Another Airline closed today.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8428719.stm

Poor passengers :

Air Comet ‘hunger strike’ threat
Passengers stranded at airports in Spain and Latin America threaten a hunger strike after Air Comet suspends all its flights

Stupid people. What exactly do they hope to achieve? I appreciate it is Christmas and that they are keen to get home but this just seems idiotic and pointless to me.

The Minister of Transport has leased three planes to carry them all. One B747-400 from Pullmantur, a A340-600 from Iberia, and a A330 from Iberworld. They think all of them will arrive tomorrow before christmas to their destinations, and the rest in Christmas day.

The operation will cost 6M euros, which will be demanded to the Air Comet owners.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8428719.stm

Poor passengers :

Air Comet ‘hunger strike’ threat
Passengers stranded at airports in Spain and Latin America threaten a hunger strike after Air Comet suspends all its flights

It´s hard for me to use the English language in a proper way. Thanks anyway. 😀

Merry Christmas too.

Thanks, great post and your journalistic talents are improving! Merry Christmas.:)

Gerardo Diaz Ferraz the owner is one of the most reputed business in Spain, who has been able to create a big touristical empire. Actually the biggest in Spain. Air Comet was a reliable airline but after the experience with Aerolineas Argentinas, it was a matter of time. The argentinian airline is probably one of the most inefficient airline in the world. Dominated by trade unions full of privileges in the old sindicalism-piqueteros-rioting style, and with the idea in the argentinian people that the airline is still a part of the Argentinian identity. Costly, expensive, really money losing, with the market controlled, and with most of the routes also unprofitable; all those who tried to buy Aerolineas knew it was a poisoned gift. AA failed, IB failed.

Air Comet decided to buy it, but again the same nationalistic campaigns against the old colonial power which wants to close Aerolineas. Air Comet pumped money in in huge amounts, bought planes (some paralized by Unions like the A320) but the Unions refused to rationalize the airline and lose power. So, the new argentinian goverment decided to renationalize the airline (against all laws of the free market), backed by a public oppinion which considered it was a nice way to kick the old Spanish colonial power. Flag waving, and NOT A SINGLE EURO given to Air Comet for the cuban style seizure. No purchase, but complete takeover. So the Air Comet, which had been running out cash couldn´t face the situation.

Then the second factor. Diaz Ferraz is the top representative of the Spanish Enterpreneurs Association which opposed the current and recent Socialist Goverment plans to face the crisis. So his relations with the current cabinet was not really rosy. And then it comes Iberia. While there´s still a huge amount a backing to Iberia by all goverments, which tolerates the absolute monopoly of the Spanish skies, the red line for Iberia is South America. Their backyard. Whatever they do, in the backstage it´s clear that they have double standards. While dozens of sectors in Spain get subsidies, and Iberia in an indirect way, the goverment hasn´t been able to give a single euro to Air Comet and has acted closing it down. The same as happened with Air Madrid under the same circunstances.

Air Europa doesn´t dare to compete Iberia, too much and Spanair decided to to keep away from South America too. Iberworld only remains a few destinations and Air Pullmantur doesn´t care to have any schedule destination. So…..not only the owners are responsable many others in this tragical dissappearance. Bad day for the free market. 🙁 We would be able to have a healthy situation if someone could tell Iberia: enough is enough. I don´t want to say that there are direct links between the collapse and Iberia, but many people here and the media know Iberia is always involved. The goverment has given grants to Iberia to take all Air Comet passengers stranded in the many airports of the world.

The website is now down. No message, just all the web files removed

London High Court issued orders to stop the sale of tickets and the flying of planes.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091222-700874.html

There appears to be no news articles on the internet confirming that the airline has ceased operations and I notice that bookings are still being accepted.

Apparently, an indefinite strike was announced a couple of weeks ago because Air Comet owed in excess of €2,000,000 to its staff in wages. The company’s president promised to make payment and because of this, the strike was postponed until 22 December (tomorrow).

I wonder if the airline has just realised that it can’t make payment? With no money and hundreds of unpaid staff threatening strike action, it really doesn’t look like this airline has a future.

If the airline has folded, I feel terribly sorry for the employees who will now be out of work as well as the many passengers who might have had their travel plans ruined for Christmas.