I would say that the reason they haven't made the papers is due to the fact that they weren't the most visible airline in the first place.
Your average joe in the street won't know who they are. The market they were set up to serve barely does.
As it is now, I'm not sure this would be an operation that investors would be interested in. Asset-wise, they have two (is it?) reactivated desert airframes that were not designed for long-haul. They would have been sitting around for years waiting for a D check. Apart from Corsair, I can't think of any airline that has successfully reactivated an aircraft from long term storage - without reliability issues. I'm thinking of Air Atlanta here.
The aircraft interiors have not been touched and have an onboard configuration that has been twice superseded. With a refit, they could possibly be useful for charters but with only one pair of overwing exits and the necessary floor reinforcements, it would be doubtful that enough seats could be added to actually make money.
The actual concept and market is pretty sound and with the right kind of aircraft, has the potential to do well. I'm thinking of a high-ish density 767 or A330 here. I can't see too much premium traffic being generated. Perhaps they should look at what First Choice and Thomas Cook are doing.
Last edited by VS-LHRCSA; 30th Dec 2007 at 18:24.