Budget carrier Air Australia has become the latest airline to ground its fleet, with administrators saying that “it currently appears that there are no funds available to meet operational expenses so flights will be suspended immediately”.
Formerly known as Strategic Airlines, the carrier was rebranded in November last year, when it also announced new routes to Honolulu, as well as plans to operate services from Australia to China and the US (see online news November 3, 2011).
But the airline has now gone into voluntary administration (similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US), with administrators saying it appears “highly unlikely there will be any flights in the short to medium term”.
A statement added that “The Administrators will decide on the strategy for the group during the following days and weeks”.
The news follows the demise of Spanish carrier Spanair in January and Hungarian airline Malev earlier this month.
For more information visit airaustralia.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
