Spanish regional airline Spanair is apparently ceasing operations effective immediately, shutting down their network of flights with virtually zero notice. The move comes as Qatar Airways has cut off talks with the carrier about becoming an investor and infusing cash to help keep the airline afloat. Additionally, the Catalan government has decided to cease providing additional loan funds to the carrier. Most reports from Spain suggest that the company will not be flying any more at all, though there are also a few updates trickling out which suggest there might be additional flights tomorrow. Most of the reports are in Spanish and I’m depending on Google Translate to get the gist of the situation but I’m guessing I’m not getting everything completely correct.
This move also cuts out a chunk of service for Spanair’s partners in Star Alliance. The carrier often had good inventory for awards and also generally a good regional network for connecting passengers on the Iberian peninsula. Then again, this is the same company which repeatedly sold codeshare inventory on US Airways metal at ridiculous discounts (or errors) to the point that US Airways cut off their codeshare agreement not too long ago.
Sad to see an airline fail and so many folks newly unemployed (estimates suggest ~4,000). Good luck with accommodation if you’ve got Spanair flights booked.
Never miss another post: Sign up for email alerts and get only the content you want direct to your inbox.
Really glad I got my $370 r/t ticket on US sold by JK to MAD in before they went away.
Sad to hear. One of my first travel “WTF” moments was on a SpanAir flight about 15 years ago. Their in-flight safety video warned customers not to “sneak in the toilet for a fag”. I was not familiar with that term for cigarette!
Glad I flew them before they disappeared. Flew them to Ibiza.