In the courier this morning
Flights to resume in a week, says flyWhoosh
By Graham Huband
THE CHIEF executive of troubled airline flyWhoosh said last night he expected services to resume from Dundee Airport in one week’s time.
However, Aden Murcutt said the complete breakdown of the firm’s relationship with Polish-based White Eagle Aviation—which supplied flyWhoosh’s plane and crew—meant that no one who expected to travel with the airline this week would be able to do so.
Mr Murcutt said a new company—which he refused to identify—had agreed to step into the breach to provide an aircraft to fly the airline’s network from December 17.
He said it was impossible for the new operator to be in place this week, so all services had therefore been cancelled in the interim.
The situation has caused huge difficulties for dozens of passengers, many of whom have contacted The Courier in recent days to express their concerns.
Mr Murcutt said last night that flyWhoosh was not liable for refunds or any compensation that might be owed to passengers who had been inconvenienced since the problems began with the carrier last week.
He said in effect flyWhoosh was not an airline but an agency selling tickets for White Eagle Aviation, who, he suggested, would be liable for any monies owed.
No one was available at White Eagle Aviation yesterday to respond to the claim.
Mr Murcutt said he believed the routes flyWhoosh had been operating remained viable commercially and hoped the 17,000 passengers who had flown with the airline thus far would do so again once the current problems had been resolved.
He said the present situation had been prompted by damage sustained last week to the wing of the firm’s only aircraft.
He said, “We have been selling tickets for a Polish airline. The aircraft they have based with us has become exceedingly ill and basically without notice they decided to call it a day. We had an agreement in place to rent something else for a week, but that changed late on Friday.
“We have now got a new operator that will start on Monday, the 17th, flying the same routes at the same times. The bottom line is it has proved impossible to provide cover for this week. The new company will honour any tickets in existence from December 17.
“If we can encourage people to believe the new operator is a completely different company—different pilot, different manager, engineer, different everything except routes and timetables—then I am fairly confident that customers will see it has become reliable again.”
Dundee-based North East Scotland MSP Marlyn Glen last night said she had raised her concerns over the future of the airline with Scotland’s Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson.
She said she had urged the government to give “every possible assistance” to ensure flyWhoosh could continue to operate from Dundee Airport.
Ms Glen said she hoped concrete steps would be taken this week to prove the airline was on a solid footing.
“We must hope for better news this week. FlyWhoosh intend to publish ‘specific confirmation of these developments’ on their site by this Thursday. I have asked the Transport Minister to monitor the situation closely.”
She added, “It is very important to the long-term benefit of business and commerce in Dundee that the city maintains and improves its air links.”