http://www.unison.ie/business/storie...=80&si=1143261
From the Irish Independent.
SOME of the key players in collapsed aviation start-up Freshaer have bounced back with a new company called Fly Jet Green Airways.
And it is already taking bookings from the public, despite not having signed a contract with any airline carrier.
Freshaer was a controversial short-lived company which was forced last year to refund €250,000 to customers after it emerged it had not received the correct licences from the Commission for Aviation Regulation.
Freshaer was also hit by revelations that the company was involved in a dispute with the Deputy Inspector of Companies in the UK and that one of its backers, John Lepp, was a convicted fraudster and restricted director in Britain.
Mr Lepp is not involved in any manner in Fly Jet but for the fact they had acquired their ticket booking engine from him, the company said. Fly Jet has been granted a tour operator's licence for Ireland, is fully bonded and is preparing to start offering flights to Spain from May, it continued. Fly Jet's directors as listed in the companies office are Eric Conway and pilot Jim Duggan, who previously worked with Freshaer.
However, Mr Duggan, a former Ryanair chief pilot, resigned as a Fly Jet director in the last three weeks, the company said.
Businessman Colin Gervaise-Brazier, a former backer of Freshaer, is also providing the bulk of financial backing to get the business off the ground.
Pearse Gilroy, who was one of the driving forces behind the success of Cityjet, is chief executive.
Mr Gilroy revealed that the company had already taken bookings from the public despite not having signed a contract with an airline carrier. He said he was confident that he would sign a contract with Icelandair within days.
Flyjetgreen.com went live this week and is advertising flights using flight numbers for planes that are supplied by Icelandair.
However, a spokesperson for Icelandair, which was also the carrier that was to work with Freshaer, said he was "surprised" to be informed yesterday that Fly Jet was promoting itself using Icelandair flight numbers, given that no contract has been signed.
He said he was "unhappy" about this. "We don't want to be seen to be associated with something that might not take off," he said.