New ski airline cancels all flights before it has even taken off

A new ski specialist airline has postponed its launch and cancelled all flights before any of its planes have so much as taken off - leaving 5,000 winter holidaymakers in the lurch. 

The first flights with Powdair from six UK airports to Sion airport in Switzerland were due to start later this month. However, a statement released by the nascent carrier last week said: “Our key financial backer [has] walked away from the Powdair journey for personal reasons.”

A week after its first statement Powdair has today announced it will be postponing all flights for this winter following talks with potential new investors – all customers are to receive a full refund.

Last week's statement, which was sent to everyone who had booked flights with the company, said that the airline was faced with a stark choice – either postpone the service this season or raise significant additional funds from individual investors by the end of the week. “At this late stage, community ownership is realistically the only way we’ll be able to make Powdair operational this winter,” read the statement.

Since then, the company has been approached by several interested parties and discussions are already underway to secure new funding, however the new business plan will not be complete in time for the airline to launch this winter – a decision made on December 1.

According to Powdair’s head of commercial Zoe Ombler the company received more than 100 emails offering financial help. “We apologise sincerely for the disruption to all of our customers who had travel plans with us this winter. Since [last] Monday we’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of support from investors, businesses and resorts in the UK, Belgium and the Valais," said Ombler.

"We’ve had significant investment offers from more than one professional and experienced aviation industry investment group. However, the due diligence required to finalise this investment will take at least 30 days and we have therefore made the difficult, but what we feel is correct decision, not to launch powdair this winter," continued Ombler.

The collapse comes just months after Monarch Airlines ceased trading, reeling from difficult market conditions. Air Berlin, too, in October went under, before being in part purchased by Easyjet. 

The company was looking to secure at least £3 million this season and £1 million by the end of the week “in order to operate a reduced but efficient flight schedule", however this plan has proved unsuccessful and all customers have been informed of the decision to cancel flights and will receive a full refund from Powdair.

The launch of the winter airline had been heralded as a positive development by skiers and snowboarders, because transfer times from Sion Airport to key Swiss resorts such as Verbier, Nendaz and Crans Montana are much quicker than transfers from Geneva.

According to Powdair more than 5,000 people had booked flights with the airline, and it has already partnered with 15 resorts offering exclusive discounts on accommodation and lift passes.

“Just as the Powdair operation begins to snowball, [this] setback is both unexpected and potentially disastrous for our airline, booked passengers and resort partners,” Powdair’s chief financial officer Sean Pettit said last week. 

If current talks prove successful Powdair hopes to relaunch during 2018 as an airline, operating its own aircraft, with plans to launch routes and schedules that also include Chambery and Innsbruck airport, as well as Sion.