The biggest airline failures of all time, from Trump Shuttle to Laker Airways
Following the collapse of Primera Air, whose fleet of seven aircraft served 41 destinations, we look back at other notable airline failures.
Monarch
2017
The collapse of Monarch last year sparked Britain's biggest ever peacetime repatriation. Around 100,000 of its passengers were abroad on October 2, when it ceased trading, while a further 750,000 people had paid for flights they were no longer able to take. It was by far the biggest UK airline failure in history.
Until its collapse, Monarch served 43 destinations with a fleet of 35 aircraft. It flew 5.43 million passengers and employed 2,300 people in 2016, making it Europe's 26th largest airline (it carried more than 7 million in 2014).
Air Berlin
2017
Just one week after the collapse of Monarch, Air Berlin, Germany’s second largest carrier and Europe’s 10th biggest overall (it flew 28.9m passengers in 2016), announced its closure. It had declared bankruptcy two months before after years of losses and the decision of its biggest shareholder, Etihad, to cease bankrolling it.
At the time John Grant, an aviation analyst, suggested more failures could be on the cards: "The competitive environment has become increasingly challenging for many airlines, with many established legacy airlines launching low-cost long-haul services and the continual growth in services from airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair and Norwegian. This has resulted in many mid-market carriers with relatively high cost bases being continually squeezed to a point of failure.
"There are perhaps too many airlines in Europe today relative to the size of the market, with too many struggling to keep market share. In the United States, five major airlines provide some 80 per cent plus of scheduled capacity and that may be where the European market will head over time."
Transaero
2014
Another of the biggest non-UK airlines to cease trading in recent years was Transaero, a Russian carrier with a fleet of 97 and 156 points on its route map. It carried 13.2 million passengers in 2014 but went under the following year after accumulating 3.9bn euros of debt.
FlyGlobespan
2009
The last UK carrier to cease trading before Monarch was Citywing, a virtual airline that operated under charter until March 2017, with a base at Isle of Man Airport, but the last major failure was FlyGlobespan, back in 2009. Based in Edinburgh, it had a fleet of nine aircraft, serving 24 destinations, and flew just over 2 million annual passengers at its height. When it went under, it had just 4,400 customers overseas, and 117,000 forward bookings – small fry compared to Monarch.
XL Airways
2008
In September 2008, XL Airways ceased trading after 14 years in business. It had a fleet of 18 aircraft serving more than 50 destinations, and carried 2.3 million passengers in 2007, but it collapsed – along with the other brands in the XL Leisure group – due to rising fuel prices (crude oil hit an all-time record of $147 a barrel that summer) and a growing global financial crisis. Around 85,000 holidaymakers were stuck overseas, and a further 200,000 had their bookings cancelled.
Zoom Airlines
2008
Founded in 2002, Zoom largely operated flights between Britain and North America with a small fleet of three aircraft. Unable to pay its fuel bills, it ceased trading in August 2008, leaving 900 passengers stranded on either side of the Atlantic. Its failure left 4,500 stranded abroad, while 60,000 forward bookings were lost.
Silverjet
2008
Business-class carrier launched in 2006, billed as the “world’s first carbon-neutral airline”. Based in Luton, offering routes to Newark and Dubai, it only survived for two years, and its fleet never grew beyond three aircraft.
Air Wales
2006
With a fleet of five, Air Wales flew scheduled regional services within the UK, as well as to Ireland, Belgium and France. It spent six years in the sky before folding due to "spiralling costs" and "aggressive competition" from larger low-cost airlines.
Swissair
2002
The national airline of Switzerland from 1931 until 2002 was once known as the "Flying Bank" because of its financial stability.
Over-expansion and the global economic downturn put an end to that, however, and in 2002 (with a fleet of 76 aircraft serving 157 cities) it ceased operations. At the time, a BBC correspondent said of the collapse: "Something did die in Switzerland that day: not just an airline but an image the Swiss had of themselves and, more importantly, of their business leaders."
Swissair's regional subsidiary, Crossair, went on to become Swiss International Air Lines.
Sabena
2001
Belgium's flag carrier was founded in 1923, with services to the Belgian Congo starting two years later, followed by routes to Copenhagen and Malmö in 1931 and Berlin in 1932. Its first transatlantic flights touched down in 1946.
