Air Comet has Closed

[mrmach]

I've just heard it on the radio. :(

[Capetonian]

Another chaotic, badly run, shambolic outfit. Again, I am sorry for the good folk who worked there and those who depended on the airline for transport and employment, but the industry is better off without these cowboys.

Madrid (DPA). La aerolínea española Air Comet, que opera entre Madrid y varias capitales de América Latina, va a cerrar, después de que la Justicia británica le haya prohibido la venta de pasajes y haya inmovilizado sus aviones, según comunicó hoy la dirección de la empresa a los sindicatos.

La compañía aérea tiene una deuda de 25 millones de dólares con un banco alemán por sus aviones, indicaron fuentes sindicales tras hablar con la dirección.

La inmovilización de las aeronaves y la prohibición de vender boletos la tomó un juez de la Corte Suprema de Londres, después de que el banco alemán Nord Bank acudiese a la Justicia británica.

Air Comet atraviesa serios problemas desde hace meses. En noviembre, los trabajadores decretaron una huelga como protesta al impago reiterado de sueldos. Fundada en 1996 por el Grupo Marsans, pertenece al actual presidente de la Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales (CEOE), Gerardo Díaz Ferrán, y al vicepresidente de la misma patronal, Gonzalo Pascual.

Cuenta con vuelos regulares a Buenos Aires, Lima, Guayaquil, Quito, Bogotá y La Habana

This report blames the closure on the British for having prohibited sales of tickets and immobilised the company's aircraft.

[7Q Off]

the owners should be in jail. If I steal 1000 euros I go to jail, this guys stole 300 millon euros to the Spain gob and one is the president of Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales. Spain is part of the European Union???

[keltic]

Not really. If an airline pumps endless resources in Aerolineas Argentinas, and then is being stollen by the Argentian authorities, without receiving a single euro, it´s normal they collapse.

So I would point my finger at someone else, like the Spanish goverment for not having defended the Spanish companies interests abroad. My sympathies for Air Comet. Again Fomento acting too soon, and closing down another airline. Remember Air Madrid?. I know someone who will be quite happy: Iberia. More monopoly in the South Atlantic routes.

While everybody is receiving subsidies, and help in the sector, other don´t for not being: goverment friendly. := Let´s make not only Diaz Ferraz the bad guy of the story. Things are not that simple.

[ab33t]

If you owe loads of money your planes are not going to move

[7Q Off]

Sorry to say something to you my friend. Diaz and his friend are been investigated because they use 300 millon euros of money that should have gone to Aerolineas Argentina in something else. In that process they steal from Spain FISCO, 100 millon euros. But because they are friends of the power they walk free from jail.
They go under because Aerolineas Argentina stops paying Air Comet bills. Aerolineas Argentinas used to pay AC fuel bills in Buenos Aires, Lima and santiago de chile for Both Air Comet Chile and Air Comet. Air Comet never paid al the C-Checks performed in Aerolineas Argentinas Hangars. Air Comet used 3 B747 200 of Aerolineas Argentina, mantainance, without paying one cent. Aerolineas Argentina used to pay 100000 usd of overprice in the leasings that where triangulated by AC in the A310. Air Comet Chile used 2 B737 200 of Aerolineas in chile never paying one cent. Air Comet used 2 MD88 owned by Aerolineas Argentina, some pilots and TCPs in madrid without paying one cent. Salary was paid by Aerolineas Argentinas. One example were the 2 A320 that marsans lease for Aerolineas Argentina, 270000 usd per month for an aircraft build in 94 with 50000 cicles. Now Aerolineas Argentina lease B737 700, built between 2002 and 2006, with winglets in 200000 usd a month. And you say Air Comet was the victim?

Argentina goverment take over Aerolineas to Marsans because Aerolineas was going to collapse.

Sorry to say the truth. Spain should defend spanish real investors, serious guys, no guys like Diaz or Pascual. Those guys are cancer for aviation. They destroy everything they touch. Air Comet Chile gone, Air Comet gone, Aerolineas Argentinas allmost gone saved by Argentinean gob, Oasis Gone. :ugh:

[keltic]

Thanks for your view, but I am not fully convinced about your explanations. Of course Diaz Ferraz is not an inocent one, and part of the problem. But not the only one. AR had huge problems well before, and the Argentinian goverments knew that the only solution was external investment and privatization. Unless they wanted it to collpase well before IB, AA and AC arrived. All of them were naughty guys against poor AR?. I suppose the easy part was money and not restructuring at all which meant removing all the former structures, which had made AR to become one of the most inefficient airline in South America. Sorry to say so. It was a fantastic airline, but its state was desesperate well before AC came into, and it seems that they coming back to the same habbits.

Well actually, AR wasn´t paying for anything because everything bellonged to AC, and everything came from the same "box". Argentian people have decided to go back to the old times, of the flag carriers. I mean a lot of flag waving, inefficient structures, overpaid employees, tight controlled Trade Unions, unprofitable routes, under "mama" state aid. Not really competitive, but very argentinian. OK, it´s their choice. Nothing against it. At least now they will have to face the problems without putting the blame on the external enemy.

So no time for excuses now. Whom will people like Alicia Castro make now responsible for AR problems?. Let´s see. AC should face their responsability but AR too as part of the problem as well.

[7Q Off]

Let see my friend.

Argentina Airlines was managed by Iberia from 1991 to 1994, by SEPI from 1994 to 2001 and from 2001 to 2008 by Marsans.

That means 17 years under spanish control.

In 1991 AR used to have 11500 emp and in 2001 6500 emp. 5000 less employees. Structural problem or lack of investment.

Remember my friend Iberia bankrupted VIASA, Aerolineas went under administration. Casually Iberia went from been bankrupted to profitable in the same period. In the same period Iberia sold all the Viasa and AR fleet and lease back it. When iberia recieved their new A320 Viasa went underbelly and AR recieve very new B737 200ADV from british, very modern aircraft. Why Iberia was profitable, because they invest the money they steal from lease and sale back and invest it in a new fleet off A320 and A340 while in Argentina they were investing in very modern B737 200Adv and A340-200 (a model nobody wanted). That was done under SPANISH control.

17 year of spanish control made what Aerolineas is today.

The Arg goverment is at least investing real money in Aerolineas, 12 B737NG and 20 ERJ means something instead of 2 A320 model 92/94 overpriced by al least 100 K USD brought by marsans, or those 2 A310 with corrosion they were trying to bring. One crashed and the other I thing it was broken up in pieces.

Air Comet Collapsed because their owners dont know how to manage a real airline. They only now to manage small cheap pirat charter company like Air Plus used to be. You have a cheap company, bad managed, run like pirats, flying aircraft not airworthly and you have Air Comet.

[Haran_Banjo]

Another one. R.I.P.

Good luck those with an Air Comet ticket