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2012-01-31 06:58:11
Spain's fourth-largest airline Spanair has collapsed, leaving more than 20,000
passengers stranded across Europe and Africa.
The Barcelona-based firm stopped operating on Friday and more than 200 flights
were abruptly cancelled.
The Spanish government is taking legal action and said Spanair could be fined
9m euros ( 7.6m; $11.9m) over the collapse.
In 2010, Spanair reported an operating loss of 115m euros.
The collapse comes after Qatar Airways stopped takeover talks, ending the
prospect of further financing, and also reflects weak demand for air travel in
Spain.
In 2008 a Spanair plane was involved in Spain's worst aviation disaster in 25
years, when it crashed on takeoff as it tried to leave Madrid's Barajas
airport, killing 154 people. The aircraft's wing flaps were incorrectly
positioned and a warning system failed to alert the pilots.
Ryanair's 'opportunity'
The airline was seen as a flagship of the regional government of Catalonia,
which had helped it stay afloat with more than 150m euros of subsidies.
The government refused to provide more funding on Friday.
Low-cost airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet had challenged the legality of the
subsidies to the European Commission.
On Monday, Ryanair said it was examining opportunities in Spain following the
collapse of Spanair. "We certainly see it as an opportunity to expand our
base," it said.
Spanair's collapse could lead to the loss of 4,000 jobs.
The airline was once owned by Scandinavia's SAS Airlines, which still has an
11% stake in the firm.
SAS said that the bankruptcy of Spanair would lead to write-downs of 1.7bn
kronor ( 160m) for the full year 2011.
Spanair has put a statement on its website with information for customers.
Spanair comunication to their customers
January 30th of 2012
Spanair advises that on 28th January 2012, the airline suspended operations.
Due to these exceptional circumstances, all our flights were canceled.
Refund options:
Spanair is finalizing an agreement with the International Air Transport
Association (IATA) to facilitate the refund of purchased but not yet flown
tickets of Spanair.
This agreement will let the travel agencies refund the complete price to those
passengers that paid the ticket in a travel agency by bank transfer or cash.
All other passengers who bought their tickets by credit card directly at
www.spanair.com or in a travel agency, they will need enquire for refund
options with their card issuer.
In the following days we will inform the travel agencies about the procedure to
follow.
In all other cases to claim the refund of your ticket, please contact:
Spanair sales offices
AENA help desks located in airports in Spain
Airport Tourism information offices in Spain.
Catalan consumer agency
Alternative flight options:
We remind you of our previous communication that Spanair is in contact with
other airlines (especially Vueling, Iberia & Air Europa) to find alternative
solutions, providing special fares to those affected passengers that want to
fly in the next few days. You will find more information at the respective
websites of those airlines.
If you have purchased a ticket with Spanair that is operated by another airline
member of Star Alliance, we can not guarantee that your flight is protected.
However for clarification we suggest you contact the operating airline.
Spanair considers that all these meassures will cover most of the claims
presented.
Contact Information:
For the latest information, please consult our website www.spanair.com
The Spanair contact center (Telephone number within Spain: 900 13 14 15 and
from outside Spain: +34 971 916 047) and our Spanish sales offices in the
airports will remain open to attend to customers as far as possible.
Moreover, Spanair is permanently in contact with the Spanish aeronautical
authorities participating in the Barcelona airport crisis committee where
continually evaluates the contingency plan for the cessation of the airline s
operations.
Spanair apologises to all our customer affected by this situation
Barcelona, January 30th of 2012