air A!ps: Connecting Alpine Markets through Turboprop Excellence

air Alps — branded with the distinctive “air A!ps” logotype — was a small Austrian regional airline built around a simple idea: connect hard-to-reach Alpine markets with major hubs and business centres using high-frequency, right-sized turboprops.

Based at Innsbruck Airport, the carrier’s story is one of repeated pivots: from an early partnership with KLM, to an Italy-focused network centred on South Tyrol, and finally to survival through wet-lease and contract flying before liquidation.

The airline was founded in 1998 as air Alps Aviation Alpenländische Luftfahrt GmbH, a joint venture between Switzerland’s Air Engiadina (49%) and Dietmar Leitgeb (51%).

Before the carrier had even taken to the skies, it aligned itself with KLM to offer thrice daily flights from Salzburg and its Innsbruck base to Amsterdam, pairing Innsbruck’s winter tourism demand with year-round connecting traffic. The Dutch flag carrier then grouped the operations of Air Engiadina and air Alps Aviation under a new brand, “KLM alps.” Together, the two airlines operate six Fairchild Dornier 328s.

In 2000, the airline expanded with three additional Dornier 328 aircraft, enabling services from Innsbruck to Vienna and Amsterdam to Linz, and even a mini-hub at Klagenfurt, offering flights via Salzburg to Hamburg and Cologne — though the Hamburg and Cologne links were soon discontinued.

The airline was founded as a joint venture between Switzerland’s Air Engiadina (49%) and Dietmar Leitgeb (51%) *(Photo: Kambui, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)*

First Reinvention

In late 2000, the airline entered a codeshare agreement with Swissair. New routes included Klagenfurt–Zürich and, later, Innsbruck–Zürich, and the network was expanded to include services such as Vienna–Stuttgart.

However, like many small European regionals at the turn of the century, air Alps struggled. Financial strain led to bankruptcy with debts of around €34 million. However, a consortium of 28 South Tyrolean industrialists, led by Franz Senfter, acquired 85% of the airline later that year (with regional governments holding the remainder), injecting €7 million in capital and ushering in new leadership. The KLM alps brand was dropped in favour of the simpler air Alps Aviation. This also coincided with the collapse of Swissair in March 2002, which led to the cancellation of all flights from Zürich.

Under the new CEO, Dr Aldo Bevilaqua, air Alps underwent a strategic re-focus, moving away from being a feeder carrier to a more niche connector in Italy and the Alpine cross-border region, particularly South Tyrol.

A base was opened in Bozen (Bolzano), linking it with Cagliari, Olbia, Napoli, and Lamezia Terme in cooperation with Alitalia. That summer, air Alps also partnered with Austrian Airlines on routes including Vienna–Banja Luka.

The airline commenced operations as KLM alps *(Photo: Ken Fielding/https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)*

Welcome Takes Control

Despite some financial recovery, long-term sustainability remained elusive, and survival increasingly depended on ownership support and operational flexibility. On June 4, 2009, settlement proceedings began at an Innsbruck court.

By December 2009, Welcome Air had acquired 76% of air Alps, with the South Tyrol consortium retaining the remaining 24%. Increasingly, survival depended on ownership backing and operational flexibility.

On January 13, 2012, air Alps halted all flight operations. Welcome Air transferred the aircraft back to Innsbruck. Limited services, including the Bolzano–Rome route, resumed briefly in February 2012 before the airline shifted primarily to charter and contract flying.

Scheduled services were repeatedly suspended and restarted in reduced form — a reflection of the vulnerability of micro-fleets, where financial, technical or regulatory disruptions could quickly cascade.

In June 2013, operations ceased again. On August 20 2013, shareholders voted to liquidate the airline after negotiations with investors failed. Staff were dismissed by October.

The airline operated several routes in cooperation with Alitalia *(Photo: Pieter van Marion from Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)*

The Final Chapter: Rostock Airways

Although liquidation had been decided in 2013, air Alps briefly returned to operations in early 2014.

On February 3, 2014, the airline operated Zürich–Bremen services on behalf of Rostock Airways, using a single Dornier 328 in a wet-lease/ACMI arrangement. Industry reports identified the Bremen–Zürich service as being operated by air Alps.

However, the revival was short-lived. The airline was operating under a temporary Air Operator Certificate (AOC) that was set to expire unless new capital was secured. But negotiations with potential investors failed, and shareholders elected to wind up the company on February 28, 2014, bringing to an end the story of this European regional connector.