Monarch Airlines

[Guest]

British budget airline Monarch decided being in business wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be and declared bankruptcy Monday morning. That couldn’t have been comforting news for the 110,000 stranded passengers whom the British government is working around the clock to airlift back home. 

And it’s certainly not comforting…

…for the other airlines that are struggling to stay afloat in the ultra-competitive European market. Alitalia, the Pope’s favorite Italian airline, went bankrupt in May, but this time (yep, this has happened twice before), the Italian government wasn’t about to throw it a lifeline. 

Meanwhile, Irish budget carrier Ryanair canceled 20,000 flights affecting nearly 400,000 travelers…and then there’s Air Berlin, a low-cost German airline that was bailed out by the German government and Lufthansa. 

What’s going on?

Here’s what we know, Marvin Gaye. Monarch and its failed brethren are the victims of soft ticket prices due to heated competition among the many European budget airlines. 

But Monarch’s troubles go deeper. It occupied a niche for vacationers heading to regional getaways, but terrorist attacks led Britain to temporarily cut off tourism to two of Monarch’s strongest markets: Tunisia and Egypt. This year, it was on track to post an $80 million loss.