Restored Monarch could be flying by next year but questions remain over revival plan
An unlikely bid to revive the Monarch Airlines brand could see a new iteration of the carrier operational by the middle of 2024 using a small fleet of Airbus A320-family jets under plans disclosed by the company’s newly-appointed chair. However, much about the revival plan remains unclear; in particular there is, as yet, no detail on who is bankrolling the attempt to bring back a name absent from the UK market since the collapse of the original Monarch Airlines in 2017. Leading the effort is Daniel Ellingham, who was appointed as the sole director, effectively the board chair, of both Monarch Airlines and sister company Monarch Holidays on 18 August. Ellingham, whose LinkedIn profile lists previous board advisory roles at Austrian Airlines and defunct Swissair, says he has been involved in the revival attempt since January but “did not take up a formal position until July.” He is hopeful the revived airline could be back in little under a year: “We would like to see Monarch flying by mid-2024, however I do accept that this is very optimistic.” His deeper involvement in the would-be operator coincides with the sale of Monarch Airlines and Monarch Holidays, by their former owner for a “a minimal fee of £1”. The companies’ previous ownership is convoluted but they appear to have been controlled by founder Jake Johnson, or other companies owned by him. In January this year, Johnson incorporated both Monarch Airlines and Monarch Holidays, holding their entire share capital. Ellingham was also appointed as a director of another Johnson-controlled business, Flymonarch, in January, resigning on 18 August. The company never traded and is currently in the process of being dissolved. He says the directorship of Flymonarch “was solely for nominal purposes” and he “never had any involvement” in its running. How Ellingham was recruited in the first place, and by whom, is unclear but when Johnson announced he was dissolving his companies, Ellingham evidently decided to take the plunge. Ellingham declines to reveal the identity of Monarch’s backers but says this “should become clear in the coming weeks and months”.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-08-24/unaligned/restored-monarch-could-be-flying-by-next-year-but-questions-remain-over-revival-plan
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Restored Monarch could be flying by next year but questions remain over revival plan
An unlikely bid to revive the Monarch Airlines brand could see a new iteration of the carrier operational by the middle of 2024 using a small fleet of Airbus A320-family jets under plans disclosed by the company’s newly-appointed chair. However, much about the revival plan remains unclear; in particular there is, as yet, no detail on who is bankrolling the attempt to bring back a name absent from the UK market since the collapse of the original Monarch Airlines in 2017. Leading the effort is Daniel Ellingham, who was appointed as the sole director, effectively the board chair, of both Monarch Airlines and sister company Monarch Holidays on 18 August. Ellingham, whose LinkedIn profile lists previous board advisory roles at Austrian Airlines and defunct Swissair, says he has been involved in the revival attempt since January but “did not take up a formal position until July.” He is hopeful the revived airline could be back in little under a year: “We would like to see Monarch flying by mid-2024, however I do accept that this is very optimistic.” His deeper involvement in the would-be operator coincides with the sale of Monarch Airlines and Monarch Holidays, by their former owner for a “a minimal fee of £1”. The companies’ previous ownership is convoluted but they appear to have been controlled by founder Jake Johnson, or other companies owned by him. In January this year, Johnson incorporated both Monarch Airlines and Monarch Holidays, holding their entire share capital. Ellingham was also appointed as a director of another Johnson-controlled business, Flymonarch, in January, resigning on 18 August. The company never traded and is currently in the process of being dissolved. He says the directorship of Flymonarch “was solely for nominal purposes” and he “never had any involvement” in its running. How Ellingham was recruited in the first place, and by whom, is unclear but when Johnson announced he was dissolving his companies, Ellingham evidently decided to take the plunge. Ellingham declines to reveal the identity of Monarch’s backers but says this “should become clear in the coming weeks and months”.<br/>
