Primera Air stops, leaving thousands of people stranded

Primera Air, the European low-cost airline that has rapidly expanded its operations on transatlantic flights this year, announced that it would cease operations Monday night, leaving thousands of travelers stranded at airports and stranded at the airports. 39; abroad.

The news was announced Monday afternoon after the leak of an email sent to employees on Twitter. The airline based in Riga, Latvia, subsequently issued a statement: "Please understand that the usual options for contacts (by e-mail or telephone) can no longer be offered."

In other words: if you booked with Primera Air, start looking for a new flight.

Offering unbelievably low fares, Primera skipped shorter European routes on flights to the United States and Canada and claimed to serve more than one million passengers a year with a fleet of 15 aircraft. In September, the company announced new routes between Frankfurt, Germany, and Madrid, Spain, as well as some airports in North America, including New York-JFK, Boston Logan and Toronto Pearson. Both flights started at $ 173 one way. Other rates went up to $ 99.

The company's last flights were in the air on Monday, when the first cancellations began. In Paris, Monday's flights to New York and Toronto were canceled after the passengers received their boarding passes. Primera staff distributed claim forms and left. A spokesman told Quartz: "Unfortunately, all Primera Air employees are fired and we have no more information."

This is an extreme example of the risks of traveling with airlines that have taken the plunge to offer incredibly low fares between the United States and Europe since Norwegian Air launched this model. Norwegian, XL Airways, Wow Air and Primera flights are not flawless experiences where you have a meal or a screen but not both. They were also flights with little recourse in case of problems: unlike American Airlines or Air France, these newcomers have neither large fleet nor "interline agreements" allowing them to transfer passengers on other flights or carriers.

This means that your cheap ticket reflects something else: if your flight is canceled, it is possible that you will not receive another flight for four days. And if all flights are canceled, well, you'd better have an international data plan faster than everyone else at the door.