Skymark Airlines was founded in November 1996 as an independent domestic airline after deregulation of the Japanese airline industry and started operations on 19 September 1998. It was originally owned by a consortium of investors led by the travel agency H.I.S. and headed by H.I.S. president Hideo Sawada; another major early investor was the leasing company Orix. Its initial business plan called for it to be headquartered at Itami Airport in Osaka. Takashi Ide, former head of British Airways' operation in Japan, was hired as the company's CEO in 1998.