Apprentice NZ star vows to pay jilted customers

Chris Whiteside. Photo / Supplied

Former Apprentice New Zealand contestant Chris Whiteside is vowing to donate income earned from to his new business venture during its first year of operation to jilted passengers of charter company Fly Direct Ltd.

Whiteside has purchased the business from liquidators and relaunched it as travel booking site flydirect.co.nz offering flights, accommodation, rental cars and cruise bookings.

Fly Direct Ltd was to provide ski holiday packages into Wanaka from Christchurch and Wellington but collapsed on June 2, just weeks before its launch.

A lack of sufficient sales to cover forward commitments was blamed for its failure, which left about 500 people more than $120,000 out of pocket.

Whiteside says all booking commission income generated from the site during its first year will be paid out to customers who lost money, as a goodwill gesture.

"I've been the victim of liquidations - most of the time the consumer is last on the list and lose everything they put in. I thought this was my chance to help others out", he said.

"Hopefully this gesture will help some people out and get them a portion of their holiday money back," Whiteside said.

- NZ HERALD