Flying Zombies: Airlines on The Brink

Governments in Europe who have been in the past quite generous with their flag carriers can no longer subsidize those airlines that never seem to turn the corner and are the equivalent of the money pit. The emergence of low-cost carriers in Europe was the beginning of the end for some national carriers that are bloated with inefficient methods and high labor costs. This past week saw the end of Spanair, the Catalunian Spanish carrier that ceased operations after a promised funding from Qatar Airways never materialized. Hungarian National Airline Malev followed right after (they matched Spanair) ceasing operations. Both airlines left thousands of stranded passengers in their wake. Many more airlines in Europe and other regions are on the brink, and they either must curtail operations, find new funding and partners or just go down. www.premieretravel.com