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Hungary's Malev Shuts Down after 66 Years, LCCs Rush In

Hey, remember when journalists started weirdly declaring that everything was fine with the airline industry? And then travelers took that to mean that good times were here again while the government swooped in with expensive new regulations? And then remember how American Airlines went bankrupt and then Spanair shut down and then Hungary's Malev shut down? Good times.

There's not much to say about this latest casualty of the global economic crunch. Hungary really, really wanted to keep Malev operating, with the government declaring the airline to be a "priority objective." But they just couldn't make the carrier viable—specifically, they couldn't convince suppliers that the government would be able to pay them for services—and thus ended the Malev's 66 years of almost continuous service. Sad.

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Spanair Shuts Down, Airline Industry Poised for Even Worse in 2012

The San Francisco Chronicle wants you to know that everything is alright with the airline industry. U.S.-based airlines are turning profits, and US Airways' President even says there's zero evidence of "macroeconomic weakness" to be found.

That will be news to Spanair,, which collapsed so fast on Friday that it left 20,000 travelers stranded with no return flights home (the good press they got from giving passengers Christmas presents failed to stem the tide of millions and millions in losses). Spanair's shuttering follows the closing of Spain's Air Comet, whose flight attendants subsequently had to do nude photo shoots just to draw attention to the €7 million in unpaid wages they were owed.

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The Six Funniest Twitter Reactions to American Airlines' Bankruptcy

In news that surprised no one (except maybe stock holders), American Airlines' parent company AMR filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. Nevermind the warning signs and our own horrible experiences with them in just 2011—of three long-haul flights on them, two had long mechanical delays, all served crap meals and all were less than half-full—the Twitter community is still taking the opportunity to find humor in the situation.

Without further ado, Six of the Funniest Tweets on the American Airlines Bankruptcy:

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From Iceland Express to Iron Maiden Air? Hey, It Could Happen.

It's still one month until Christmas and already we've found a lump of coal in our stocking. Yesterday, the low-cost airline Iceland Express went out of business after its operator, Astraeus, went bankrupt. This sucks! It's bad news no only because it's horrible when a company travelers count on ceases to operate, but also because Iceland Express' cheery orange planes were the only option for affordable one-way flights from New York to Iceland, and even on to Europe.

Going roundtrip on Iceland Express from New York to Reykjavik could go as low as $399, and secretly we've been dreaming of hopping a transatlantic cruise, then returning from London via Iceland Express with a stopover in Iceland. Perhaps it all seemed too perfect, we knew it wouldn't last. The airline even had Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson as a pilot.

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Ryanair And EasyJet Already Greedily Eyeing SkyEurope's Old Routes

Even in the short run, SkyEurope's sudden bankruptcy and full-scale flight cancelation will impact more than the passengers whom the airline left stranded all over Europe. The now-defunct airline was routinely ranked as Eastern Europe's #1 low-cost carrier, somewhat because of its services but also because it crowded a lot of its competition out of the region. Now Ryanair and EasyJet, Europe's top two LCC's, are looking to swoop into the airports and routes that SkyEurope used to dominate.

Ryanair and EasyJet have long had sparse-to-no presence in Central Europe. Aside from the occasional WizzAir route, SkyEurope had a firm grip on Slovakia, Vienna, and Prague, taking up gates and undercutting other airlines' prices. Not any more:

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Zoom Airlines Declares "Insolvency"

Zoom Airlines stopped flying at 2 pm this afternoon, declaring that the company's run out of money to pay off its debts. Though insolvency isn't exactly the same as bankruptcy, it's close enough: All future flights have been canceled and its planes have been parked.

A statement from the airline's founders wasn't very surprising:

We have done everything we can to support the airline and left no stone unturned to secure a re-financing package that would have kept our aircraft flying. Even as late as yesterday we had secured a new investment package but the actions of creditors meant we could not continue flying.

The collapse of Zoom is a result of matter beyond our control. Only last year Zoom Airlines made profit, but that turned into a loss in the last year due to the unprecedented increase in the price of aviation fuel and the economic climate.

Zoom says it has contacted other airlines to help stranded passengers get where they're headed. Refunds? Call your credit card company pronto.

Related Stories:
· Zoom Airlines [Official Site]
· It's Doom for Zoom [Airline Biz Blog]
· Zoom Airlines coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikipedia]