Just as I get to work on writing a feature on regional airlines for the October edition of Airline Business, news comes in of Irish regional carrier Aer Arann's entry into examinership - which is roughly the Irish equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The airline, which says it will continue to operate normally, blames two years of losses and the volcanic ash disruption for its plight.
During my interviews for the feature, Mike Ambrose, director general of the European Regions Airline Association, warned that the volcano disruption and subsequent compensation payouts are threatening regional airline survival.
"Traffic figures we picking up, but the light at the end of the tunnel turned out to be the burning top of the Icelandic volcano," says Ambrose. "The problem the volcanic ash created for us was enormously damaging effects on cash flow. Some airlines had half a million in cash taken out of their business and now they need to build it up again."
For a detailed round-up of the state of the regional airline market, keep an eye out for the October edition of Airline Business.
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