WARNING: VOLARE AIRLINES HAS SUSPENDED ALL FLIGHTS
 

WARNING:

Italian media reports (11:48 a.m. EST today) that Volare Airlines has suspended all flights, ceased selling tickets, and parked all aircraft where currently situated (it appears that some may be seized or enjoined from taking off by local authorities).

BEWARE ............. more to come

Yikes!

The Volareweb.com web site is still working, so unsuspecting people might buy tickets.

Luckily I'm not using Volare on my next trip.

Did the airline go kaput?

Here's an article (in Italian):
http://www.repubblica.it/2004/i/sezi...re/volare.html

As of 16 Nov, it seems that Volare is under investigation for violations of criminal and civil codes.

See http://www.infoair.it/folder/news16Nov2004110914.shtml

See also http://www.luchtzak.be/article-topic-122.html

for news of the financial situation.

Woohoo! I just checked it for a trip over Christmas!

The www.volareweb.com website reservation system is "not functioning due to maintenance reasons"

Volare Airlines began flying on April 3, 1998 and its fleet had grown to 24 ultra modern jets, including 21 Airbus 320 for Italian/European routes and 3 widebodies for intercontinental routes (operated by wholly-owned AirEurope).

Volare Airlines was offering one-way fares within Europe as low as 9.99 Euros, exclusive of taxes and surcharges.

Its sales were largely web-based, and supplemented by a reservations call center.

What a shame if it is going under. I flew Volare from Paris to Rome recently and it was a great way to go. Comfortable leather seats, great service, on time, etc and you can't beat the price.

Worthy of additional topping... regrettably...

Best wishes,

Rex

Bummer.

wow- I was so close to using them over Christmas from Paris to Venice. that would have been a real downer to have to scramble now.

As a sign of my Fodors addiction, I dreamed that I had a flight on Volare, which I missed. It involved some sort of complicated connection, and my other option was an overnight train.

It's fortunate that none of this is real. :-)

According to RAI Italian TV, Volare Airlines is roughly 400 million Euros in the RED, and has 200,000 tickets outstanding for future air travel. Last year, they transported 5,000,000 passengers. There is an important meeting today which may determine the fate of the carrier (possibly liquidation).

I have two tickets in December. Should I consider the money gone? Fortunately, the combined total cost was 150 euro after taxes. It could have been much worse.

I'd consult your credit card company.

Italian media reports today that Meridiana Airlines, a low-cost competitor of Volare, has expressed an interest in picking up the insolvent carrier's domestic Italian routes.

In the meantime, Italian Welfare Minister Robert Maroni has ungratiously referred to the 200,000 outstanding Volare Airlines tickets as "scrap paper".

More to come ........

Just flew them November 8 th Palermo-Milan and the plane was 3 hrs late.
Great leg room though.

Volare Airlines formally declared insolvency yesterday. This paves the way for a liquidation of the airline. There is a possibility that its routes will be picked up by a competitor carrier, such as Air One or Meridiana, but this does NOT necessarily mean that outstanding Volare tickets will be honored, or honored without surcharge.

There are questions and answers (in Italian) in today's Corriere della Sera ("Volare -- Meglio Tenere i Biglietti"). Those holding Volare tickets or electronic tickets for future travel should make alternative plans and hold on to the tickets in order to file a claim with the Liquidator. Ticketholders are unsecured creditors, so the odds of any meaningful recovery are not good.

Ticketholders who paid with a credit card or purchased through a travel agent should also pursue claims with the credit card issuer or the travel agent, as the case may be.

Employees of the airline have reportedly not been paid for over two months.

Ryanair is moving smartly into the vacuum. http://www.ryanair.com