Not even two weeks after its official announcement, the new Monarch Airlines is already out of gas, well before making its first flight.
In a statement on its website (which has since been taken down), the owners have come clean, saying that funding was exhausted much faster than anticipated.
“It is with immense regret that we announce today that we have been forced to put the brakes on our process to relaunch Monarch.
“This is not a decision that we have taken lightly, however since taking over the business two weeks ago we have drawn close to exhausted the start-up funding provided to us far more rapidly than anticipated.
“We have been seeking alternative routes, such as partial divestment of share capital, and will continue to do so, however at the current stage there is no practical option to move forward in the immediate future.
It’s unclear at this point where the company stands in terms of future financing. On August 31, they posted via social media that new financial options were presented, and that their chairman was set to step down. Since then, their websites and all social media channels have since been taken down.
It’s no secret that starting an airline (or trying to revive a brand in this case) is extremely cost intensive. Even in its early stages, Monarch had grand plans of acquiring 15 Airbus aircraft (a mix of A319s and A320s) with the aim of capitalizing underserved leisure routes in the United Kingdom and across Europe. They were even in the process of putting together their application for a new air operator’s certificate (AOC).
What’s interesting is that while the company was being marketed as an entirely new entity with new management, it was further stated that the old entities were actually purchased from the previous owners who held the Monarch Airlines and Monarch Holidays names. No details were given as to how much of Monarch’s assets (or debt) was transferred, but they stated that they were doing everything from the ground up including entering into new aircraft leases, applying for a new AOC and bidding for slots at the relevant airports.
It’s not clear if the new Monarch is dead in the water, or if other financial investors will step in, but we will keep you updated once more information comes to light.
[Featured Photo: Monarch Airlines ]
