Jetsgo ceases operations

[CGTSN]

http://www.cnw.ca/en/releases/archive/March2005/11/c3606.html


After Nationair, Royal.....

All my thoughts to everyone who worked there.
:(

If ever you are a cabin crew, this is in another forum where it gives you infos to apply for a job :

http://www.flightattendants.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/102223/Main/102174/#Post102223

[Panama Jack]

My sympathies for the employees of Jetsgo.

[jonny dangerous]

Hey CGTSN if the grouping of Royal and Nationair in the same line is meant to imply Michel Leblanc operations, you should substitute Intair for Nationair. Nationair was in fact a Robert Obadia operation...

Cheers


JD

[yyzdub]

Canadian low-cost carrier Jetsgo is ceasing operations with immediate effect and will be filing for court protection from creditors.

“Given difficult market conditions resulting from competitive pressures in the Canadian airline industry, Jetsgo has determined that, in the circumstances, it is prudent and responsible to discontinue its operations and ground all of its planes,” the Montreal-based company says in a statement.

“Passengers are advised to make alternative travel arrangements prior to going to the airport as there will be no Jetsgo staff or aircraft available. Travellers seeking to return to their point of origin must make alternative arrangements with other airlines or with their travel agent or tour operator.”

The company, which employs 1,350 people, says it will be asking the Quebec Superior Court to grant it protection under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, which “will allow Jetsgo to consider all options available to reorganise its affairs”.

President Michel Leblanc says: “We deeply regret that this had to happen. The decision to cease operations was only taken after difficult deliberation. We are very concerned about our customers and the significant hardship that this action causes. In the meantime, we encourage our passengers to contact their travel agent or an alternative airline.”

Leblanc, a former head of Royal Aviation, launched Jetsgo in 2002 and it expanded rapidly in its nearly three years of operations. Its fleet includes more than 30 Boeing MD-82/83s and Fokker 100s, according to Avsoft’s ACAS database, which were operating to 20 Canadian and 10 US destinations.

[Canadian Beech]

WHAT! Is this for real?

[Huron Topp]

Very true, watch the news.

[Rollingthunder]

Sad for staff and currently stranded pax.

Westjet shares up $4.00 this morning...AC up $3.00.

[Fidgell]

Firstly, I pass on my most sincere condolances to thehard working staff of Jetsgo and my post is not aimed at your misfortune but those in power.

BUT.... Good riddence to bad rubbish. This poorly run, potentially dangerous airline was an accident waiting to happen. Recent altitude capping due to potentially dangerous operations only highlights the cover up that could have caused more than terrible job losses. Fuel and runway fees are high I agree, but so are safety concerns.

I hope all those poor folks who wake up in uncertain times find an open door to further their careers and in future weeks they discover today to be the start of something HUGE with a better and safer employer.

My thoughts are with you all.

[LHR2YYC]

I wish I knew about this yesterday I would have brought WestJet Stocks went up 4 bucks this morning.

[PPRuNeUser0172]

Here here fidgell

This has been looming for some time I fear

Bad news for the staff though

[CrimsonSkies]

the number of shares traded took a steep upturn (3 million) just shortly to the Jetsco fiasco..........the days prior don't show any trends.........did you buy a few mike white????
http://ca.moneycentral.msn.com/investor/charts/chartdl.asp?Symbol=CA%3Awja&ShowChtBt=Refresh+Chart&DateRangeForm=1&CP=0&PT=3&ComparisonsForm=1&CE=0&CompSyms=&DisplayForm=1&CF=1&D4=1&D5=0&D7=&D6=&D3=0

[LindbergB767]

I bet that Leblanc bought West Jet and AC shares because HIM he knew that those shares were going to go up

Again Leblanc is getting richer and all the employes are getting poorer
Sorry for them

[CrimsonSkies]

that was my suspicion also, looking at the graphs, there was a considerable purchase of the shares just prior to the Jetsgo collapse. 3 million shares would have yielded nearly 17 million dollars over the 24 hour period, not a bad kickback for a guy who screwed everyone over

[Canadian Beech]

Hey... maybe he can have Martha Stewart's cell, I hear it's available now;)

[rotornut]

that was my suspicion also, looking at the graphs, there was a considerable purchase of the shares just prior to the Jetsgo collapse
FYO I heard on CFTR to-day that the OSC is going to take a close look at these West Jet share transactions. More to come as the Globe & Mail will probably have something on it tomorrow.

