Monarch ceases operations

Oct. 1, 2017, (c) Leeham Co.: Monarch Airlines ceased operations today (Oct. 2 in the UK) when its operating license was withdrawn and an Administrator appointed, the BBC reported.

Monarch Airlines Airbus A320. BBC photo via Google images.

The airline has 32 Boeing 737-8 MAXes on order. It operated a fleet of 34 Airbus A320s/A321s. Principal lessors are AerCap and Aviation Capital Group, according to the Airfinance Journal Fleet Tracker.

Given the current trade war between Boeing and Bombardier, there may be a sigh of relief in Montreal. Boeing beat out Bombardier in winning the MAX 8 order against the CS300 in 2014.

16 Comments on “Monarch ceases operations

    • I think the issues are different.

      Monarch, as a charter airline, took too long to recognise the package tourism unbundling threat from the LCCs so wasn’t ready by the time the Great Recession hit and unbundling had gone too far for them.

      Air Berlin by and large, to my mind, simply developed in a way too complex and ill thought out manner.

      • Are there place for so many charter/leisure airlines in Europe?

        With the mixed fleet requirements many land up with old long range aircraft of all sorts which work its way through to the rest of the fleet.

        LCC’s such as Ryanair and EasyJet’s success is most likely the simplicity, size and relatively young age of their fleets?

    • Plummeting value of the pound after Brexit caused Monarch (and other UK airlines) problems with price of fuel and price of holidays in Europe, which both went up causing a drop in demand. Other non-UK airlines won’t be seeing that effect.

      They will be seeing effects of unrest in Turkey and terrorism in North Africa causing more demand for holidays in traditional Mediterranean destinations – where competition is fiercest.

      Some are saying that Monarch was over-leveraged – e.g. they’d borrowed too much money. Surprising as the cost of borrowing right now is the lowest its ever been and its been that way for many years now.

      I hope their engineering hangs on – they’re a good bunch to work with.

      • So far I have only heard/read good things of the Monarch staff/employees, hope things work out well for them.

        Was wondering about the prospects of a UK aero company of Flybe, Jet2 and Monarch under one roof, diversity in skills sometimes a strength in unity.

      • MAEL announcement: “Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited (MAEL) today announces its continuation as a standalone business, operating as normal, as Monarch Airlines and Monarch Travel Group enter Administration…
        “Whilst Monarch Airlines was a significant customer for MAEL, its focus is now on servicing its other existing clients and securing new contracts. In the last two weeks MAEL has won a new significant contract from Virgin Atlantic Airlines. MAEL will carry out C1 checks for Virgin’s Boeing 787-9 fleet between 2017 and 2021. All the maintenance work will be carried out at its state of the art facility at Birmingham Airport.
        “At the 2017 Paris Air Show in June, MAEL announced a joint venture partnership with Boeing Global Services (formerly Boeing GoldCare). The two companies are collaborating on securing additional third-party fleet servicing agreements, capitalizing on Boeing’s strength and reach within the industry and the expertise of MAEL.”
        Perhaps Birmingham will replace the MAEL Luton facility?

  1. What happens to the Monarch Aircraft Engineering subsidiary? Does it continue operating? Is it not still valuable to an acquirer? And doesn’t it play an important roll in Boeing’s now Global Fleet Care (“Goldcare”)?

    • Was able to get most of my questions answered after reading a today-posted, MRO Network.com article. Business is continuing for them. No answer on potential acquirers just yet.

  2. Two very unsurprising events, one of them horrible, Monarch goes bust and a maniac goes bonkers with an assault rifle in the US. Americans will watch in astonishment as the rest of the world refuses to panic and carry on travelling abroad.

    • That warm thought reminds me of a 1985 breakfast-TV news broadcast (‘Good Morning, America’ or some such), which included a transatlantic interview with British tourism writer Bernard Falk during the hi-jack of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro. Filling time at the end after asking if U.S. citizens should change vacation plans, the interviewer asked Falk if he had any additional thoughts. “Yes, you Americans remind me of Bulgarian wine…” The mystified broadcaster asked for an explanation: “You don’t travel well…”

  3. If someone takes over Monarch will the order of the MAX8’s be part of the liability?

    • I think Boeing bought them back and were going to lease them monarch as a part of the murky financial trickery last time they almost went bust. Great news for Boeing, as they will actually have something available to sell, although sadly not in the same category as the C series.

      • I wonder if, as part of the insolvency proceedings, we might find out how much they were bought and sold for?

    • I saw one story which said ” Monarch Airlines just ran out of runway”, which seemed very apt

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