Kiss Flights
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Travel and holiday services |
| Predecessor | XL Leisure Group |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | Michael Smith, Paul Moss |
| Defunct | 2010-08-17 |
| Fate | Ceased operations |
| Headquarters | London , England, United Kingdom |
Area served | Spain, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Portugal, Turkey |
| Parent | Flight Options Ltd |
Kiss Flights operated as a seat-only tour operator specializing in charter services before ceasing operations on 17 August 2010. Functioning under the trading name of Flight Options Ltd, headquartered in London, England, the firm offered flights to prominent leisure destinations such as Spain (including both mainland and the Canary Islands), Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Portugal, and Turkey.
History
Following the downfall of XL Leisure Group, Flight Options Ltd acquired Kiss Flights in January 2009. The company was established by Michael Smith and Paul Moss, who were previously senior figures at XL Airways UK, a carrier that entered administration in September 2008. Certain routes were operated by the Swedish carrier Viking Airlines. Kiss Flights maintained ATOL protection (No.4233) through its parent company, Flight Options Ltd, which was founded in 1995 and has a history of acquiring various travel enterprises. Initially, Kiss Flights catered exclusively to travel agents but later expanded to allow consumers to book directly online. The ATOL license permitted the sale of up to 168,700 seats until March 2011.
Cessation of operations
Flight Options Ltd declared it would halt trading at 17:00 BST on 17 August 2010, impacting as many as 70,000 customers, with approximately 13,000 stranded overseas. This event marked the third collapse of a British travel firm during the summer of 2010, following the failures of Goldtrail on 17 July and Sun4U on 13 August. Due to the timing coinciding with peak travel season, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) ensured outbound flights continued for the initial 24 hours after the announcement.