[R8TED THRUST]

I Can't believe this guy keeps getting away with this!!!! He is far worse than Ebers and the boys at Enron! If this was the US he would be in jail after the demise of C3

[rotornut]

Globe and Mail, Wednesday, March 16:

Last Wednesday, WestJet's trading volume hit nearly three million shares and another million shares traded hands last Thursday.

The jump in trading, higher than recent average daily volume of 573,000 shares, caught the eye of Market Regulation Services, the independent regulator of Canadian equities trading. Regulator spokesman Doug Maybee said that, as part of a standard review, trading in WestJet will be examined for the two days prior to Jetsgo's filing for bankruptcy protection last Friday.

"We look at all trading leading up to announcements such as this to ensure that all trading was done in accordance with the rules," he said.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050316/RJETSGO16/TPBusiness/?query=jetsgo

[c150driver]

I'm really kicking myself now...I should have borrowed $100,000 and bought stock when Jetsgo lost their RVSM...I would have made a cool $35,000!! Oh, well, I guess it helps to know EXACTLY when the company will fold :yuk:

[rotornut]

Don't we all. And if you had bought Research in Motion yesterday, you would have made 15% if you sold it this morning. That's the stock market for you.

[MarkD]

What are the chances of resurrecting SG with new management and a more realistic network on the F100 fleet only (since it's owned) and returning the 83s to lessors?

Or has the F100 market rebounded enough to make sale and liquidation to realise capital gain the more likely outcome?

I'd like to see a low-cost carrier but aligned to either oneworld or skyteam as either franchise or full member. Aer Lingus shorthaul has essentially become such a carrier but starting from high cost. AC still has essentially a monopoly on this kind of flying, and who is to say when open skies arrives it might dissuade a Delta Connection type service when it already exists as a Canadian owned operation.

[c150driver]

Rumour has it that the F100s are already sold to an outfit in Europe....yeah, sounds like the whole bankruptcy was a SHOCK to ML...lock up the bastard!:}

[Cyow]

We won't have to lock him up. This guy will not be able to run a corner store under his name. He's done himself in. Let's chalk this up as a lesson to be learned for the next generation of airline pilots. Be patient. AC will be doing some hiring and if you're ok with flying a 737 your whole career WJ seems ok too. My fear is the lesson was not learned. We are our own worst enemies.

[rotornut]

Re F100s:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=167240&highlight=f100

Coincidence?

[PaperTiger]

Not related I'd say, rotornut. Lot of small-fleet operators of F100s in Europe etc., probably looking for temporary additional crew: http://www.fokker-aircraft.info/fleetlist.htm

[STC]

The skys over Canada are much safer now that the green garbage cans are grounded.

Contrary to what Jetsgo pilots said on the national news the other day, those airplanes suffered more daily incidents than aircraft of that vintage should.

If management didn't shut the operation down, I think TC would have.

[Jerricho]

I believe Nav Canada are considering (or may have already, can't remember) holding aircraft in an attempt to secure $1.5 million owing. Good luck.

[rotornut]

PaperTiger,

Yes, still quite a few of them out there.

[MLS-12D]

Just what you Jetsgo-haters need: an FA uniform (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=806&item=6519063663&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW) for "role playing".

The mind boggles! :D

[BeechNut]

I heard on the evening news last night in Montreal that a Toronto firm was stuck with about $150,000 worth of Jetsgo uniforms, promotional t-shirts and other paraphenelia from a recent order from Jetsgo. They interviewed the president of this company, and they were going to try to unload at least some of it on e-bay, and give some of it to charity (I guess if you're poor you won't mind wearing a Jetsgo t-shirt)

I couldn't believe the good humour of this guy after just being stiffed for $150 grand by ML & Co.

Mike

[Rollingthunder]

M. Leblanc had one last trick up his sleeve. The Fokker 100s were parked at various airports and he wanted them in Quebec City where they had a hangar. In his words he told "a little white lie" to the pilots in order to get them there, just before closing the doors. He told them they were required in Quebec City for urgent maintenance checks and even invented an airworthiness directive to back the story up.

[russellackland]

It is really one sick concept.....people are bidding on Jetsgo items as part of aviation history on Ebay. Does anybody really think that this kind of Canadian aviation really means jack ****? This loser low cost carrier should be forgotten. I would much rather have folks discuss the history of Wardair.

russellackland
furloughed airline employee....glad to see this company gone

[rotornut]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050319/RJETSGO19/TPBusiness/TopStories/?pageRequested=1

[c150driver]

Mr. Leblanc isn't sure what the future holds for him. "It isn't going to be easy to start another airline, but impossible? That's not right, either."

