Jaunted

So quickly after saying g'day to the airline, we now have to say 'hooroo' (Australian slang for good-bye). The official news is that Air Australia ceased operations after going into bankruptcy protection, stranding passengers both in Australia and abroad. The airline has been troubled since the rebranding, not being able to pay bills for sometime. The straw that broke the camels back? Creditors would not allow planes to refuel until the company made good on their bills.

Of course, other airlines came to the rescue to gain some new customers in this time of need:
· Qantas is offering passengers the identical price that the bankrupt airline offered on the same routes, hoping customers can get a refund from Air Australia.
· Virgin Australia only offers flights from Denpasar at US $199.
· Hawaiian Airlines offers affected customers rescue fares between Hawaii and Sydney for $300, local currency depending on your departure city.
· The best of all fare deals has to be Air Asia X's, where stranded passengers can fly from Kuala Lumpur paying only the taxes for the flights to Australia.

Ironic in round-about, Air Australia came to the rescue of Qantas passengers when the red roo was grounded due to industrial action. Now Qantas helps stranded passengers fly to their final destinations.

Hmm. We have now seen one airline go bust every week for the past three. Not cool.

[Photo: AFP]