Here is an article from
www.visir.is (Google translation):
Þorvaldur Lúðvík Sigurjónsson, founder and managing director of Niceair, says he has put his life and soul into the airline. Its fall can best be attributed to "fraudulent transactions of a foreign partner." This chapter is now over.
"Dear friends. It has become clear that it was not possible to save what was left of Niceair after many weeks of life rowing. The board found itself forced to file for bankruptcy. I tried my hardest to get investors for the project and save what could be saved, take a step back to take off this winter or next spring. The estimated cost of that waiting game ran at 90-135 [million]. Then it would have to be refinanced when flights would start on new terms," says Þorvaldur Lúðvík in a post on Facebook.
Two things happened
He says that a lot of work has been put into talking to investors outside the traditional shareholder group, but the answer has usually been something like this: "You must sort it out yourself in the north." It obviously didn't work out.
"In general, flying around Akureyri went well and the plans assumed a balance in the operation in 2023, as Britain would be added this fall. It turned out that flying through Akureyri is feasible. Niceair suffered two major setbacks: There were no flight permits from the partner (HiFly) between Iceland and Great Britain (2022). The same partner most recently defaulted on the machine's owner, Avolon, which ended up confiscating the machine (2023)," he adds.
He believes that the damage primarily fell on Niceair, as it was the only aircraft the company had at its disposal. Without the plane, according to the nature of the matter, no income came into the company.
Investor interest waned
Þorvalður adds that the board has been looking for more funding in the last few months, and the Swedish National Development Agency has, among other things, offered to help. When HiFly lost the plane, the plans came to naught; planeless company with passengers all over the world at Easter.
"There was no way to get another machine at that time, or later. There is now significant excess demand for aircraft and rental prices have risen sharply, which perhaps explains the game that later ensued when HiFly failed to pay for "our" aircraft. "After we no longer had possession of 'our' machine, which the leasing company took out of their hands, the interest of investors dried up."
He says it is very difficult to think that the public and shareholders have suffered financial losses.
"It is also heavy to see behind your workplace and colleagues, at the same time that it will be the final result that my dream, and that of many others, is over. I had passion and heart for this project, but the reasons for failure can mostly be attributed to the fraudulent business of our foreign partner, which made it impossible for us to continue, although mistakes were obviously made here at home as well. I put my life and soul, immeasurable sweat and sleepless nights into making this happen."
Þorvalður Lúðvík ends the post with just a few words: "This chapter is over for me."
https://www.visir.is/g/20232417589d/...lokid-hja-mer-