Which one of you dumb-asses will be the first to drop another $30,000?:yuk:

[Rollingthunder]

Jetsgo may resume operations under new plan
CTV.ca News Staff

Jetsgo has proposed a restructuring plan that could resume operations for the failed discount airline.

A court-appointed monitor has outlined the idea as an option to creditors, the Toronto Star reported.

"The objective would be to file a plan that will permit an airline business to continue," said a status report on the company, released Wednesday by monitor RSM Richter Inc.

This "will present an opportunity for employment to potentially hundreds of individuals and will provide a financial recovery for the company's creditors superior to the result that they would achieve in bankruptcy."

The airline shut down earlier in March, leaving some 17,000 passengers stranded and about 1,350 employees out of work.

However, the plan may be a tough sell to creditors who are owed more than $100 million.

This total does not include money owed to employees or companies that leased 14 aircraft to the airline.

The proposal has already drawn some criticism.

"I'm dumbfounded. I can't believe they'd be suggesting that," John Weerdenburg, vice-president and chief executive officer of Ottawa's Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Authority, told the Star.

"Who ultimately would end up trusting the son of Jetsgo?"

Weerdenburg said his airport is owed $220,000 by Jetsgo and he suspects several airports will want their money up front.

Meanwhile, media reports suggested that at least a couple of Jetsgo creditors are seeking to seize grounded aircraft as remuneration for the $7 million that they are allegedly owed by the discount airline.

NAV Canada and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority have petitioned Quebec's Superior Court to lift a stay in proceedings and allow them to seize part of the grounded fleet in the aftermath of Jetsgo's downfall.

The monitor acknowledged that the plan will be a hard sell and that it would be premature to "determine whether a successful restructuring plan can be submitted to creditors, but the company is working diligently and in good faith in this regard."

Other points outlined in the report:

The new plan would be dependent on approval from stakeholders and creditors.
The monitor confirmed it plans to continue selling Jetsgo's assets.
A restructured company would lease aircraft with "negotiation of new terms with aircraft lessors premised on a different business model."
The monitor proposes continuing to cancel all contracts and the majority of airport leases.

[Rosbif]

Why don't the pilots who are owed all this money in unpaid bonds play ML at his own game?
Get a good lawyer, put a lien on two of his planes, and start your own airline. Other businesses are run as cooperatives, and many have been formed out of the ashes of former bancrupt companies that owed money to the employees.
The advantage to this is 1) It puts the employees in the driver's seat, and 2) The public would bring their business to a co-op that was employee owned. Nobody is going to trust their money to a recusitated Jetsgo.
Get organised, guys. Don't listen to promises. Take control.
Just a thought.
Cheers

[bcflyer]

Have no fear the pilots are organized!

[Inuksuk]

Just spoken - well email, with an acquaintance who worked with Jetsgo, and he tells me that he's been approached to re-join a slimmed down version of Michel Leblanc's creation should the funding get together and all of the regulatory hurdles passed...

I understand the suit vs. Westjet alleged practices is something that Leblanc and his "management" are betting on.

The man needs help...(Leblanc that is)...he was however described in an article recently (National Post) as a kind hearted and much misunderstood individual... :hmm:

Can anyone remember what happened back in Canada 3000 where they alleged the figures over in Royal were fudged, and that along with post 9/11 market conditions brought them down? Didn't they try to sue Leblanc, but went under before they could get the action together ??

[Rollingthunder]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/airlines/leblanc_michel.html

[Rosbif]

I do most sincerely hope that the F100 jobs being hawked around by email from a company (based in YVC) that used to recruit for Jetsgo are not for the new Jetsgone/lite (not really Jetsgo).
Here we go again.

[madtrap]

Rosbif

Not Jetsgo and not M. Leblanc, for a while anyway. Bankruptcy declared at 1515 yesterday, and TC have already axed the OC.
:ok:
If he tries again, hopefully he’ll have a rougher time of it. It never fails to amaze me how he is able to bamboozle employees and the public over and over.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[Rollingthunder]

Hear.........Hear.

[rotornut]

Bankruptcy declared at 1515 Friday, and TC have already axed the OC.
:ugh:

[Rosbif]

Hopefully this will mean that the unfortunates who lost their jobs can at least look for a new one without the problem of a potential Jetsgo lite recall hanging over them. Putting Jetsgo to bed (finally) will make them much more attractive to potential employers. Good luck.

If only there were more good flying jobs in Canada.