Another
airline fails
30.04.08
South
African airline Nationwide has cancelled its
entire schedule after admitting it is suffering
cash flow problems. It joins a growing list
of
casualties in recent weeks, with record fuel
prices and the economic crisis causing
carriers including Eos, ATA and Frontier Airlines
to fold.
Nationwide
has faced problems since November 2007 when
one of its Boeing 737 planes lost an engine
when taking off from Cape Town. The airline
was forced to ground its fleet over maintenance
concerns and, although it resumed operations
a month later, the problems had a significant
impact on its passenger load factors at its
busiest time of year for the airline.
CEO
Vernon Bricknell said: ‘Our cash flow
has become critical and as a result we have
decided to voluntarily cease all flights
until further notice. In
the months of December and January we resumed
operations and attained a gradual recovery
of the business. However, in the months of
March and April we faced a 30% increase in
fuel costs coupled with a decrease in passengers.’
Founded
in 1991, the airline operated around 50 domestic
and international flights a day from the country,
including 4 times weekly flights to Gatwick from
Johannesburg.
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