Another One Bites the Dust! Bye Bye Malev

In less than a week and a half, two major European airlines have stopped flying.

First to go, Spanair left some 20,000 passengers stranded across Europe.

The fall-out was slightly less desperate when Hungary's Malev closed shop on Friday, with "only" about 6000 people inconvenienced.

But the two incidents, coming one on top of the other, should cause  travelers to think carefully before booking the other of Europe's financially shaky carriers. And what are those carriers?

Malev's sandwiches are a thing of the past

I guess its time to name names. In past months, there's been a lot of concern about the future viability of Aer Lingus, SAS, LOT Polish Airlines, TAP and Ceske Aerolinie (the Czech airline). Could the nervousness of lenders and debtors, the same companies that stopped supplying Malev with fuel and other necessary supplies last week, pluck a few of these carriers from the skies? And what about the dwindling government subsidies that are propping up all of these airlines? The future doesn't look bright for the carriers named above.

And what should you do if the consumer do if they've already booked on one of these carriers? Get insurance. FAST. Because when (and if) an event occurs that clarifies what their eventual fate may be, one won't be able to buy insurance. And those who purchase insurance within 30 days of their travel purchase are covered for the financial default of the travel provider. Those who purchase later may not be. (So read all fine print CAREFULLY!!).

Forewarned is forearmed!