Valkea Airlines
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| Founded | 1935 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 1936 | ||||||
| Hubs | Källälivi | ||||||
| Focus cities | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Verdant Skies | ||||||
| Alliance | Blueworld | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | |||||||
| Parent company | Valkea Airlines Group | ||||||
| Traded as | VLSE: VKAIR | ||||||
| Headquarters | Källälivi, Valkea | ||||||
| Key people |
President and CEO
Chief Financial Officer
Director of Corporate Strategy | ||||||
| Revenue |  $40.06 billion (2019) | ||||||
| Operating income |  $2.07 billion (2019) | ||||||
| Net income | $1.15 billion (2019) | ||||||
| Employees | 134,290 (2019) | ||||||
| Website | valkeaairlines.com | ||||||
Valkea Airlines Oyj, commonly known as Valkea Airlines, is the flag carrier of Valkea and its largest airline. Its global headquarters is located in Källälivi, Valkea, with its global hub located at Källälivi Vuotola Airport. Valkea Airlines serves multiple international and domestic flights and operates a mix of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. It is one of the founding members of Blueworld, a major Astyrian airline alliance.
Valkea Airlines also owns subsidiary passenger airlines such as Aurora Skyways and Diamond Airways, as well as regional carrier Valkea AirExpress and freight company Valkea AirCargo.
History
Founding and early years (1930s-1940s)
Valkea Air Lines was formed in 1935 with the merger of the Valkean Air Transport Company, National Air Line Company, and Itämaa Air Line Company. This merger was done at the behest of the Valkean government to consolidate the country's fledgling airline industry into a single company and provide subsidies more efficiently. Its first passenger air services were carried over from their former component companies, forming a domestic network that connected the cities of Källälivi, Novika, and Mustakivi. The newly formed airline eventually grew its domestic network to reach other major cities such as Dagsmark, Osterlund, and Rintalinna.
Its first international route was created in 1939, flying passengers from Källälivi to Rõlva in Ostrothia with stopovers in Osterlund and Brantevik. This quickly followed with routes to cities in Caledonia and Nynorsk Ostlijord. However, due to the outbreak of the 2nd Great Astyrian War, Valkea Air Lines was unable to start flights outside of Vinstria.
Expansion and Privatization (1950s-1980s)
Valkea Airlines opened the 1950s with the introduction of the Lockheed Constellation, the first widely successful airliner with a pressurized cabin. It was later joined by the Douglas DC-6 in 1951. In 1953, Valkea Airlines became the first airline in Astyria to operate the de Havilland Comet, the world's first commercial jet airliner. However, they were withdrawn from service in April 1954 after several fatal accidents, including a Valkea Airlines Comet 1A.
The Vickers Viscount was introduced in 1955 and was used heavily on its Lorecian routes. In 1960, Valkea Airlines returned to operating jets with the introduction of the Boeing 707 and Sud Aviation Caravelle, followed by the Douglas DC-8 in 1961. It became the first Astyrian airliner to operate a commercial jet service using polar routes with its Källälivi - Jakarta service.
In 1971, Valkea Airlines became an early adopter of the Boeing 747, which flew on long-haul services. Other wide-body aircraft were added to their fleet throughout the 1970s, including the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar trijet in 1976 and the Airbus A300 twinjet in 1977. Around this time, the company adopted a new corporate identity in 1974, with the debut of a new livery for the fleet. Furthermore, it shifted the majority of its operations to the new Vuotola Airport, located 22 km north of Källälivi.
In 1985, the airline was privatized, although the Valkean government continued to maintain a 20% stake in the company.
Valkea Airlines Group (1990s-)
Beginning in 1991, Valkea Airlines underwent a period of restructuring that saw the creation of two new subsidiary companies: Valkea AirCargo and Valkea AirExpress. In 1993, the company was formally reorganized as the Valkea Airlines Group, with Valkea Airlines itself serving as one of its component companies. In 1998, Valkea Airlines underwent another corporate identity change, debuting a new logo and livery as well as renovating its cabins and lounges. On 26 March 1999, Valkea Airlines became a founding member of the Blueworld airline alliance.
Valkea Airlines Group acquired a 24.5% stake in low-cost carrier Aurora Skyways in 1996. This was increased to 33.3% in 1999 and 42.5% in 2003. In October 2005, Valkea Airlines acquired the remainder of Aurora Skyways.
In 2018, Valkea Airlines Group acquired 80% of Diamond Airways for $4.23 billion.
Brand identity
Logo
Valkea Airlines introduced their first official logo in 1953, which features a roundel with a three-striped loop in the shape of a wing alluding to the Valkean flag, superimposed over a ring. This was initially introduced in their promotional material as well as their corporate branding, but it was largely absent from the airline's liveries in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1974, the logo was updated, retaining the wing shape but was fully encircled. The logo came in two variants: a green logo for their official branding and a white logo that was displayed on the tailfin of their aircraft, which had a green base.
In 1998, Valkea Airlines introduced their current logo, designed by Antti Ukkonen. The wing was revised to look more stylized and extend upward, adding a sense of motion, and the ring was removed.
Livery
The first Valkea Airlines liveries featured a bare metal fuselage with a green cheatline running across the side of the aircraft and three green stripes on the tailfin representing the Valkean flag. Above the cheatline was the name of the airline in Valkean (Valkean Lentoyhtiö). With the introduction of jet aircraft in 1961, the livery was updated, featuring a white fuselage with a bare metal underside. The cheatline was retained, while the tailfin was revised with three white stripes on a green background. The name of the airline was rendered in English for the first time and given a new typeface.
