TOUR operator CT2 has scrapped plans for its charter
airline AV8 only months after describing it as “central to the company’s
growth”.
The Manchester-based operator is in the process of
terminating its lease with Icelandair for a Boeing 757 and will not be
reclaiming a B767 sublet to TUI. It has also helped 31 out of 38 AV8 staff find
jobs with other airlines.
Group director Brian Murfin said: “AV8
has been put to bed. The business case for starting your own charter airline
has changed since we first came up with the idea.
“There is a lot of excess capacity in the charter
market at the moment and there has been no problem getting peak capacity.”
Entrepreneur Nigel Warr had described the airline as a
“key priority” when he invested £6 million in CT2 in May (Travel Weekly May
10).
The airline was set up last year to operate CT2’s
South Africa programme as well as a range of short-haul beach destinations, but
wasn’t the success the company had hoped for.
The wet-leased B767 was due to return to CT2 to
operate this year’s South Africa programme, but the company is now in
negotiations with another charter company to secure seats.
As a result, the start of the
Cape Town and Durban programme has been put back until November 20.