SkyEurope out of bussines`

[relax.jet]

Some more jobless B737 drivers

[Tony Flynn]

More here.......... (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gc9OCihqdByWlCNDk9iWIxhqn7qA)

Low-price airline SkyEurope goes under

(AFP) – 6 hours ago

VIENNA — Slovak-based low-cost airline SkyEurope, already in bankruptcy protection, threw in the towel and cancelled all its flights, mostly from Bratislava, Prague and Paris.

SkyEurope, listed on the Vienna stock exchange, said in a statement that thousands of passengers were stranded at different European airports.

Earlier Monday the airline had cancelled all afternoon flights from Bratislava and all flights as of Tuesday from Prague.

The Ruzyne Prague airport said Monday it would halt all SkyEurope's flights as of Tuesday after the airline failed to pay its debts, the airport spokeswoman Eva Krejci told AFP.

The Vienna airport halted SkyEurope's flights in mid-August for the same reason.

The airline said in July it had found an investor who would rescue the struggling low-cost carrier that entered bankruptcy protection in June.

The Austrian group FOCUS Equity was supposed to invest 16.5 million euros (23.34 million dollars) in the airline, conditional on a successful restructuring process.

The company, set up in 2001 by mainly Austrian investors, launched ticket sales for the winter season in July after adding two new Boeing 737-300 aircraft to its fleet.

The carrier announced earlier this year that its business had been badly hit by the global economic slump and that it had had to reduce its fleet to just five planes from the 15 Boeing 737s it operated in late 2008.

SkyEurope, with bases in Bratislava, Vienna, Prague and the eastern Slovak city of Kosice, never posted a profit in the six years of its existence.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

[CptRegionalJet]

Good luck to everybody looking for new employment!

[BoeingMEL]

..but still very sad news for employees. Recently banned from Vienna and Prague because of outstanding accounts.... and six 737s recently repossessed IIRC. Good luck to all. bm

[lpokijuhyt]

Welcome guys and gals to the unemployment queue! What a disaster!

[beert]

How many pilot may we expect to be unemployed?

[W.R.A.I.T.H]

A wee bird told me 40+..

[skyeuropecapt]

more like a hundred....
Fos about 500 to 3000 on type
Capts about 2000 to 8000 on type
Many JAR licence holders.(CZ,UK,FR,NL,SP,SWE...):sad:

[lpokijuhyt]

So, they never paid you guys for a year and then left you stranded. This is the typical world of today's airlines. From what I understand, the pilots who didn't see this one coming are a bit naive. I'm sorry that it happened, really! I now it sucks, but there is a difference between negative and being naively optimistic. I hope you guys can do the battle in the Slovak courts to get your money from past salaries. :hmm:

[Flyingstig]

Thats tough!

www.aviationjobsearch.com (http://www.aviationjobsearch.com) Join up to get email alerts. (I start next week as a direct result of one such email)

www.flightdeckrecruitment.com (http://www.flightdeckrecruitment.com) As above but a small charge. Worth it though as they get access to jobs not yet openly available

www.flightglobal.com (http://www.flightglobal.com)

These will give you links to all the recruitment agencies own sites.

Finally, have faith!

Good Luck!!!!! :ok:

[V12]

We're barely hours past August and the leaves have started to fall.

Forget any green shoots; if they show up the icy wind will soon get them.

I wish it weren't so but...:eek:

[Alpine Flyer]

While losing their job is bad for Sky Europe pilots, the way SkyEurope was allowed to operate for way too long is a shame.

Air Operator Certificate legislation should theoretically ensure that Airlines are not allowed to operate unless they have sufficient funds to maintain their operation.

It is very doubtful if the Slovak authority followed the rules. Sky Europe must have been "scratching together" the money for day-to-day operation for at least weeks, if not months. It was only a few weeks ago that the Slovak authority renewed (extended?) their certificate, thus allowing Sky Europe to sell tickets for the winter schedule which probably generated cash to continue operations for a few weeks.

After moving operations from VIE to BTS pax inconvenienced by the change were promised free or extremely cheap extra flights..... promises which could only have been made good through a miracle.

