A boutique airline is an airline that differentiates from the competition through unique customer experience and personalization.

Description

In the same way as

boutique hotel Boutique hotels are small inventory, design driven, unique hotels with their own character, personality and storytelling at the heart of their concept. Positioning is secondary for these hotels as they focus on authenticity and personalization ...

s, boutique airlines are equally appropriate for

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

and vacation travel. It is a category of its own, with a focus on lifestyle branding, and thus positions airline outside the traditional segmentation of four- and five-star airlines. For traveling, the definition of ''boutique'' comes from the term ''boutique hotels'', which refers to intimate and stylish establishments providing luxurious experiences. Generally, ''boutique'' also refers to themed lifestyle or design hotels as a contrast to large hotel brands that focus on comfort and convenience in standardized packages.

Examples

Skift lists Singapore Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Korean Air,

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...

, Finnair,

Etihad Airways Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...

, TAP Air Portugal,

Saudia Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Internati ...

, Qatar Airways, Virgin Australia, ANA,

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have sc ...

, Thai Airways, Gulf Air, and

SAS SAS or Sas may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers * ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series * Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...

as boutique airlines. La Compagnie and

Bangkok Airways Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited ( th, บางกอกแอร์เวย์ส) is a regional airline based in Bangkok, Thailand. It operates scheduled services to destinations in Thailand, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, ...

both describe themselves as boutique airlines.

References

Airline types {{Airline-stub