Denmark’s Sterling Airlines was declared bankrupt last week, after the Icelandic owner of the airline was hit by the economic crisis and ran out of money to fund operations. The carrier was Denmark’s second largest carrier, behind Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). Sterling Airlines can now be added to the growing list of bankrupt airlines, that includes Skybus, Aloha (cargo only), ATA, Frontier (still operating), Champion Airlines, and more.
The airline declared bankruptcy after it was not able to find a buyer. Sterling’s fleet consisted of 26 aircraft; mostly 737s. Palmi Haraldsson, the owner, planned to provide sufficient capital to continue Sterling’s operation until 2009. For you outsiders of Iceland, the country secured a $2.1 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund on October 24th, due to the economic downturn. According to television stations in Denmark, 40,000 people are left with worthless tickets. Carriers such as British Airways and SAS have (had) offers available to customers.
Any carrier in the Scandinavian countries that rivals SAS faces tough competition. Unfortunately it is sad to see Sterling Airlines go, as it seems to be an alternative to the massive SAS. I feel as though SAS has a really good handle and a fair amount of control over the area in respect to rival European carriers. Hopefully we’ll see other Denmark based airlines take on some of Sterling’s old routes.
Image: flickr.com