Sky Europe founders and subsequent management have been very good in "sharing the dream" of a new Eastern European LCC. The original founders managed to make a profit by selling their shares to investment funds ignorant of the business.

Sky Europe has not made a profit in all of it's history. It's price-dumping financed by future pensioners and other investors has helped to reduce ticket prices ex VIE and has taken it's toll on Austrian Airlines' (and maybe FlyNiki's) business.

[9.G]

It's always a shame to see an airline go bust. All the best to all drivers from Sky. It's not in our favor but the market takes inevitably it's toll. Hope you guys find a new job quickly enough.
Cheers :ok:

[Bomber Harris]

a handful of the pilots left a few months ago and joined ryanair in anticipation. they are just filtering onto the line now. hope their collegues find work too

[iqit]

going through difficult financial times ,safety can be compromised .
good job on keeping your pax safe ,and doing your jobs in what i believe must have been troubled times for you and your families.

best of luck .

[Reluctant737]

To those now unemployed - I wish you the best of luck in regaining employment, I've personally flown with a few of your Capts who'd jumped ship over here (as previously mentioned) and if you're anything like them, you'll have no problem finding something out there somewhere :ok:

However, to SkyEurope itself... GOOD RIDDANCE.

[MartinCh]

I hope you guys can do the battle in the Slovak courts to get your money from past salaries.
You're joking, right? You wish. Slovak courts and fairness/efficiency??
It's been a while since Ryanair put 'Bye Bye SkyEurope' on some of their B737s, though.

[powerstall]

Another airline out of business...... sigh!!:sad:

[click]

I hope you guys can do the battle in the Slovak courts to get your money from past salaries.
Hmmm, Transparency International corruption index should take care of this idea.

[WHBM]

They seemed to do quite well when they built up a fleet of quite adequate mid-life 737s, which have suited many new carriers across the old Eastern Europe, and continue to do so.

Somebody along the road then somehow managed to sell them a replacement fleet of 16 brand-new 737-700s, delivered all at once over 2 years 2006-7, which at a current price of about $65m each is a new capital cost of around $1 billion. However much you frame the financing and present any resulting "economies", this is a capital cost that ultimately has to be paid for out of fares. What a way to run a business. Ryanair, as a contrast, operated for many years with secondhand aircraft and then built up a new fleet gradually. Are Boeing's sales team proud of this one ?

[Inspecthergadget]

It's very easy to say things like they expanded too quickly when all they did was meet market demand at the time. No one could have forcast that the bankers of the world would have such a devastating impact on the Industry as we know it.

The problem is a global issue and concerns everyone. As an aside, I read on Flight Global that the future of Nippon Cargo Airlines (Japan) is now in doubt as they too seek financial protection with a possible merger with JAL Cargo. But that's another story if anyone would care to comment.

My condolences to all at Sky Europe, i know how it feels to have the rug pulled from under you without you being able to do anything about it.

[Bealzebub]

Are Boeing's sales team proud of this one ?
Why wouldn't they be? The manufacturers sales team are in the business of selling their employers product. That product is handed over once the money is safely in the bank. How that customer then conducts their own business is not a particular concern for them.

[xetroV]

:(

http://images3.jetphotos.net/img/2/4/3/9/68657_1216491934.jpg

Must be pretty embarrassing to drive one of these around today, although I'm sure our friend mr. Camel will be gloating.

[wiggy]

Please tell me that photo isn't genuine....

[OntimeexceptACARS]

It is genuine. Sorry.:rolleyes:

OTEA

[DCS99]

Yep, photos are genuine.
But not new

Photo Search Results | Airliners.net (http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=EI-DLF)

[go-si]

Would of thought the "SkyEurope" would have been a registered trade mark, but then again I am not a lawyer.


Such bad taste ....

[Leo Hairy-Camel.]

The good news is that these guys when they join Ryanair will be the best paid pilots in Europe and have the most secure jobs available along with the best terms and conditions.

[Dysag]

Now I understand why there are two humps, because there are two Camels. Or has Hairy-Camel no1 been killed off?