By 1982 it served 76 cities on four continents; this grew to 99 by the turn of the century.
In 2001 it collapsed, however, becoming the first flag carrier in Europe to fail. Belgian politicians blamed Swissair, which owned a 49.5 per cent stake at the time and went under just a year later.
TWA
2001
TWA was owned by Howard Hughes for many years and at its height had a fleet of 190 aircraft serving 132 destinations.
But it became saddled with debt in the 1980s, sold its London routes, underwent Chapter 11 restructuring in 1992 and 1995, and was further stressed by the explosion of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.
In 2001, it filed for a third and final bankruptcy and was bought by American Airlines.
Debonair
1999
Worthy of mention if only for its terrific name, Debonair operated out of London Luton for three years, flying to Newcastle upon Tyne, Copenhagen, Mönchengladbach, Munich, Barcelona and Nice. It tried to position itself as an upmarket budget airline (offering cheap flights but with free snacks), a business model that ultimately failed.
Trump Shuttle
1992
Donald Trump tried his hand at aviation. Trump Shuttle was launched in 1989 with a pledge to create “the best transportation system of any kind in the entire world.” He snapped up a fleet of ageing Boeing 727s from a struggling Eastern Air Lines, along with many of its disgruntled staff, and launched flights from New York to Boston and Washington D.C. “We took old 727s and spent a huge amount of money stripping them down to the frame and refurbishing them with chrome seat belts, maple bulkheads and faux marble bathrooms,” Bruce Nobles, president of the Trump Shuttle from October 1988 until June 1990, told The Globe and Mail in a 2011 interview. “It was a problem: we spent too much money on the airplanes.”
Nobles claims Trump paid $365m for the aircraft and landing slots, borrowing $380m from a consortium of banks and putting in around $20m of his own cash. Despite grabbing a decent market share, it could not thrive in a tricky economic climate while saddled with so much debt. It never turned a profit and in September 1990 the loans were defaulted and ownership of the airline passed to the banks, who eventually sold it to the US Air Group. “It worked out well for me,” was Trump’s assessment in an interview with The Street. “I ran an airline for a couple of years and made a couple of bucks. The airline business is a tough business, [but] I did great with it.”
Pan Am
1991
Pan American Airways was the largest US carrier from 1927 to 1991 and ushered in the jet age when it launched the Boeing 707 in 1958. That was the first year in history when more transatlantic passengers travelled by air instead of sea.
The experience of flying with Pan Am in the Sixties was a memorable one. Menus were vast, with starters, mains and desserts, as well as a wide range of aperitifs, fine wines and digestifs. Passengers were given proper cutlery and first class diners sat facing one another at tables of two or four. By 1968, its 150 jets flew to 122 airports in 86 countries (on every continent except Antarctica).
Its fortunes dipped after the 1973 oil crisis, however, and by November 1978 it flew to just 65 airports. It lumbered on another decade or so, before declaring bankruptcy in 1991.
Air Europe
1991
Air Europe owed its demise to the collapse in tourism during the Gulf War. According to Abta, the travel association, holiday bookings in the run-up to the conflict were 60 per cent down on a typical year. During the war itself, they all but collapsed. The Foreign Office advised against travel to several dozen countries, including Egypt, the Gambia, Bahrain, UAE, Iran, Jordan, Israel, south-east Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Qatar and the Philippines. Around 120 travel agents and tour operators went out of business, including Britain's second-largest tour operator, Intasun, and its airline, Air Europe.
Capital Airlines
1990
The self-styled "Yorkshire International Airline" was the first to be based at Leeds Bradford Airport, but ceased trading after just three years in the sky. Its MD, Adrian Thompson, went on to work at Air Wales.
Laker Airways
1982
British entrepreneur Sir Freddie Laker pioneered cheap air travel with his Skytrain to the United States in 1977. His first London-New York flight was a third the cost of estabished carriers. The British public, keen to enjoy package holidays abroad, loved the airline. Rivals did not and actively worked to put it out of business. They succeeded. In February 1982, Laker Airways and Skytrain collapsed with debts of £264m, but not without a fight. The liquidators took brought an anti-trust action against 10 major airlines, seeking billion in damages. The action threatened BA's privatisation and eventually was settled out of court for £35m - Sir Freddie got £6m. At its height Laker Airways had 20 aircraft.
