Skywise passengers told to wait for liquidation

Skywise passengers who paid for flight insurance on their tickets will not get a refund, even if their flights were cancelled. Regent Insurance, part of the Imperial group, insured Skywise passengers, but said refunds will kick in only if the airline goes into liquidation. Skywise, which has been grounded for nearly a fortnight, owes R8 million in service fees to Airport Company SA and Air Traffic Navigation Services.

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Regent spokesman Michelle Abrahams said: "Refunds only extend to passengers in the event of a liquidation of Skywise. This has not yet materialised." She denied that insuring Skywise had damaged Regent's reputation. Abrahams said passengers whose flights were cancelled could approach their credit card companies for a charge-back, where credit card companies can refund money for services not received.

Skywise did not respond to questions about whether it could offer refunds. The low-cost airline approached investors to deposit money into its account, but said it would only provide investors with information on their investments after they had made a payment .

Skywise, founded in March 2013, had 40 flights a week between Johannesburg and Cape Town before it was grounded on 2 December. Before being grounded, it serviced two cities, Johannesburg and Cape Town, with a schedule of six flights a day from two aircrafts.

Source: The Times