FreshAer faces the possibility of closure next week if City of London investors do not throw it a last-minute lifeline.
It is understood that the company - whose plans to set up a budget airline in the Republic on October 1st are on hold after one of its investors pulled out a week ago - is seeking fresh financing and has submitted a business plan to at least one London merchant bank.
Sources said last night that, if the investment does not materialise, it is likely that FreshAer would have to be wound up.
Its fate could be decided as early as the middle of next week.
FreshAer is registered and based in the UK. The company has come under pressure from a number of creditors in Britain, but it is understood that they have agreed to allow it time to establish whether it can attract fresh investors.
This week, the company ordered German bank B&S Card Services to return the €250,000 it took from between 1,400 and 1,500 Irish people who booked flights with them.
The Frankfurt-based bank refunded the cash on Wednesday and said it would take "a few days" for it to reappear in the customers' credit card accounts.
The repayments will not be threatened if FreshAer is wound up as the money was held in a special bonded account. The company had no direct access to the cash while it was in this account and the bank released none of the funds.
FreshAer has agreed terms with estate agent Jackson Stops for a lease on a 20,000 sq ft three-storey office in Swords, Co Dublin. It announced last week that it would be creating 200 jobs there over six months.
The Irish Times learned yesterday that talks in relation to this property deal are still ongoing. The company, apparently, wants to keep open the option of taking up the lease if new investors materialise.
The departure last week of its chief executive, Mr John Lepp, plunged the company into crisis. In 1999, Mr Lepp was disqualified from acting as a director for 10 years in the UK.
He was also convicted on two counts of trading with intent to defraud creditors in a London crown court and sentenced to 12 months in prison.
FreshAer is not licensed to act as an airline or tour operator in the Republic. It began the process of applying for these licences early last week but it could take up to six months for its airline operator certificates to come through.
The company also fell foul of the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR), which warned a fortnight ago that it was acting illegally in selling flight tickets without a tour operator's licence. Selling flight tickets without the necessary licence and bonds could lead to prosecution.
