There are hopes that some or all of the collapsed Eastern Airways business can be saved, say administrators who have now formally been appointed to the airline.
Directors of the Ƶ short haul specialist, which has headquarters at Humberside Airport, filed a notice of intention to appoint joint administrators last week amid a suspension of all its flights and the majority of its 330 staff made redundant. Now joint administrators from RSM Ƶ have taken over the company's affairs.
The insolvency experts reiterated the reasons for the collapse, saying the loss of a key KLM contract had left the airline with high fixed costs, including a workforce level that was unsustainable. RSM's Jamie Miller and Gareth Harris now say they hope at least some of the group, which includes Eastern Airways (Ƶ) Limited and Air Kilroe Limited, can be rescued.
Jamie Miller, partner at RSM Ƶ and joint administrator, said: “It is extremely sad that such a long established and historically successful independent airline, one of the few remaining in the Ƶ, has had to enter administration. The unexpected and sudden termination of Eastern’s KLM contract, along with other economic factors, unfortunately left the directors with no choice but to appoint administrators.
"At its peak, Eastern was an award-winning airline providing 200 flights per day. Its passengers included Queen Elizabeth and other members of the Royal Family, as well as Prime Ministers, Premier League Football Clubs and Formula 1 Teams and management. They also provided valuable services on public service obligation (PSO) routes and supported energy critical services to the oil and gas sector.
"Consequently, sufficient staff have been retained to ensure maintenance of the aircraft fleet as we seek to rescue some or all of Eastern’s operations. We would welcome any interest from potential alternative operators, or those who may have an interest in the underlying assets.
“For those staff not retained, we will provide every assistance to them to ensure they successfully claim their entitlements from the Redundancy Payments Service.”
Eastern Airways had been operating since the mid-1990s and had recently been flying four aircraft for KLM Cityhopper, a subsidiary of KLM Air France in Europe. It was also servicing Ƶ-based routes under its own name, and running a charter business.
