Just a day after declaring insolvency and being in search of a desperate restructuring plan, the UK’s newest hybrid, long-haul airline venture Hans Airways has successfully secured the required funding. With the new investment secured much earlier than anyone anticipated, the airline was given the green light to launch flight services between the UK and India.
Almost drowning in a lack of funds
For context, Hans Airways was on track to launch this year when it finally acquired its first Airbus A330 and operated proving fights, and even started hiring UK-based cabin crew in recent months. However, the airline startup’s launch plans almost hit quite a derailment earlier this month when it suddenly became insolvent.
The insolvency happened after some investors pulled out, which was not a confident sign for an airline yet to take-off. Hans Airways immediately searched for options resembling their rescue plan for restructuring efforts. The search was expected to take at least a few days, with the restructuring plan set to be laid out to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority by next week at the earliest.
Photo: Hans Airways
Securing financial viability
What was supposed to take a week has only taken a day, as Hans Airways promptly shared the details of its new investment package. The newly secured financing means that the airline can progress towards satisfying the Civil Aviation Authority of its financial viability and hope to obtain its Air Operators Certificate to launch flight services.
Aligned with the new investment is required management restructure, whereby Chief Operating Officer Nathan Burkitt overtakes the role of Chief Executive Officer from Satnam Saini, who will continue with Hans Airways as a Board Director instead. Commenting on the shifting of positions, Saini said:
“I am entrusting Nathan and his fine team to deliver my vision for Hans Airways. It has been a long journey, and I look forward to continuing supporting the airline as Board Director.”
The airline’s restructuring also included shifting the positions of certain Board members, including Dr Barry Humphrey, who will then assume the role of interim Chairman, succeeding Ruchir Verma. With the subtle changes, the airline’s Board now consists of Dr Barry Humphrey, Jane Middleton, Dr Peter Malanik, Kirpal Jass, Indervir Jass, Satnam Singh Saini, Nathan Burkitt, and Sulagna Roy as Company Secretary.
Although Hans Airways is now saved from insolvency and can move forward, the sudden pull from investors was admittedly a fearful situation. Dr Humphrey acknowledges this challenge and is adamant that the hybrid airline is strong enough to fly through such storms, as he said:
“Establishing a new airline is never straightforward, and there will inevitably be hurdles. Hans Airways is now well-positioned to move forward. With growing evidence of strong demand for additional air services between the UK and India, supplemented by charter opportunities, we have every expectation of being able to launch.”
Bottom line
All that remains left for launch is when Hans Airways obtains its Air Operators Certificate and details the plans for its first commercial flight services. It seems certain that the first route announced would be between Birmingham and Amritsar, as the airline had previously hinted. If so, Hans Airways would be up against some interesting competition, such as Air India, and it would be curious to see how well the hybrid airline startup would fare against the flag carrier.