Best of the rest
Other recent failures include MAXjet, a US carrier that flew to Stansted, but ceased trading in 2007; Eos Airlines, which operated daily flights between London Stansted and New York but declared bankruptcy in April 2008; Oasis Hong Kong, which operated services from its base in Hong Kong to London Gatwick and Vancouver between February 2005 and April 2008; and SkyEurope, a Slovakian no-frills carrier, founded in 2001, which expanded to a fleet of 13 aircraft serving 30 destinations before its failure in 2009.
Several other flag carriers have also failed since Swissair and Sabena opened the floodgates: Cyprus Airways, Malev (Hungary), flyLAL (Lithuania) and Slovak Airlines, to name a few. Alitalia, the Italian flag carrier, went bankrupt last year but limps on.
It is clearly a tough business. According to the website www.protectmyholiday.com there have been a remarkable 268 global airline failures since 2007. Here they are in full:
2018 Primera
2018 Skywork
2018 JetGo
2018 NextJet
2018 Nature Air
2018 Latin American Wings
2018 Pawa Dominica
2018 Polar Airlines
2018 Fly Viking
2017 Niki Air
2017 Darwin Airlines
2017 Air Berlin
2017 Island Air
2017 Royal Falcon
2017 Monarch Airlines
2017 GLO Airlines
2017 Rainbow Airlines
2017 Mega Maldives Airlines
2017 Wings of Alaska
2017 Citywings
2016 Tiara Air
2016 TransAsia Airways
2016 Seaport Airlines
2016 SAFI Airways
2016 Aero Contractors
2016 Fly Lapland
2016 Air Pegasus
2016 VLM Airlines
2016 Fly Salone
2016 SOL S.A. Líneas Aéreas
2016 Skywise
2015 SkyGreece
2015 Intersky
2015 Estonia Air
2015 Transaero
2015 Supreme Airlines
2015 Korongo Airlines
2015 Syphax Airlines
2015 Air Lituanica
2015 EuroLot
2015 SkyMark Airlines
2015 Hamburg Airways
2015 Cyprus Airways
2015 SkyTrans Pty
2015 TigerAir Mandala
2014 UT Air
2014 Moskovia Airlines
2014 Carpatair
2014 Krohns Air
2013 Haiti Aviation
2013 Link Airs
2013 Danube Wings
2013 Belle Air
2013 Flynonstop A.S
2013 Dagestant Airlines
2013 Dutch Antiles Express
2013 Saha Airlines
2013 Orbest Orizonia Airlines, S.A. (formerly Iberworld Airlines, S.A)
2013 Red Wings
2013 Armavia
2013 Bahrain Air
2013 Batavia Air
2013 OLT Express Germany
2013 Aerosvit Airlines
2012 Kuban Airlines
2012 JetLink Express
2012 Air Malawi
2012 1Time Airlines
2012 SOL Airlines
2012 Air Finland
2012 Skyways Airlines and City Airline
2012 Cimber Sterling Airlines
2012 Gabon Airways
2012 Air Zimbabwe
2012 Air Australia
2012 TAS-Air Pty
2012 Malev Airlines
2012 Czech Connect Airlines
2012 Spanair
2012 Cirrus Airlines
2012 Kentucky Skies
2012 Aeroperlas
2012 OLT Express
2012 Air Tran Airways
2012 Jetlite
2012 Aerosur
2012 Velvet Sky
2012 Norfolk Air
2012 Air Finland (Charter)
2012 Windjet
2012 Varig Logistica
2012 PLUNA
2012 Team Linhas Aereas
2012 Direct Air
2012 USA300 Airlines
2012 Mint Airways
2012 REDJet
2012 Tennessee Skies
2011 Astreaus airlines
2011 Avianova
2011 KMV Airlines
2011 Air Southwest
2011 Robin Hood Airlines
2011 Wataniya Airways
2011 2nd Sverdlovsk Enterprise
2011 Pyrenair
2011 Cargoitalia
2011 Pacific Blue Airlines
2011 Fly Oristano
2011 Comtel Airlines