[45989]

Only comment I would make is the ryr pikey's not too far back in the queue for the knackers yard ( I'm sure the real LHC will get it)
Needless to say it will not be soon enough or undeserved
Who said Hooters was tastless or slightly tacky?

[The Beer Hunter]

to SkyEurope itself... GOOD RIDDANCE.

You really are a class act, aren't you? Bet you fit right in at RYR.

[shaun ryder]

I think he is your standard issue jumped up little prick. A boy in mans clothing no doubt. Full of it.

[captplaystation]

He maybe meant "good riddance" to a company that lived off the backs of its employees for the last 6 mths or more by only paying (late) half salaries, whilst simultaneously throwing lavish parties to welcome new cabin crew to the company, & probably running a fairly dodgy show as they struggled to make ends meet, that is certainly the way I took it, rather than a "good riddance" to a competitor.
Do we really need employers like that anymore than the Ryanair model ? At least the latter make money and will therefore probably survive to continue to offer employment.

[demomonkey]

Leo Hairy-Camel. (http://www.pprune.org/members/308212-leo-hairy-camel-)
Probationary PPRuNer



The good news is that these guys when they join Ryanair will be the best paid pilots in Europe and have the most secure jobs available along with the best terms and conditions.
So Mr LHC, should we take this as formal notice that;
You will be offering all SkyEurope staff fulltime contracts on paperwork with Ryanair letterheads? Or will it be temporary contracts via some legal loophole outfit?
Does the term "most secure jobs" account for the fact that whilst people might still have a job, they are stood down for long periods at short notice and thus receive no pay?Sir, I put it to you in the most humble terms that FRs business model only works in an expansionist market, yet the LO-CO model is showing many of the signs of a mature and saturated marketplace. Thus the probability of Ryanair's admittedly phenomenal growth over the past decade continuing looks doubtful. This is further brought into focus when we consider that your substantial cash reserves were built up in part thanks to the resale of new Boeing aircraft rather than bums of seats of Boeing aircraft, a revenue stream now closed to you.

Surely you will dismiss my posting as irrational and refute my points with one of your trademark ill-considered vitriolic diatribes, but for the rest of you go and look at the stock market 3 month trend for EasyJet, Air France-KLM and 'hopeless basket case' BA and compare them to FR. Has someone realised that the Emporer (LHC) is wearing no clothes? The one trick wonder days are over - no wonder you are petrified about your workers wanting industrial representation!

[flash8]

The response wasn't from LHC, note the period at the end of the username.

The Mad Mullah of Mullinger at least has a degree of eloquence sadly lacking in this poster!

[Day_Dreamer]

Well spotted flash8

All I can say is imitation is the highest form of flattery.
Also look at the date of joining !!

To those who carried the burden of Half pay / No pay in the past months in Sky' have my respect for their tenacity and confidence in their employer.
Now whatever contract that they are offered by RYR, is better than no contract at all.

The same old detractors are appearing out of the woodwork whenever RYR is mentioned. A couple are currently missing but time will tell.

RYR is growing and BTS is one of their bases where there is room for expansion, as many foresaw this coming I am sure that plans were already in place to fill the gap left by SkyEurope.
The over capacity vaunted by some in other posts concerning RYR, now seems to be less of a problem, as circumstances have changed again.
As in politics a week is a long time in aviation.

Guy's and Girl's the future is now a brighter shade of Irish green.

Good luck and best wishes to you all.

Real LHC signed on in 2005

[TheBeak]

Now I see why you called yourself day dreamer. What on Earth will Ryanair do the decade a recession doesn't come about. It's quite possible off the back of this dreadful recession. Ryanair rely upon holding an aircraft manufacturer to ransom, when they have no orders, and placing a large order for aircraft, paying peanuts for them and then selling them on for a profit. Hence the reason they ordered 200 aircraft after september 11th and hence the reason they have an order for 300 more now. At the moment depreciation and low houred FOs probably don't feature on their P and L - in fact all contract pilots probably don't, they probably feature in the 'stationary bill'. They are parasites. And painting an aircraft with those titles is ignorant, shameful and a sign of having a metaphorically 'small :mad:'. Ryanairs time will come.

