Ballarin’s Assertions ‘not Trustworthy’

Spokespersons for Washington’s Dulles International Airport are not aware that a resurrected WOW Air will be the first European airline to have a hub at the airport, as claimed by American business woman Michele Ballarin in a four-page interview in Morgunblaðið on Wednesday, mbl.is reports. Iceland Monitor published a summary of the interview that day.

Ballarin ’s company, USAerospace Associates, is reported to be in the process of purchasing the flight operation assets of the bankrupt estate of WOW Air with the aim of resurrecting the low-cost airline.

The travel website turisti.is reports that Ballarin’s assertions in the interview with Morgunblaðið are not trustworthy. There, she states, for example, that authorities at Dulles International Airport are very enthusiastic about the fact that a new WOW Air is coming to Dulles International Airport.

“This description is not in line with responses turisti.is has received from Dulles’ spokespersons,” turisti.is reports.

“In their response, [the spokespersons state] that airport authorities in the Washington area are not familiar with USAerospace or companies connected to Mrs. Ballarin. The response furthermore states that airline representatives contact [airport] authorities on a regular basis to express interest in starting scheduled flights to the city. At this point, there is nothing on the table regarding the arrival of new airlines or new air routes to and from Washington Dulles.”

Aside from this, turisti.is reports that those contacted by the website, including people familiar with airline operations, agree that Ballarin’s assertions are not trustworthy. “Some cannot hide their disappointment in the fact that the person leading the resurrection of a company defined by Icelandic authorities as systematically important should not be better informed. What shines through, in fact, is how little experience she has regarding passenger flight, except as a passenger.”