MALCOLM_DEAN
8th Nov 2001, 19:10
I have just returned from Florida and unfortunately have seen first hand, the distress and worry that has been caused by the difficulties at SFT in particular and other FTO's in general. Indeed there were people who had lost money with PPSC who subsequently lost money with SFT. I have nothing but total sympathy for them and wish them all the luck in the world in trying to recover from this major setback.
I do feel that we should all take a little breath and just sit back and see what can be learnt from the occurrences of the past 3/4 months in the UK flight training arena.
The failures of PPSC, SFT, Four Forces, European Flyers have nothing at all to do with the events of September 11th. ( In common with many other current failures in the aviation industry as a whole !)
Their failures have more to do with the considerably increased costs of operating under JAA regulations and a corresponding lack of revenue due to intense competition driving prices down.
Before anybody cries out, this is not a "crie de couer" from another FTO it is just a dose of reality coming into the argument.The truth of the matter is that many FTO's cannot cover their costs with the prices bandied about in the market at present. The lack of a level playing field between the UK and the USA vis a vis operating costs is also a significant factor.
Handing over a substantial portion of your business to a third party may help you bring your total product cost down to a competitive level, but you have also just reduced you own companies flight hours revenue and as a consequence your UK hourly flight rate indirect costs increase substantially. This then makes it even harder to make money on the training you do provide in the UK.
I, along with Alex Whittingham, Clive Hughes and countless others have consistently tried to warn people of the dangers of parting with substantial funds in advance of any flight training. It is a perilous course of action at the best of times and in the current climate, the cash flow revenue would be like manna from heaven for some organisations. That is the main reason that discounts for up front payment should be avoided like the plague, it's on a par with the double glazing salesman and his " if you sign on the dotted line TODAY I can give you another XX% discount"
The harsh reality of all of these past events is that prices will inevitably rise. The cynics amongst the industry will say that those FTO's left are simply taking the opportunity to increase profits, what the FTO's are really doing is trying to make SOME profit. In the long term, it will benefit the industry as a whole and the surviving FTO's will be fitter and leaner ( God, I wish I was !!).
I really do feel we all ought to think carefully about the postings that we place on pprune.
You will have read on previous threads that veiled references were made to SFT's parlous state in mid August. That thread was closed due to the nature of the way it was being conducted. This may be a rumour factory but the moderators have a responsibility to the industry as a whole to see that anything posted is a legitimate complaint/comment/observation. Unsubstantiated allegations can be extremely damaging to those who are named and devastating to pprune should it result in legal action. The other side of the coin is that it does of course force the moderators to take a stance on the issue. In this particular case, their investigations led them to believe that all was OK with SFT and there was nothing to worry about. That, with hindsight was obviously a bad call. It is however one that would not have had to be made if substantiated allegations had been made.
Finally, there is a requirement under JAA regulations that all FTO's and TRTO's prove they have the financial strength and stability for the courses of training that they currently offer. Other than submitting a declaration once a year, the policing of this is virtually none existant. Indeed I am just waiting for the first phoenix to rise from the ashes of the past few weeks. Not only is this an insult to those who have lost money, it is also galling to those FTO's who are paying their dues and being penalised for doing so. I think the time has come when we should all make representations to the authority that more effort is put into this particular aspect of approvals.
Good luck, Safe flying and above all, hang onto your money until you absolutely have to part with it.
Malcolm Dean
Head of Training
Multiflight
[ 08 November 2001: Message edited by: MALCOLM_DEAN ]
I do feel that we should all take a little breath and just sit back and see what can be learnt from the occurrences of the past 3/4 months in the UK flight training arena.
The failures of PPSC, SFT, Four Forces, European Flyers have nothing at all to do with the events of September 11th. ( In common with many other current failures in the aviation industry as a whole !)
Their failures have more to do with the considerably increased costs of operating under JAA regulations and a corresponding lack of revenue due to intense competition driving prices down.
Before anybody cries out, this is not a "crie de couer" from another FTO it is just a dose of reality coming into the argument.The truth of the matter is that many FTO's cannot cover their costs with the prices bandied about in the market at present. The lack of a level playing field between the UK and the USA vis a vis operating costs is also a significant factor.
Handing over a substantial portion of your business to a third party may help you bring your total product cost down to a competitive level, but you have also just reduced you own companies flight hours revenue and as a consequence your UK hourly flight rate indirect costs increase substantially. This then makes it even harder to make money on the training you do provide in the UK.
I, along with Alex Whittingham, Clive Hughes and countless others have consistently tried to warn people of the dangers of parting with substantial funds in advance of any flight training. It is a perilous course of action at the best of times and in the current climate, the cash flow revenue would be like manna from heaven for some organisations. That is the main reason that discounts for up front payment should be avoided like the plague, it's on a par with the double glazing salesman and his " if you sign on the dotted line TODAY I can give you another XX% discount"
The harsh reality of all of these past events is that prices will inevitably rise. The cynics amongst the industry will say that those FTO's left are simply taking the opportunity to increase profits, what the FTO's are really doing is trying to make SOME profit. In the long term, it will benefit the industry as a whole and the surviving FTO's will be fitter and leaner ( God, I wish I was !!).
I really do feel we all ought to think carefully about the postings that we place on pprune.
You will have read on previous threads that veiled references were made to SFT's parlous state in mid August. That thread was closed due to the nature of the way it was being conducted. This may be a rumour factory but the moderators have a responsibility to the industry as a whole to see that anything posted is a legitimate complaint/comment/observation. Unsubstantiated allegations can be extremely damaging to those who are named and devastating to pprune should it result in legal action. The other side of the coin is that it does of course force the moderators to take a stance on the issue. In this particular case, their investigations led them to believe that all was OK with SFT and there was nothing to worry about. That, with hindsight was obviously a bad call. It is however one that would not have had to be made if substantiated allegations had been made.
Finally, there is a requirement under JAA regulations that all FTO's and TRTO's prove they have the financial strength and stability for the courses of training that they currently offer. Other than submitting a declaration once a year, the policing of this is virtually none existant. Indeed I am just waiting for the first phoenix to rise from the ashes of the past few weeks. Not only is this an insult to those who have lost money, it is also galling to those FTO's who are paying their dues and being penalised for doing so. I think the time has come when we should all make representations to the authority that more effort is put into this particular aspect of approvals.
Good luck, Safe flying and above all, hang onto your money until you absolutely have to part with it.
Malcolm Dean
Head of Training
Multiflight
[ 08 November 2001: Message edited by: MALCOLM_DEAN ]