Just found this on the NOW Airlines website:
“Following the problems with completing the agreed funding for the Now Airlines project, the launch has been deferred until further notice.
Now Airlines Ltd has been put into receivership and any contacts should be made directly to
The Official Receivers Office, 1st Floor Trident House 42-48 Victoria Street St Albans AL1 3HR
A plan for the re-structuring of the group is being considered.
We obviously regret the measures taken, particularly in respect of the tremendous support from staff, partners and suppliers, and all the good efforts for Now to happen.
We do of course realise this announcement is very disappointing. However, we have an excellent team behind us and we hope that as a result of our efforts a strong airline will emerge for our passengers, staff and shareholders alike.”
By: LBARULES - 10th June 2004 at 15:13
Yep, i’ve been following that very long thread about them on Pprune, and it always looked as if they were very unlikely to get off the ground.
I doubt they would have lasted very long with their pricing structure and the competition of Easyjet anyway.
A shame.
By: markkipling - 10th June 2004 at 09:21
It wasn’t incompetent management MarkL, it was a case of financiers stabbing the competent management in the back. Its a very sad story.
Mark
By: Mark L - 9th June 2004 at 21:23
Nah, if anyone was following the threads on pprune about this it looked 99% unlikely to get airborne 6 months ago. More like incompetent management more than anything else.
By: Ren Frew - 9th June 2004 at 20:45
Is this the start of the bloodbath envisaged by Michael O Leary ?
By: Pablo - 9th June 2004 at 20:41
Saw it in the Evening Standard tonight:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/business/articles/timid79186?source=
A LUTON-BASED airline has become the latest no-frills flyer to go bust – without even getting into the air.
Now was launched at a swish Press conference in London last year, but 15 months later the airline that promised to be a ‘second generation’ low-cost carrier to rival the likes of Ryanair and easyJet has called in the receivers.
It is the latest in an increasing fleet of budget airlines going bust amid a price war that Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has warned will lead to a bloodbath’.
Now said: ‘Following problems with completing the agreed funding for the Now Airlines project, the launch has been deferred until further notice. Now Airlines has been put into receivership.’
Its launch was to have been led by Lars Welinder, a former tax-free shopping executive, and Nick Grimwood, a one-time Virgin Express pilot whose previous interests included the failed start-up of a low-cost transatlantic carrier.
Other directors included ex-Liffe trading exchange chairman Jack Wigglesworth and Albert Churchman, a former senior partner of accountants Ernst & Young.
The airline was to have been launched with an innovative business-model with fixed fares such as £40 Luton-Manchester and £60 Luton-Rome. But it failed after the collapse of a Luxembourg-based syndicate of high-net worth individuals who had pledged to back the start-up with £10m.
Other recent industry failures include Birmingham-based Duo and Air Planet, based at Leeds Bradford. Irish airlines SkyNet, JetGreen and JetMagic have also gone down this year, alongside a handful of budget players on the Continent.
By: BY767 - 9th June 2004 at 18:58
That airline seemed as if it was going to be really good! what a shame……..
I hope someone takes them up and they will be able to operate after all. They must have the record for the longest time to start up ever!!!! they just kept on putting the date later and later all the time and now this. Weren’t they supposed to be having to ex Go 733’s or something?
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June 9, 2004 at 2:10 pm