Bankrupt Sterling Airlines still taking to the skies

Sterling Airlines may have gone bust 12 months ago, but you wouldn't be able to tell that if you were a passenger flying from its former base in Copenhagen.

Despite filing for bankruptcy in October 2008, the airline's planes are still taking to the skies one year on – sporting its distinctive red livery and defunct brand name.

The Boeing 737s are now owned by Danish airline Cimber Sterling, which according to The Copenhagen Post hasn't bothered repainting five of its six acquisitions.

Cimber Sterling communications manager Signe Thorup admitted that the situation had caused some confusion among passengers and partners.

He cited a couple of incidents in which fuel suppliers had delayed deliveries to the airline over fears that it would be unable to pay its bills. Sterling Airlines was forced to file for administration after it failed to meet repayments to creditors and fuel companies.

But Mr Thorup contended that re-branding the jets would not come cheap, with the paintwork alone costing 600,000 kroner (£75,000). Additional revenue would be lost by taking the planes out of service.

Speaking to The Copenhagen Post about the airline's new name, Cimber Sterling, he went on to say: "We knew the [Sterling] name was tarnished with both customers and partners.

"But because it is extremely well recognised in southern Europe, we judged that it was advantageous to link it to the Cimber name, which had a much lower recognition value."

© Cheapflights Ltd