Wall $treet Folly

Wings clipped: EOS Airlines ceases operations and goes into bankruptcy

All business class carrier EOS Airlines shuttered operations and filed Chapter 11 as it couldn't scare up cash to continue operations.  It had a deal to raise $50 million, or so it thought, but that fell through last Thursday....   

The airline reconfigured Boeing 757s meant for 220 passengers with 48 seats that could extend into a fully flat bed. Flights served wine, champagne, cocktails and gourmet foods. There were individual DVD players, and helicopter rides to the airport were offered to some travelers.

The price for the New York to London flights, which it offered twice a day, ranged from $3,500 to $9,000 roundtrip.

The high-flying luxuries came to an end Sunday as Purchase, N.Y.-based Eos ceased operations after filing for bankruptcy protection, the latest casualty of a credit crunch and a money-losing airline industry that has been hit hard by high fuel prices.

15 years later Pan Am pays former workers

Fifteen years after Pan Am was liquidated, they're finally paying ex-employees their remaining wages and accrued vacation. 

In July, a federal bankruptcy judge authorized the Pan Am Corp. to distribute the money it had secured in a settlement with the government of Libya. Sending out those checks marks the end of a long process of winding down Pan Am.

"This is about as final as it can get," said Walter Curchack of the law firm Loeb & Loeb, which helped negotiate the settlement agreement on behalf of Pan Am.

The defunct Pan Am, which started in 1927 and helped create what was then a new industry, shut down on Dec. 4, 1991, after declaring bankruptcy in January of that year. Among the last, fatal blows it suffered was the 1988 bombing of Flight 103, a now infamous attack that ended with 270 dead when a bomb exploded on board as the plane flew over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Pan Am to pay ex-workers after 15 years - AP via Mercury News

Ryanair showing their funny bone...and alot more

Ryanair is well known for its outrageous and sometimes tasteless but funny publicity generating ads.  Check out the Ryanair website.  Then check out The Register.  Ryanair was fast, but not fast enough.  P.S.: There's nudity.

Eos turning terrorism lemon into lemonade

Some airlines have found a silver lining in the big terrorism cloud.  The Times of London reports:

On Thursday, as mayhem swept through Britain’s airports following the threat to transatlantic flights, Eos, the business-class-only airline that flies from Stansted to New York, was busy turning a potential disaster into a marketing opportunity. It moved fast to ensure its passengers were security checked, but in executive style. Each was greeted by a “personal escort” to check their luggage met the rules. Once on board passengers were provided with all banned substances, including toothbrushes and toothpaste, and lots of refreshments.