Sterling Air is Bankrupt
Oct 29th, 2008, 01:01 AM
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Sterling Air is Bankrupt
Posted this as an aside on another thread and there is not much more to say, but if anyone had any plans with them, this is your heads up.
http://sterling.dk/
http://sterling.dk/
Nov 2nd, 2009, 10:50 PM
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yikes, I just randomly found your thread, travelgourmet.
I'm actually flying Cimber Air (but my reservation says "operated by Sterling Air) from Copenhagen to Prague in a few weeks...have you heard any more news on this airline? As far as I understand, Cimber bought Sterling, and SAS owns Cimber.
I'm actually flying Cimber Air (but my reservation says "operated by Sterling Air) from Copenhagen to Prague in a few weeks...have you heard any more news on this airline? As far as I understand, Cimber bought Sterling, and SAS owns Cimber.
Nov 3rd, 2009, 01:47 AM
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Cimber is not owned by SAS anymore. At one point, SAS owned a portion of the airline, but sold their stake some time ago. They do, however, operate some commuter aircraft for SAS.
They didn't exactly buy Sterling. They bought some of their assets, such as the operating certificate and the website, but they didn't take on any employees (they all would have had to apply for jobs through normal channels).
They also didn't buy any aircraft as part of the expansion, though I think they leased a couple of former Sterling planes from the creditor. They are a smaller airline than Sterling was and their expansion is planned to be much more gradual. For example, Sterling had 26 737s, while Cimber currently has 5.
I haven't heard too much about the airline under Cimber and I haven't had a chance to fly them, but I suspect that they are pretty standard for a European budget carrier. Can't tell you much about their finances, as they are privately held, but I haven't heard any rumblings about them being in any sort of trouble.
The upshot of the Sterling bankruptcy has been that a couple of other low-cost airlines have expanded significantly. Both Transavia (owned by Air France) and Norwegian now operate bases out of CPH, primarily to warmer cities in southern Europe.
FWIW, SAS is actually in pretty rough shape. They have basically gone begging to Lufthansa looking to be bought, but Lufthansa doesn't seem interested. My guess is that everyone is waiting for them to get desperate and then one of the big boys (BA, Air France, and Lufthansa) will look to swoop in and get a bargain.
They didn't exactly buy Sterling. They bought some of their assets, such as the operating certificate and the website, but they didn't take on any employees (they all would have had to apply for jobs through normal channels).
They also didn't buy any aircraft as part of the expansion, though I think they leased a couple of former Sterling planes from the creditor. They are a smaller airline than Sterling was and their expansion is planned to be much more gradual. For example, Sterling had 26 737s, while Cimber currently has 5.
I haven't heard too much about the airline under Cimber and I haven't had a chance to fly them, but I suspect that they are pretty standard for a European budget carrier. Can't tell you much about their finances, as they are privately held, but I haven't heard any rumblings about them being in any sort of trouble.
The upshot of the Sterling bankruptcy has been that a couple of other low-cost airlines have expanded significantly. Both Transavia (owned by Air France) and Norwegian now operate bases out of CPH, primarily to warmer cities in southern Europe.
FWIW, SAS is actually in pretty rough shape. They have basically gone begging to Lufthansa looking to be bought, but Lufthansa doesn't seem interested. My guess is that everyone is waiting for them to get desperate and then one of the big boys (BA, Air France, and Lufthansa) will look to swoop in and get a bargain.
Nov 3rd, 2009, 02:01 AM
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hey thanks, travelgourmet for the information.
I'm getting ready for my first flight to CPH -- I'm really looking forward to it. I'm flying SAS from ORD to CPH, and then I have five hours at the airport before I catch my next Cimber Air flight over to Prague. I hope that Cimber Air (operated by Sterling Air on the flight I purchased) will be ok...all I really care about is the safety of the flight. I don't care much for in-flight food -- its a short flight away.
