Aer Southeast's boss insists there's 'no change' in the airline's plans to operate Waterford-UK flights
The newly founded airline was told to stop selling tickets because it doesn’t have a licence.
THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of Aer Southeast has told customers there is “no change” in the airline’s plans to operate flights from Waterford to the UK after Ireland’s aviation authority told the company to stop trading.
The carrier announced last month that it was bringing the first commercial flights to the regional airport in a year with services to London Luton, Manchester and Birmingham airports, due to start from 24 July.
However the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR), which regulates the travel trade in Ireland, told the carrier last week to stop selling tickets because it had not obtained the necessary tour operator licence.
In a letter to passengers who have bought tickets for the UK flights, chief executive Einar Adalsteinsson has said it is Aer Southeast’s “full intention” to operate the flights as announced.
“The regulatory issues which have been mentioned in the media are now close to being resolved,” he said in the letter, “and we would like to assure you that these issues have nothing to do with the safety of the airline or the quality of the service which we plan to provide.”
Refunds
Adalsteinsson told customers that the money they paid for the flights is being held in an ‘escrow account’ by a third-party payment processing company. He said this means the airline will not receive the money until a week after a flight has been completed.
He added that in the “unlikely event” of flights not going ahead as scheduled, customers will be refunded the full price of their ticket.
The airline had been marketing fares, starting from €79, to the UK destinations since 19 June. The flights, using a 34-seat Saab 340 turboprop aircraft, are due to start from 24 July.
Aer Southeast’s parent company, Skytruckers Ltd, was founded just two months ago and lists Waterford Regional Airport as its address, according to documents filed with the companies registration office.
State-backed agency CAR said last week that it issued a letter to Aer Southeast to cease trading “as soon as the commission became aware that (the airline) intended to arrange and offer for sale a new service”.
When the flights were first announced, a spokeswoman for Waterford Airport told Fora that the airline will operate under a lease agreement with a European carrier that holds an Irish air operator certificate.
The current issue relates only to the airline’s ability to sell tickets.
