People taking free flights with unlicensed airline ‘have no legal protection’

PEOPLE hoping to cash in on a free flight offer have been warned they will have no protection under the law if they take up the deal, because the airline is not licensed to operate here.

British-based airline FreshAer, which is taking bookings for flights departing from Dublin, is not licensed by the Commission for Aviation Regulation, Commissioner William Prasifka announced yesterday.

“This company is not licensed by the commission and is therefore acting in contravention of the Irish travel trade legislation,” said Mr Prasifka.

“As a consequence, members of the public should be aware that they have no protection under the Irish travel trade legislation, if they deal with this company.”

Media queries to FreshAer’s office in London yesterday were directed to an answering machine.

The newly launched carrier this week began offering flights to Irish consumers via a phone line and the internet. It is also running a promotion in conjunction with the Evening Herald newspaper. The full colour newspaper advertisement offers a “100,000 flights giveaway” to London Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Alicante and Malaga from October 1.

This week, a FreshAer spokesman said the company intends applying for licences to the Commission for Aviation Regulation and the Irish Aviation Authority, the body responsible for safety. Both agencies say it could take up to six months to get a licence.

One of FreshAer’s founders is former Aer Lingus employee Tony Robinson. Its management also includes one-time Ryanair chief pilot Kim Duggan and former Aer Aran boss Bob Laird, as well as former senior executives of Transaer and Storm Aviation.