https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_Airlines
2014 to 2017: troubles and administration
In August 2014, Monarch announced it was undergoing a strategic review of the company which would involve cost reduction initiatives.[71] As part of the plan, Monarch announced the closure of their East Midlands base on 14 August 2014.[72]
On 24 October 2014, Monarch Holdings was acquired from the Globus Travel Group by private investment company and turnaround specialist Greybull Capital for a nominal sum just hours before Monarch's licence with the Civil Aviation Authority expired. Greybull were to own 90% of the airline, with the remaining 10% held by the group's pension fund[73] and provide access to £125m of new capital. As part of the deal, Monarch announced that it would downsize its fleet from 42 to 34 aircraft, renegotiate leases on 10 aircraft and cease long-haul and charter operations from April 2015, converting to a low-cost model focusing on short-haul leisure routes. However, the new finance was said to secure the order for 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft signed up to at the 2014 Farnborough Air Show.[74]
Following the downsize in operations, Monarch Airlines carried 5.7 million passengers during 2015, a 19% reduction compared with 2014.[75] However demand for flights on Monarch's major holiday routes to Egypt and Turkey continued to fall because of passenger fears raised by the Syrian civil war, the Egyptian political crisis and the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt.[76]
On 25 September 2016, online rumours surfaced about Monarch Airlines' imminent bankruptcy, which the airline strongly denied.[77][78] The Civil Aviation Authority had commenced commandeering spare planes from other airlines to potentially repatriate British citizens at short notice.[79] However, in the following days Monarch obtained additional funds from shareholders, and on 30 September 2016 its Civil Aviation Authority ATOL licence was temporarily extended until 12 October.[76] On 12 October 2016, Monarch Airlines successfully retained its ATOL licence after an it received an additional £165m in investment funding. At the time, the cash injection was believed to have come from Greybull Capital,[80] however one year later it was revealed that the majority of the sum had actually been provided by Boeing in an effort to save the struggling airline.[81][82]
In September 2017, reports emerged of Monarch facing difficulties over its license, as had happened in the previous year. On Saturday 30 September 2017, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) extended Monarch's licence for 24 hours due to financial issues.[83] Once again the Civil Aviation Authority had commenced commandeering spare planes from other airlines which included 10 planes from Qatar Airways.[84] Furthermore, although Monarch had received an extension to its license, it tripled fares, which was viewed as an attempt to effectively price itself out of the market and reduce exposure to any claims.[85]
During the late evening on 1 October 2017, the airline's late night flights to Ibiza were cancelled at the boarding stage as the deadline for its licence loomed.[86] On the morning of 2 October at 03:19 BST, the airline's final flight, ZB3785 from Tel Aviv to Manchester, landed.[87] Shortly afterwards at approximately 04:00 BST, the CAA confirmed that Monarch Airlines had ceased operations with immediate effect and had entered administration, along with sister companies Monarch Holidays Ltd, First Aviation Ltd, Avro Ltd and Somewhere2stay Ltd, leaving 110,000 passengers overseas and 300,000 future bookings cancelled.[88]
A total of 38 aircraft from 15 European, Middle Eastern, and Canadian operators, including Qatar Airways (10 aircraft), Titan Airways (5 aircraft), Air Transat (4 aircraft), Freebird Airlines and Wamos Air (3 aircraft each), and smaller numbers from other airlines and charter operators, were chartered to repatriate British citizens from abroad, using aircraft ranging in size from a Boeing 737-300 to a Boeing 747-400.[89][90] In total, the operation cost £60 million, funded by the Air Travel Trust Fund which in turn is funded by an airline and passenger levy.[91][92] The operation has been described by Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, as the "biggest ever peacetime repatriation".[6]
Monarch was the largest airline ever to have ceased trading in the UK. The causal factors of Monarch's demise were reported to include vicious competition on routes to southern Europe from other low-cost rivals, excess capacity on many routes forcing down prices and thus impacting yields, terrorism in North Africa, a military coup in Turkey, and Brexit causing the depreciation of the Pound Sterling which increased operating costs (i.e. fuel costs, aircraft leasing costs, and airport landing fees).[6]
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