Anotherone bites the dust

[CK]

Air Paradise International of Indonesia announced yesterday it was suspending service due to the "devastating effects" of the recent Bali terrorist attacks. Chairman and owner Kadek Wiranatha expressed his "sincere regret to the airline's employees, creditors and the traveling public for having to suspend the airline's operations" on the company's website. The number of tourists visiting Bali in October compared to the year-ago month fell 37% to 81,109, according to The Australian. Qantas and Australian Airlines agreed to repatriate a reported 1,500 stranded Air Paradise ticket holders at no cost. "We will operate more special services if required, however, we expect to be able to accommodate all remaining passengers on our scheduled services over the coming weeks," Qantas Executive GM John Borghetti said. Established in 2003--after a four-month delay due to the 2002 Bali bombings--to service the Australian/Balinese tourist route in the wake of Ansett's collapse, Air Paradise employed 350 and carried approximately 20,000 passengers per month aboard two A300s and two A310s between Denpasar and Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The carrier has retained Australian corporate recovery firm KordaMentha.

fra atwonline.com