from Balidiscovery
SkyAirWorld Airplanes Seized
Collapse of Queensland Carrier Scrubs Plans for a Darwin-Dili-Denpasar Service.
Bali News: SkyAirWorld Airplanes Seized
(3/22/2009) The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Queensland air carrier SkyAirWorld has ceased operations following the repossession of all its aircraft after defaulting on debts said to number in the tens of millions of dollars.
The collapse of the airline follows by just weeks SkyAirWorld's announcement of plans to connect Darwin and Bali via a flight service with an intermediate stop in Timor Leste using 94-sear Embraer aircraft.
At its height the airline employed 140 people and operated 5 aircraft.
Australian regional carriers are increasingly in a state of turmoil as evidenced by the latest regional carrier closure. Just two months ago, another Queensland carrier, MacAir, closed with the loss of 200 jobs. Air Link, which once provided air links to rural communities in New South Wales, stopped those flights insisting they did not "make economic sense." Another Australian regional carrier Rex has told the press that they are suffered a 20% loss in passenger downturn in January 2009.
Lion Air - SkyAirWorld Deal in the Waste Bin
The presumption that Indonesian Lion Air would obtain a foothold in the Australian domestic airline market via a business alliance with SkyAirWorld has been rendered moot by the failure of the Queensland airline.