On the morning of 2nd October 2017, I woke up to the news that I had been dreading all weekend – Monarch Airlines had ceased to operate and went into administration. Just one week earlier I had flown in to London Gatwick after holidaying in Malta and there, as usual, lined up on the main pier at Gatwick’s South Terminal was at least a dozen Airbus A320 and A321 Monarch aircraft parked next to an assortment of British Airways, Norwegian and Thomas Cook Airlines. As I was taxing past them (on board a British Airways flight), little did I know then that the airline was already heavily in the “red” and that this would be the last time I would ever see the “Spotty M” make it’s appearance at Gatwick.
1989 was the year that I first flew on a Monarch Airlines aircraft myself from LGW to Heraklion, Crete. I was so excited to be acquainted with this bird, a Boeing 757-200; we boarded via the steps on a remote stand at Gatwick’s shiny brand-new North Terminal. I can still remember us being parked next to an identical B757 Monarch aircraft which was also boarding a hoard of passengers heading for sunnier climes – this was one airline that was doing so well in Thatcher’s Britain. I managed to persuade my dad to buy me the snap-fit model aircraft on board (along with a baseball cap with “GATWICK” sprawled across the front in the airport earlier). When we landed at Heraklion Airport, stepping out on to the hot tarmac, I was too shy to ask a Monarch stewardess for a photograph, who was saying her goodbyes to passengers (they did this on the tarmac in the 80s) – having managed to take a sneaky pic instead, her head was unfortunately cut out – nonetheless, I loved the whole experience.
My next encounter with Monarch would be in the summer of 1994 to Antayla, Turkey. Again, a Boeing 757-200, this time from Gatwick’s South Terminal (they switched from North to South around 1991/92) and boarding this time was from the Satellite gate. Still in love with this airline, I bought another snap-fit model aircraft and my passion grew. By the mid-90s they had surpassed their great piers; Dan-Air, British Caledonian and Air Europe. As the years past, other airlines such as Excalibur Airways, Ambassador, Air 2000 and XL Airways came and went but Monarch however, kept on going. 2012 would be the final time that I would fly with Monarch; an Airbus A300 from Manchester Airport to Sharm el Shiek, Egypt – what a great experience to get the opportunity to fly this old bird there and back. Unbeknown to me then, this would be the beginning of the end for Monarch and me.
And so, two days before their collapse, I was working out in the gym and the TV screen above my head had the BBC News switched on with the headline: “Breaking News – Monarch Airlines Facing Administration”. A constant loop of film footage showing the aircraft landing at Gatwick, I was in disbelief, suddenly I had forgotten all about my workout and kept asking myself lots of questions: they were saved by Greybull a year ago, they have ordered new Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft, the cabin crew will be getting new uniforms, I saw them lined up a week ago at Gatwick without a hint of trouble – this cannot possibly be happening right? A cousin of mine was due to fly with Monarch to Dalaman, Turkey on that very fateful morning of 2nd October – I reassured him that his flight would be fine and it was just media hype, just like the response he got from Monarch via Facebook.
Then, at 03:19am, Monarch Airlines’ final flight from Tel Aviv, Israel to Manchester Airport touched down. Shortly afterwards at approximately 04:00am, the CAA confirmed that Monarch Airlines had ceased operations with immediate effect and had entered administration. As I was fast asleep when Monarch was taking it’s last breath, my poor cousin had already arrived at Gatwick expecting to board his flight. As soon as I saw the notification on my phone that morning I was glued to the breakfast news. This was an airline I had known my entire 36 years of existence, it was like a friend had died, grief set in but the wonderful memories of those years traveling with Monarch came flooding back.
The airline’s demise; competing in a growing market of low-fares, no frills travel, set them apart from the rest but sadly Monarch’s turnaround to follow suit was too little and too late. While the likes of easyJet now dominating flights to and across Europe, Monarch began to struggle; hit hard by the rising cost of fuel prices, a weakened pound and terrorist attacks on prime holiday hot-spots such as Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey, the writing was on the wall for “Spotty M”. And while I’m still sad at their demise, the memories live on forever; great experiences both on the ground and in the air, all of which will never be forgotten. Sleep tight Monarch, you reigned supreme longer than any other charter airline in the UK and for that, I salute you.
Monarch Airlines was founded on 5 June 1967 and ceased operations on 2 October 2017
