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The cheap northern airline Primera Air became the last European airline to go bankrupt, claiming that all the flights were stopped and blocking thousands of passengers.
"On this sad day, we say goodbye to you all," writes the airline in a note on its website dated 30 September. Here is the message:
Primera was forced to cancel flights earlier this year, due to delays in receiving Airbus aircraft, but has more and more to complain about poor service and refunds late. The airline planned to launch routes Madrid-New York, Boston and Toronto next year at prices as low as 149 € (172 $) per way.
In Europe, traditional airlines have fought back against their competitors at low cost by operating their own budget carriers, squeezing an already saturated market and lowering their fares. KLM in Transavia while the sister company Air France launched Joon.
IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, took full control in 2012 of the Spanish low-cost airline Vueling, which serves destinations throughout Europe. Last year, IAG launched Level, a low-cost, long-haul carrier designed to compete with Norwegian and WOW. Lufthansa has been developing its low cost subsidiaries Eurowings and Germanwings for 15 years.
The collapse of Primera comes one year after the bankruptcy of the British company Monarch Airlines, victim of intense competition for thefts and a weaker pound. Air Berlin, the second largest airline in Germany, filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2017.
Yesterday, Ryanair, the largest European passenger airline, warned that the profits of the year would be affected by the fallout of strikes and rising gas prices. The airline said more strikes on its staff could force the company to issue other profit warnings.
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