Flying On Airlines You’ve Never Heard Of Is Always Interesting
Maybe you might try to avoid flying on airlines you’ve never heard of. In my travels, it’s been unavoidable at times. For better or worse, flying on airlines you’ve never heard of is always interesting. Here’s a look at some of the “is that a real airline?” flights I’ve taken and what made them memorable.
Air Cubana – Cuba
I flew Air Cubana between Cancun, Mexico and Havana, Cuba in 2016. The first thing I noticed was the huge amount of stuff people were bringing to check in. Turns out the checked baggage limit is 100 kilos / 220 pounds per person. That’s a lot of stuff!
I was also shocked by the lack of anything on the outside of the plane. No markings, no logos, not even the name of the company. Nothing. Just this black plane. Airbus 320 with no info, get on board!
The flight was what you’d expect. Drink service, friendly flight attendants, and announcements from the pilot. It was all very normal, despite being my first trip on something I’d consider “airlines you’ve never heard of”.
Air Koryo – North Korea
I wrote a review of this airline previously, which you can see here. This might even be a dubious inclusion, since a lot of people have heard of this airline for the fact it was “the only 1-star airline in the world” for a while.
When I flew with them in 2016, Air Koryo included a light snack service, drink service, and very professional crew. The flight attendants and pilots made all of your standard announcements. The thing that really stuck out was the entertainment system. It plays only one thing: propaganda videos from military bands singing about them being the greatest country.
Yeti Airlines – Nepal
Yeti Airlines definitely fits into “airlines you’ve never heard of”, because we hadn’t even heard of it when we were booking the tickets. From Kathmandu (the capital) we booked a trip down to Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal in 2019. Between insane traffic and winding roads through the mountains, it took over 7 hours by bus.
In order to have more time at the park before returning 2 days later, we looked up what flights might exist. Imagine our surprising finding a 20-minute jump over the mountain on Yeti Airways. Some quick Googling found it to be a real airline with a reliable schedule. The 20-minute ride cost $100 each, but that’s better than a 7-hour bus ride on roads you didn’t trust. Fair warning: the wind gust over the mountain on the Yeti Airlines flight isn’t for anyone who gets motion sickness.
Precision Air – Tanzania
Precision Air runs tons of domestic connections in Tanzania, and we flew 2 of them earlier this month. The oddest thing about them is the boarding process: you board through the rear door. There is no front door! Instead, that’s where they pile up all of the luggage.
All of their flights are turbo-prop planes, and they don’t turn on the air vents / A/C until the very last moment. Avoid boarding first, because it gets super hot inside the plane. Flight crew are friendly enough, but their ground staff leaves a LOT to be desired. They won’t even follow the rules about baggage on the sign they’re standing next to. Instead, they’ll try to charge people for breaking luggage rules that they’re inventing on the spot. You’ll pay it, because the other option is not taking the flight. Like I said, flying on airlines you’ve never heard of is always interesting—doesn’t mean that “interesting” is always in a good connotation!
Trans-Maldivian Airways
If you visited The Maldives and had to take a sea plane from the capital out to the island where your hotel is, you flew on Trans-Maldivian Airways. We flew them in 2019 when we stayed at the W Maldives. The crew are friendly and helpful, and the pilots are professional. Their entire livery is all seaplanes that take off and land on the water.
AND BOY ARE THEY LOUD! Before takeoff, crew will hand out ear plugs. Use them. Even with the earplugs in, the sound inside the plane is deafening. The views, though…they can’t be beat.
I’d always thought taking a flight on a seaplane would be interesting. It was, but I don’t hope to do it again.
Other Notable Experiences On Airlines You’ve Never Heard Of
Other notable experiences I’ve had are in countries where Islam is the official / majority religion. On Royal Brunei Air Airlines between Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia & Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, the pilot led a prayer over the intercom before takeoff. Biman Bangladesh and Oman Air had prayer videos that played on the personal entertainment system before takeoff. After takeoff, though, the flights felt totally normal in terms of plane features, meal service, etc. Coming from a country without an official religion, this was totally new for me.
Then there are the airlines that charge you for everything, of which Spirit and RyanAir might be the most famous. What about Viva Aerobus (Colombia & Mexico) or even Air Asia (all over Southeast Asia), where ground staff rigorously measure & weigh hand luggage, hoping to charge you for excess? The funniest experience, though, was a flight on Air Asia between Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia & Taipei, Taiwan with my wife in 2019. They CRANKED UP the A/C on the flight. Interestingly, they rent blankets and sell hot items like coffee, tea & soup. They made a killing that day, for sure. We bought 3 “cup-o-noodles” and a hot tea during the 2-hour flight, just to keep warm!
Final Thoughts
Flying on airlines you’ve never heard of is a real grab bag of what you might get. Sometimes, it’s totally normal, and you forget it’s some off-brand flight. Everything feels like what you expect with crew, service, and standards. Other times, you wonder if you’re putting your life at risk or questioning just how gullible the crew thinks you are after you fall for their “sell stuff to tourists” ploys.
Regardless, the unexpected nature of flying on airlines you’ve never heard of isn’t for everyone. The unpredictability is why some will love it and others will hate it.
Let me know if you’ve ever flown on any airlines that your friends didn’t know existed.
Lower Spend - Chase Ink Business Preferred® 100K!
Chase Ink Business Preferred® is a powerful card that earns 3X Ultimate Rewards points in a broad range of business categories on the first $150K in spend per year. Right now earn 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards points after Learn more about this card and its features!
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
I learned also my lesson with Asian airlines. I always wear a sweater when fly with them. Cebu pacific, Air asia or Vietjet. My unusual airlines were Air Bagan-Myanmar, Air Niugini-PnG and not so unusual Merpati adn Sriwijaya air(yes the one who crashed)-Indonesia.
My wife and I now pack layers for flights, because it’s so unpredictable. Are we going to burn up, or will we be making a snowman during the flight?
Small detail: it is Royal Brunei Airlines
Clean planes, cool crew uniforms, and an efficient home airport.
Oops, thanks. Agree on everything you said, good flying experience.
In 1973 I flew on Ariana Afghan Airlines on what would now be called a fifth freedom flight: Lahore, Pakistan to Amritsar, India, an air distance of 27 miles. Relationships between Pakistan and India then were in a cool but thawing stage: it was impossible for us to get Indian tourist visas in Pakistan for travel overland. Problem solved as India then offered 21-day visas upon arrival for air travelers. Yes, the flight was very brief, but astoundingly they offered beverage service: a quick gulp down before they came to collect the glasses.
More recently, in February 2016, I flew on Air KBZ, a mostly domestic Myanmar airline from Yangon to Mandalay. Fortunately, boarding from the very funky, old domestic terminal at RGN was delayed by a couple of hours, and for unknown reasons. I say fortunate as my incoming baggage had been delayed due to an aircraft fire on another airline (and another ticket) earlier that day. In trying to straighten that out, I was the source of even more confusion at RGN by calling the Myanmar airline KB “Zee”, in the American style, instead of KB “Zed”, in the international style. Just before boarding started on my KBZ flight, my baggage arrived and KBZ was able to load it ok. Once airborne, the flight was as good as any.
JT – one thing I’ve learned about flying in India, and my friends from India confirm, is that passengers INSIST there must be on-board service. It doesn’t surprise me you had a drink on that short flight. I’ve had meals on 40min flights in India! Those were great stories. Thanks for sharing!
Flew on Somon Air Tajikistan from Almaty to Dushanbe a few years ago on a 737-200. Interesting fact their CEO is an Ex Delta Captain.
That’s a great one! How was it?