Sterling Airlines gone bust

I woke up this morning to the news that Sterling Airlines has gone bankrupt. The Icelandic owned airline blames the oil and financial crisis for the bankruptcy.

More than anything, I feel sorry for the employees, many of whom no doubt will be very worried about their future as I write this. I also feel sorry for all the passengers who this morning turned up at various airports looking forward to a holiday or a family visit, only to find out that the airline they would be flying with no longer exists. In fact, I feel sorry for any traveller who has bought Sterling tickets that are now worthless, and that unfortunately includes me. So I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m feeling a little bit sorry for myself this morning.

Just over a week ago I was giving some rare praise to Sterling here on this site for finally getting rid of their unjust card payment charges. No praise from me today. I booked tickets from Sterling on 16 October for a trip in December to go to Billund in Denmark to see my family before Christmas.

I’ve never been keen on flying with Sterling, because, as regular readers will know, I don’t agree with the ways many budget airlines conduct business. Unfortunately, no other airline flies Gatwick-Billund, so when I’ve wanted to visit my family, I had to fly with Sterling. So not only have I lost my Sterling tickets, but there’s currently no alternative airline for this route. It looks like, I won’t be seeing my family in December.

The only bit of good news I’m clinging on to is that because I used my credit card to book my ticket, I may be able to get my money back. I’ve spent the early part of this morning on the phone with my credit card company, who has advised me to send them a letter disputing the charge for my ticket along with evidence of my booking. So once I’m done writing this, I’ll be making my way to the post office to send off my dispute. Not exactly a silver lining, but I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that I get my money back.

I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that another airline will pick up the Gatwick to Billund route, so that I can still go see my family in December. But even I know that I’m pushing my luck on that one!

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TAGS: bankrupt, Sterling Airlines, travel