New Airline Shuts Down After Just One Week

JetGreen Airways is no more. The upstart Irish airline had been in business for just a week before abruptly announcing it would shut down all operations.

The announcement left some 400 passengers stranded in Spain and another 40,000 holding now-worthless tickets. Worse, the airline says it won't refund any of the money its been paid for tickets.

Instead, JetGreen suggested passengers file claims for money lost with their insurance companies or with civil aviation regulators in Ireland.

It was an ignoble end to an airline that launched itself May 4th with promises of "all the frills of yesteryear, delivered at the value people expect today." JetGreen flew from Dublin to Malaga and Alicante in southern Spain, using a single Boeing 757.

JetGreen sold some one-way tickets for as little as a single euro -- a price that included taxes and fees.

It's those very regulators who are now taking heat from passengers and competitors. "The regulators who gave these people a license have completely failed in their duty," said Michael Cawley, chief operating officer of Ryanair, Ireland's number one low-cost carrier.

FMI: www.iaa.ie