Jetgreen sold only €50,000 in tickets

Failed airline Jetgreen sold little more than €50,000 worth of tickets to consumers, The Irish Times learned last night.

The budget carrier failed after just eight days trading and 16 flights on Wednesday.

While the airline sold 40,000 individual tickets, it is understood that it sold these at the lowest prices it was offering. These began at just €1.

Jetgreen was committed to selling 12 per cent of seats at €1. Its strategy had been to attract customers through the cheap fares in the hope that they would also buy flights at the higher prices on offer.

However, the majority of people simply bought the cheap flights and ignored the other offers. The poor revenues forced shareholders to withdraw support from the airline, which was the second small-scale carrier to fold in this country this year.

An estimated 1,150 people have contacted the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) directly to seek compensation for the failure of fledgling airline Jetgreen.

It also emerged last night that between 800 and 1,000 Irish people were stranded in Malaga and Alicante as a result of the airline's closure.

According to a CAR statement issued yesterday, initial inquiries indicate that Irish people have managed to make alternative arrangements to return home. The commission said it would continue to monitor the situation.

The CAR will use a €500,000 bond that Jetgreen placed with it to compensate all those who have had to pay for a flight home, at a cost of €200 to €300 each. It will also repay those who have paid for flights that will not now take place.

It is understood that the bond will more than cover the cost of compensation.

In its statement yesterday, the CAR said that it had logged almost 1,000 calls from people affected by the carrier's failure, and over 150 enquiries by email. Its website registered 7,000 hits.