Lukas Bruheim and 31 other students at Årdal upper secondary school in Sogn spent around NOK 110,000 on flights with Flyr. On 7 October this year, they were to fly from Oslo to Mallorca. The plan was a week’s trip to Magaluf to kick-start the last school year and Russian time. They probably won’t see the money again, after Flyr went bankrupt on Tuesday. The reason is that the class paid for the trip by bank transfer. – It’s a very awkward situation, says Live Moen Elgsaas. Can claim money from the bankruptcy estate The students chose to book the trip as a group trip, which means they paid for all the tickets together. Although the company states on its website that private individuals pay for the trip by “credit card, possibly by bank transfer”, Bruheim found that bank transfer was the only method of payment. This is because Flyr informed in an e-mail that “the payment is made by bank transfer”. – We chose group travel because it was cheaper, and we were assured that we could sit close to each other on the plane, says Bruheim. He has helped organize the trip. – We chose group travel because it was cheaper, and we were assured that we could sit close to each other on the plane, says Lukas Bruheim. Photo: Sondre Dalaker / news With a bank transfer, you transfer the amount from one account to another, much like when you pay a bill. When you pay with a debit or credit card, you can usually claim money back from the card issuer. If you pay by bank transfer, on the other hand, it is the company you can claim money from. Flyr has around 2.4 billion in debt when the company went bankrupt. Therefore, it is unlikely that the company has the opportunity to prioritize giving the students back the money, says bankruptcy trustee Silje Snertingdalen. She has taken over responsibility for Flyr’s assets. Executor: Not a priority – If the only possibility is to get the money back from the bankruptcy estate, the chance is unfortunately slim, says Snertingdalen. She says that the money the bankruptcy estate receives primarily goes to cover the costs of the estate administration. Then comes the salary of 407 employees who have not received holiday pay from last year. The salary requirements will exceed NOK 30 million. – The estate is not the place they should trust the money to come from. Unfortunately, there will not be that much funds left, she says. Should prepare for not being caught again Thomas Iversen is a senior legal advisor at the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority. According to him, it is very unusual to buy plane tickets by bank transfer. Although there is little chance that the class will get any money back from the bankruptcy estate, he advises the students to claim money from the estate. Thomas Iversen, senior legal adviser at the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority, says it is very unusual to buy plane tickets by bank transfer. Photo: The Consumer Council – Even if the chance is small, you will at least get nothing if you do not register the claim, he says. – How likely is it that they will get the money back? – It is in the nature of bankruptcy that there is not much money left in the coffers. This type of demand is quite far behind in the queue when the money is to be distributed, he says. Still excited about the trip Despite the possible lost money, the second-graders at Årdal VGS are still determined to go on a trip. – It will probably be our turn, but it is very awkward to have to pay for plane tickets twice, says Elgsaas. However, the price is now so expensive that many of the classmates no longer join. – It is very bad. We were ready to travel almost all of them, says Joakim Henjum. After the case became known locally, the business community in Indre Sogn also started a fundraising campaign so that the entire Russian group will still be able to get on a Russian trip.
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Class from Årdal bought plane tickets from Flyr for NOK 110,000 – probably lose everything – news Vestland