[Capt Ted Crilly]

Reluctant you muppet,

what a throw away statement from someone who has about as much experience as the virgin mary had.

i work for RYR again having sampled life in the "legacy" world and i have to say I remained humble despite the silver tounge i felt in my anus on a regular basis.

i also flew with SKYEUROPE from BTS-BCN and found them a wonderful bunch to fly with as a pax. I have also meet some of their staff in SEA and again wonderful people.

and for their staff I hope that it all works out for them. they are going throught the college of life at the moment something that i think you probably have never experienced given your (still living at home not tooooo far from mothers apron strings) outlook on life.

I hope our paths cross in STN sometime soon,i am looking out for you BOY!

the only good thing to come out of this mess is that maybe RYR might open a base in BTS and if so sign me up straight away, love the arae, love the people and love the life.


Přeji vám všem hodně štěstí nyní iv budoucnosti, na zdraví

[Night_fr8]

TheBeak

What is wrong with sound business dealings, both with aircraft manufacturers and those supplying services.
All that I can see in your post is the little green man of envy emerging.

If others had struck such good deals in the past the industry would not be in such a sorry state today.
legacy carriers are the dinosaurs of today, as proven by their massive losses with more to be revealed soon.

RYR will be here for some long time yet, and with a growing clientel despite the the rantings on here.
People may not like them but will still fly with them based on the final fare paid, and the convenience to their home.

I recently flew with them ex LPL to CIA a direct flight which was only matched by one other airline out of the Northwest. (£120 more expensive)
Aircraft New, clean and tidy.
Departed on schedule on both sectors arriving on time.
Cabin crew were polite and cheerful.

If you had just been made redundant and were offered a life line thrown to you by RYR, dont tell me that you would refuse it.

The people in SkyEurope need a chance to remain employed, with RYR at least they will be paid and on time.

[TheBeak]

No Night fr8, they aren't 'sound business dealings' - they perhaps seem it to you, but they aren't. It all seems like such an obvious thing to do. Well it isn't. It'll see them through to the medium term. Businesses last on relationships - good ones, and Ryanair have just about none. They :mad: off everyone they touch.

[Day_Dreamer]

TheBeak
In answer to your last post and the statement made by Night_Fr8, please answer the following.
1. If you were able to obtain a discount on an Item or Items Would you take it ?
2. As a Manager would you not try and obtain the best deals, using standard business practices. Thus reducing Your costs ?
3. Why do you appear to hate RYR ?

I would be very happy in obtaining any product at a reduced cost which would enhance the profitability of my company.
Manufacturers are not charities and they have a bottom line price for the sale of their products, all the rest being increased profit.
In bad times margins are lower, in good margins can be significantly higher enhancing profitability. But a profit is always made or the manufacturer will go bust.

[Dysag]

Forgive me if it's been revealed somewhere, but I don't think MOL has ever said what he paid for his last 737s.

Industry talk says he didn't get a knock down price, simply because there was no competition. He wanted a single-manufacturer fleet.

Same sources say EZY got a much better deal on their Airbuses by making the manufacturers compete.

[EI-BUD]

Same sources say EZY got a much better deal on their Airbuses by making the manufacturers compete.


Dysag I dont think that it was official news, however I cant see that he has paid over the odds.

On the subject of EZY getting a better deal on the Airbus models, the other side of this is that the cost to the business in terms of conversion and disruption to a new type has been a big focus for the firm (i realise that Airbus paid for the conversion training). For the 1st few years the move to Airbus was very consuming and has to have had some cost implications? Put this aside the other issue on the 319 is the issue of 156 seats and 4 cabin crew, as oppossed to Ryanair with 189 seats and also 4 cabin crew, unit costs and all that.

It is very difficult to say which type is overall cost effective without knowing all the variables?

EI-BUD

[compton3bravo]

Sorry WestonFlyer to hear about your friend at Sky Europe but was he out of his head working for a company for a year without pay hoping that things would pick up. Even though he could afford it you dont do charity work for for your employer - no pay no work. Do charity work for genuine charities i.e RNLI, Oxfam etc but never for your employer - just take advantage.

