Aer Arann : RE : REA

Aer Arann in difficulties

Just as I get to work on writing a feature on regional airlines for the October edition of Airline Business, news comes in of Irish regional carrier Aer Arann's entry into [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] - which is roughly the Irish equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

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The airline, which says it will continue to operate normally, blames two years of losses and the volcanic ash disruption for its plight.
During my interviews for the feature, Mike Ambrose, director general of the European Regions Airline Association, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
"Traffic figures we picking up, but the light at the end of the tunnel turned out to be the burning top of the Icelandic volcano," says Ambrose. "The problem the volcanic ash created for us was enormously damaging effects on cash flow. Some airlines had half a million in cash taken out of their business and now they need to build it up again."
For a detailed round-up of the state of the regional airline market, keep an eye out for the October edition of Airline Business.

Stobart invests in Aer Arann

Irish carrier Aer Arann has secured a €2.5m investment from British logistics group Stobart.

The cash will support the launch of a new route to Southend Airport, but is conditional on Arann exiting examinership – bankruptcy protection.

The Irish courts have recently been told that an investment agreement and business plan to ensure such an exit should be in place by tomorrow (October 13).