I'm getting ready for my first flight to CPH -- I'm really looking forward to it. I'm flying SAS from ORD to CPH, and then I have five hours at the airport before I catch my next Cimber Air flight over to Prague. I hope that Cimber Air (operated by Sterling Air on the flight I purchased) will be ok...all I really care about is the safety of the flight. I don't care much for in-flight food -- its a short flight away.
Nov 3rd, 2009, 03:34 AM
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Note that the 'operated by' is strictly legaleze. Everything is managed by Cimber, only the operating certificate belongs to 'Sterling'. This isn't a codeshare or anything like that.
FWIW, 5 hours at CPH is a lot of time at the airport.
I don't know exactly when you arrive and depart, but if it is not too early in the day and you have the full 5 hours, then I would consider heading into town. Depending upon what you mean by "a few weeks", then you might be able to catch Tivoli all dolled up for Christmas (it opens on 20 Nov and runs until 30 Dec). You could stow your bags at the airport* and take the train to Central Station. Tivoli is across the street.
Alternatively, if Tivoli holds no interest or it isn't open before you get there, you can take the Metro to Kongens Nytorv and check out Strøget and Nyhavn, maybe even a couple of the major sites in the area or even a canal tour.
The train to Central Station is something like every 10 minutes and takes around 15 minutes. The Metro runs something like every 4 minutes and also takes around 15 minutes. Cimber only requires a 45 minute check-in time for your flight to Prague. Without checking bags, 1 hour is plenty of time. With bags, I would think 1:30 would still be plenty.
* Left luggage is on the land side of the airport. immediately after you go through the doors to exit baggage claim, turn left toward the rental car desks and walk past them. On the other side of the 7-11 is left luggage.
FWIW, 5 hours at CPH is a lot of time at the airport.
I don't know exactly when you arrive and depart, but if it is not too early in the day and you have the full 5 hours, then I would consider heading into town. Depending upon what you mean by "a few weeks", then you might be able to catch Tivoli all dolled up for Christmas (it opens on 20 Nov and runs until 30 Dec). You could stow your bags at the airport* and take the train to Central Station. Tivoli is across the street.
Alternatively, if Tivoli holds no interest or it isn't open before you get there, you can take the Metro to Kongens Nytorv and check out Strøget and Nyhavn, maybe even a couple of the major sites in the area or even a canal tour.
The train to Central Station is something like every 10 minutes and takes around 15 minutes. The Metro runs something like every 4 minutes and also takes around 15 minutes. Cimber only requires a 45 minute check-in time for your flight to Prague. Without checking bags, 1 hour is plenty of time. With bags, I would think 1:30 would still be plenty.
* Left luggage is on the land side of the airport. immediately after you go through the doors to exit baggage claim, turn left toward the rental car desks and walk past them. On the other side of the 7-11 is left luggage.
Nov 3rd, 2009, 11:19 AM
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Thank travelgourmet, I'm considering what you've suggested.
5 hours in an airport could be a bit boring. I'm hoping that my flights will be comfortable and on time. I arrive at CPH around 7am and then the next flight isn't until around noon. I'll probably use the Left luggage option as you've suggested and then take the train into town to check out the city. I've never been to Copenhagen and I'm eager to check it out.
I'll also be flying out of CPH on the return flight but that won't be about a few weeks later. I'll probably fly Cimber Air back to CPH to give myself a few days in Copenhagen before I leave Europe.
Thanks!
5 hours in an airport could be a bit boring. I'm hoping that my flights will be comfortable and on time. I arrive at CPH around 7am and then the next flight isn't until around noon. I'll probably use the Left luggage option as you've suggested and then take the train into town to check out the city. I've never been to Copenhagen and I'm eager to check it out.
I'll also be flying out of CPH on the return flight but that won't be about a few weeks later. I'll probably fly Cimber Air back to CPH to give myself a few days in Copenhagen before I leave Europe.
Thanks!
