airlines

XL Airlines goes into administration

As predicted on ithreetravel yesterday, UK holiday company XL, who runs low-cost carrier XL airlines, has gone into administration.Read the full story on the BBC website.

It’s likely to affect tens of thousands of passengers. Those who have booked through an ATOL-bonded travel agent have financial protection, although customers booking directly with XL Airlines will not.

A contact at Gatwick Airport has informed me that BAA has impounded XL’s fleet of aircraft remaining at its UK airports.

XL recently announced the cancellation of their flights to the Caribbean, and rumours have been circulating in the travel industry for some weeks now of their imminent demise.

All is not doom and gloom in travel, however, as some airlines continue to expand their routes. A scan of the travel blogs reveals that Monarch Airlines are about to announce a new route, flying from the UK to Grenada and Tobago, starting from December 2008.