[Nightfire]

True. It's honourable to accept a temporary pay-cut for a short time, or something like that. If you help your company, and in turn your company would show gratitude towards you (huahaha!), it would be a fair deal.
It "would be", in an ideal world.

You don't believe that? So why don't you write a letter to Jason Bitter, asking him if he would now help you finding a new job, and if he lends you some cash meanwhile? As a friend?
I doubt he would even care to answer (even if he remembered your name, that is).
Did Jason actually just bother to shake your friend's hand, in appreciation for one year's worth of work, before he ran off?

To work for free, or for absolute peanuts for such a long time, is just simply ridiculous.

If your friend had insisted on what was his right, he might have lost his job a few months earlier, but at least he would have received a salary until then - so in the end his financial loss would have been less. Now this way he got nothing at all.

And it is not just his own problem, because it's pilots like him who are willing to accept anything from their company, that lead to an erosion of everybody else's salaries too.

I hope your friend finds a new job soon, and that he is more professional this time.

[Qbix]

NightFire, I see you really miss our company. Me too. Even you hadn't worked for some time -I believe, you keep writing a lot about SEA here. Maybe even we had a chance to fly together? Just PM if you want.

You know, the problem is that there is no job for FOs on the market at all. Me personally started sending applications last year in Nov. No result at all.
The company since Jan at least was giving us free OPCs and with each our flown chances to get a job were increasing. This was the only reason most of us kept working... Believe me or not till the very end we had a chance to make it at least till the end of the year. For many it meant getting thorugh 1500h, 500PIC or for some 3000h B737. It's another chance to get more options on the maket in the meantime sending out applications... And it was not for free, it was for 50% salary- the money which for most of the people was a dream.

It so easy to understand.

[ridetheglide]

From their website...



Dear Guests

Please be advised that SkyEurope has suspended its sales and operations immediately.

Those of you who have purchased flights with a credit card, please turn to your credit card issuing bank to seek refunds for unused portions of SkyEurope's flights.

In case you have paid directly to SkyEurope in other means than credit card (e.g. bank transfer, cash), please be advised that a refund may not be possible.

If you have ordered your flight tickets via a travel agency or organizer, you should discuss the matter with them first.

If you are already at the destination or have rented a car through SkyEurope's business partner, you may stay at the hotel and use the vehicle during the period originally agreed. You must, however, order a return flight from some other airline at your own expense.

You may also wish to contact your insurance provider to seek further guidance and support.

We regret for the inconvenience that have been caused to you.

[Defruiter]

errr...they have been since the 1st. More here: http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/387264-skyeurope-out-bussines.html

[The SSK]

The SkyEurope founder, musing on what went wrong
EurActiv.com - SkyEurope founder: Hedge funds to blame for collapse of airline | EU - European Information on Enterprise & Jobs (http://www.euractiv.com/en/enterprise-jobs/skyeurope-founder-hedge-funds-blame-collapse-airline/article-185607)

So what went wrong?

In my opinion, the hedge fund that took control of SkyEurope and the loyal but incompetent management they appointed decided to implement the exact opposite strategy to the one I had been pursuing: they offered the Hungarian and Polish markets to our competitor Wizz Air, although our Krakow base was our best performer, and started a significant downsizing of the fleet.

During the last two years, nothing new was built, but everything that had existed was destroyed, the only exception being the strong company culture that lasted till the very end. Our attempts to find an honourable exit for our financial shareholder - which lacked aviation experience - failed, as they could not agree on a price with Air Berlin and Lauda's FlyNiki joint venture in Austria, which had expressed serious interest.

[Nightfire]

Does anybody know where Christian Mandl is working nowadays?

[C-141Starlifter]

He owns and operates a business here in Slovakia.

Any truth to the rumor that JB has already left Air Arabia?

Lifter

[Nightfire]

Air Arabia Maroc - that's not the same as Air Arabia (in Sharjah/U.A.E.).
No information about him. Perhaps some Touareg murdered him meanwhile. :E

[RoyHudd]

Stupid response