Astraeus Airlines fails

Based at Crawley in West Sussex, Astraeus Airlines has ceased operations with Mark Nicholas Cropper, Alastair Paul Beveridge and Anne Clare O’Keefe of Zolfo Cooper LLP being appointed as Joint Administrators.

The specialised airline was founded in 2002 by, amongst others, Chief Executive Hugh Parry, the holder of a similar position with British World Airlines (failed 2001), who said: “We battled hard to save Astraeus, but lower-than-expected levels of business during the summer of 2011, a lack of contracts for winter 2011-2012 and some extremely bad luck with a number of technical issues mean that we have no option but to cease all operations and put Astraeus Airlines in the hands of the administrators.”

Astraeus is a 100% subsidiary of Eignarhaldsfelagid Fengur hf, an Icelandic-based travel group that also owns Iceland Express.  That airline had been chartering from Astraeus for its Gatwick operation and is now using a subsidiary of Czech Airlines as its operator.

At the time of administration Astraeus operated five Boeing 737s and four Boeing 757.  Its demise leaves Stansted-based Titan Airways as the only British pure charter airline. www.flyastraeus.com

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