its operation in May 2018.

History

In 2016, SkyUp became a registered company in Kiev, Ukraine. On 14 December 2017, Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan announced the launch of a new national private air carrier named SkyUp Airlines. The main shareholders of the company were ACS-Ukraine Ltd, Tetyana Alba and Yuri Alba, who also owned the tour operator Join UP!, which was expected to cooperate with the airline to provide charter flights for holiday packages.
Plans for the first year included concentrating on international charter flights to popular summer destinations, as well as scheduled flights within Ukraine and to several international destinations. Tickets sales were set to begin in April 2018. SkyUp also intends to cooperate with Ukraine International Airlines.
The company started operations on 21 May 2018 with a flight from Kyiv-Zhuliany to Sharm El Sheikh.
On 20 February 2020, one of the airline's planes was chartered by the Ukrainian government to evacuate citizens from Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Destinations

At its launch the airline intended to operate charter flights from both Kiev-Boryspil and Kiev-Zhuliany, as well as Kharkiv, Lviv, Odessa and other cities in Ukraine to a total of sixteen destinations: Alicante, Antalya, Barcelona, Bodrum, Burgas, Dalaman, Dubai, Hurghada, Larnaca, Palma de Mallorca, Nice, Rimini, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife, Tivat, Tel Aviv and Varna. Following the launch of the charter operations, the airline planned to commence domestic services from Odessa to Kiev, Kharkiv and Lviv in late May or early June 2018. The airline also intended to operate international services from Kiev to Barcelona, Dubai and Larnaca.
In February 2019, the airline announced it would be moving its main base from the Zhuliany to Boryspil from the beginning on the summer schedule. The airline said that the decision to change the home airport was made due to restrictions on the operation of aircraft at Zhuliany Airport.

Fleet

As of October 2019, SkyUp Airlines operates the following aircraft:


In March 2018, SkyUp Airlines and Boeing finalised a firm order for the purchase of two Boeing 737 8 MAX and three Boeing 737 MAX 10 due to be delivered in 2023. Additionally the airline has the option to purchase another five aircraft.