One month after the merger, Sterling Airlines was sold to the FL Group for an amount of MDKK 1500.

On 6 January 2006, Hannes Þór Smárason, CEO of the FL Group, stated that a merger of EasyJet and Sterling was a possibility.

At the end of 2005, Sterling Airlines had 1,600 staff and 29 aircraft, making it almost twice as large as Icelandair.

[2] On 4 December 2008, Cimber Air announced that it had purchased Sterling and intended to restore the airline as a separate company, with a gradual expansion throughout Europe.

[citation needed] As of 29 October 2008 the fleet has been grounded, due to Sterling Airlines declaring bankruptcy.