A new ski specialist airline, which planned to begin operations with flights from six UK airports to Sion in Switzerland, has lost its main investor throwing the launch of the airline into uncertainty.
In a statement, Powdair confirmed: “Our key financial backer [has] walked away from the Powdair journey for personal reasons.” The airline has stated that community ownership is the only way to make Powdair operational this winter and as such it is seeking £3 million for this season’s operations but needs £1 million by the end of this week to begin reduced operations.
“Just as the Powdair operation begins to snowball, [this] setback is both unexpected and potentially disastrous for our airline, booked passengers and resort partners,” Powdair’s chief financial officer Sean Pettit said yesterday. “Operational systems and strategies are already in place, whilst ticket sales are very strong and exceeding expectations. Powdair is ready to go, but we now desperately need investment. I'd personally like to hear from anyone interested in owning either a small or large part of our airline.”