2011 Prima Aero Tranporti Italiani
2011 Dubrovnik Airlines
2011 Fly Hellas
2011 Sky Express
2011 Moscow Airlines
2011 Albanian Airlines
2011 Lotus Air
2011 Dagestan Airlines
2011 Avial NV
2011 Lufthansa Italia
2011 Yak Service
2011 Gomelavia
2011 Mandala Airlines
2011 Transavia Denmark
2011 Sun d'Or International Airlines
2011 Air Cuenca
2011 Amsterdam Airlines
2011 Novosibirsk Air Enterprise
2011 Pamir Airways
2011 Atlantic Southeast Airlines
2011 Aviaenergo
2011 Tor Air
2011 Airstars
2011 Jade Cargo International
2011 Hewa Bora Airways
2011 Zambezi Airlines
2011 Aviasca
2011 Great Wall Airlines
2011 Coral Blue Airlines
2011 Naturelink Aviation
2011 City Airlines
2011 Continent Airlines
2011 Vildanden Airlines
2011 Air Mat
2010 Hamburg International
2010 Cyprus Turkish Airlines
2010 Iraq Airlines
2010 VIVA Macau
2010 Highland Airways
2010 Varsity Express
2010 Air Slovakia
2010 Quantum Air
2010 Interlink Airlines
2010 Air Jamaica
2010 Eurocypria
2010 Fly Direct
2010 Sun Country Airlines
2010 Region Avia
2010 Aviacsa
2010 Blue Wings
2010 Ghana Airways
2010 Viking Airlines AB (Sweden)
2010 Star1 Airlines
2010 Sky Service
2010 Mexicana
2010 PalmAir
2009 Air Comet
2009 FlyGlobespan
2009 Sky Europe
2009 East Star Airlines
2009 SkyAirWorld
2009 Skystar Airways
2009 Aviacsa
2009 PB Air
2009 Linus Airways
2009 FlyLAL
2009 Air Jamaica
2009 Jet America
2009 Primaris Airlines
2009 Silver Air
2009 CentralWings
2009 MacAir
2009 OzJet
2009 MyAir
2009 Kayala Airlines
2009 Indochina Airways
2009 Blue Wings
2009 Zambian Airways
2009 Bellview Airlines
2009 Caribair
2009 RAK Airways
2009 Air Tahoma
2009 Megantara Air
2009 Qiantang Airways
2009 Air Senegal International
2009 Kras Air
2008 XL Airways
2008 Boston Maine Airways
2008 OK Air
2008 Carib Aviation
2008 Futura
2008 Flightline
2008 Airlines Tonga
2008 Nova Air
2008 Alma de Mexico
2008 Aero Airlines
2008 Aero California
2008 Air Tanzania
2008 Inter Airlines
2008 Kras Air
2008 Community Airlines
2008 Domodedovo Airlines
2008 Air Bee
2008 Kyokushin Air
2008 Flysure
2008 GirJet
2008 Flyyeti Airlines
2008 Avolar
2008 Aladia Airlines
2008 BritishJet.com
2008 Freedom Air
2008 Yeongnam Air
2008 Angkok Airlines
2008 Aebal
2008 Hansung Airlines
2008 Ankair
2008 Aero Tropics
2008 Focus Air
2008 Freedom Air
2008 Jetride (Pinnacle Air)
2008 Sterling European Airways
2008 AIRUnion
2008 Swazi Express Airways
2008 Oasis Hong Kong Airlines
2008 Air Mauritanie
2008 Air Scotland
2008 City Star Airlines
2008 Silverjet
2008 Aeropostale
2008 Prima Charter (Fischer Air Polska)
2008 Club Air
2008 Mihin Lanka
2008 Skybus Airlines
2008 Coast Air
2008 ATA Airlines
2008 EuroManx
2008 Eos Airlines
2008 Alpi Eagles
2008 Cameroon Airlines
2008 Zoom Airlines
2008 Aloha Airlines
2008 Big Sky Air
2008 Pan Am 2
2008 Far Eastern Air Transport
2008 African Safari Airways
2008 Nationwide Airlines
2008 Champion Air
2007 Alexandair
2007 Air Ariatic
2007 LAB Airlines (Lloyd Aereo Boliviano)
2007 Slovak Airlines
2007 European Air Express
2007 Air Wales
2007 Flywoosh
2007 Air Scotland
2007 O'Connor Airlines
2007 JetStream Express
2007 MAXjet
