After the ash cloud episode Monarch nearly went bust. Couldn't afford the photocopier, turned off half the lights in the offices, the works.
Then a £75m bailout arrives and with it a new management. Obviously they need to show that they have a new plan. So it is that we arrive at today's expansion, new aircraft, withdrawal from long haul, new bases and a TV ad campaign of all things.
Problem is its all buzzcocks.
BMIBaby is withdrawing from exactly this market space despite benefiting from over 8 years of regional TV advertising. Nobody in the real world has ever ever heard of Monarch Airlines. You'd need a lot of answers on Family Fortunes before you got to 'Monarch'. The public would name defunct airlines first. Trying to steal Jet2's lunch at Leeds is just asking for a royal spanking. EasyJet's at Luton is risible.
It's all going to end in tears. A niche airline trying to go mainstream is a fraught adventure even in good times. During a massive recession it's kamikaze. That £75m will be burnt by Easter. I just hope there's several more where that came from or else a lot of people are going to end up in the dole.
Monarch is the Titanic. They said it couldn't sink.