The concept was largely retained in the 1974 update, but with some changes. The cheatline was narrowed and moved below the cabin windows while the tailfin replaced the white stripes with the Valkea Airlines logo. The typeface was revised with a blockier look. This livery would appear on Valkea Airlines aircraft from the 1970s to the 1990s. Beginning in 1986, the underside was painted grey instead of being bare metal.
Valkea Airlines underwent a major revision of its liveries in 1998. The livery consisted of an all-white fuselage with a green tailfin sporting the stylized wing logo. The cheatline and grey underside were discarded, and the typeface was updated again, with a futuristic look and in lowercase letters.
As part of their corporate rebranding in 2019, Valkea Airlines' unveiled a new livery. It retained the all-white fuselage, but now featured a cropped and enlarged logo placed on the tail and the rear fuselage. The typeface was changed again, featuring "Valkea" in billboard letters on the forward fuselage as well as on the underside of the aircraft.
Valkea Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
- Air Nederlands Indië
- Arthropol Airlines
- Avbu
- Belmont Airways
- Diamond Airways VA
- Huawan Intercontinental
- KNLM BW
- Nate Air
- Royal Airways BW
- Royal Commonwealth Airways BW
- Royal Nikolian BW
- Skylis BW
- Willitya Air
BW Blueworld member.
VA Part of Valkea Airlines Group.
Fleet
Valkea Airlines currently operates the following mainline aircraft:
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | J | W | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A220-300 | 31 | 28 | — | 12 | 30 | 88 | 130 | |
| Airbus A320neo | 45 | 15 | — | 16 | — | 144 | 160 | |
| Airbus A321neo | 18 | 12 | — | 16 | — | 174 | 190 | 196-seat version used mainly for domestic routes. |
| — | — | 180 | 196 | |||||
| Airbus A321XLR | — | 24 | — | 14 | — | 168 | 182 | First deliveries arriving in Q2 2025. |
| Airbus A330-300 | 11 | — | — | 32 | 24 | 207 | 263 | To be replaced by Airbus A350-900 by 2027. |
| — | 44 | 40 | 195 | 279 | ||||
| Airbus A350-900 | 22 | 28 | — | 48 | 36 | 218 | 302 | To replace all A330-300s and Boeing 777-200ERs by 2030, will replace older Boeing 777-300ERs. |
| Airbus A350-1000 | — | 30 | 4 | 56 | 43 | 226 | 329 | |
| Airbus A380-800 | 12 | — | 12 | 72 | 66 | 348 | 498 | |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 29 | — | 6 | 48 | 32 | 198 | 284 | To be replaced by the Airbus A350-1000 and the Boeing 777-9. |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 18 | — | 6 | 54 | 40 | 216 | 316 | |
| Boeing 777-9 | — | 20 | TBA | Deliveries delayed until 2026. To replace older Boeing 777-300ERs. | ||||
| Boeing 787-9 | 16 | — | 4 | 40 | 32 | 204 | 280 | |
| Total | 202 | 157 | ||||||
Services
Frequent-flyer program
Valkea Airlines' frequent-flyer program is called Verdant Skies. Members may earn points on Valkea Airlines flights as well as on Blueworld partner flights.
Accidents and incidents
This is a list of accidents and incidents involving Valkea Airlines commercial aircraft since 1940.
- On 3 March 1954, Valkea Airlines Flight 207, a de Havilland Comet 1 flying from Källälivi to Rõlva, broke up in mid-air and crashed several kilometers southwest of Helgeboda. All 28 passengers on board died in the accident. Investigators speculated that the loss of Flight 207 was attributed to clear-air turbulence, which could have caused structural failure due to metal fatigue, but it was later attributed to metal fatigue due to repeated cycles of pressurization and depressurization. This cause was also attributed to similar fatal accidents involving Comet aircraft that took place in 1954.
- On 16 August 1983, Valkea Airlines Flight 163, a Boeing 747-200 from Källälivi to Beograd, collided with Royal Nikolian Flight 116, a Boeing 747-100 from Beograd to Telora. The collision occured over Homolj na Dunaju, located 114 km east of Beograd. All 289 passengers on Flight 163 died in the collision, alongside 327 on Flight 116, for a total of 616 fatalities. The Homolj na Dunaju disaster remains the worst accident in Valkea Airlines' history, as well as the deadliest mid-air collision and the deadliest accident in Astyrian aviation history.
- On 8 May 1995, Valkea Airlines Flight 804, a Boeing 747-200 from Kirkland to Källälivi, lost one of its engines shortly after takeoff when the #2 engine pylon detached from the wing and damaged a fuel tank. The aircraft returned to Kirkland Airport safely; all 328 passengers and crew survived with no reported injuries. Subsequent investigations concluded that the separation was due to extreme turbulence, causing excessive load on the pylon.
- On 27 October 2006, Valkea Airlines Flight 87, an Airbus A330-200 from Källälivi to Baltyre, overshot the runway at Baltyre Airport, crashing into an earth embankment. No fatalities were recorded, although one passenger had a serious injury while seven more had minor injuries.
- On 7 February 2018, Valkea Airlines Flight 1155, a Boeing 787-9 bound for Jakarta, aborted takeoff at Källälivi Vuotola Airport due to an uncontained engine failure leading to a fire. All 156 passengers and 13 crew were evacuated from the aircraft; no injuries were reported.