The last time a major leisure airline collapsed in the UK, chaos ensued and tears were shed, not least by the man at the helm, Phil Wyatt, during a press conference.
XL Leisure Group’s failure in 2008 saw important trade brands disappear overnight, but none with the sort of heritage and affection among its trade partners or the general public as Monarch.
I suspect had the worst happened last week and the airline not secured a rescue deal there would have been a much more widespread outpouring of grief in the trade.
Business is business and Monarch, and its tour operation Cosmos, is not everyone’s cup of tea: some of its commercial decisions rile agents.
But, as became clear in the process to sell Monarch, here was a company fighting for its very survival at the sharp end of a sector of the aviation industry fraught with risk.
So, sacrifices had to be made by Monarch management and staff, employees in its pension scheme and the Mantegazza family that has owned it for three generations.
It was either accept the pain – or the company would ceased to exist. News of the deal being clinched last Friday even prompted cheers from 200 soon-to-be-redundant employees at a leaving party, which says a lot about the company.
Similar relief will have been felt by those agents who stayed up late on Friday nervously awaiting confirmation of the rescue as the half-term getaway loomed. Thankfully, chaos was averted and Monarch entered a new era – one that, according to boss Andrew Swaffield, agents will be vital in shaping.