OATS recievership

[tengah chum]

Just heard that OATS at Kidlington has gone into recievership, anybody got more information?

[spitfire747]

If it has it is news to me, but not as surprising as it would have been 2 months ago

[EvilTwinRating]

I would be very surprised if OATS have gone down.

As far as I know they are owned by a big american company with piles of cash. But I suppose with the loss of all those cadets its possible.

Anyone got any concrete info on this?

[Mike McLoughlin]

This rumour is absolute rubbish. OAT has over 300 students in training at present in both Integrated and Modular courses.

OAT is owned by BBA plc which is a major BRITISH group quoted on the London Stock Exchange. BBA are a £1.3billion a year group with £800million a year aviation businesses in Europe and the US.

It is common knowledge that BA, bmi and AL have cancelled future courses for the time being, but ALL of their students who were already in training are still with us and are continuing to receive support from their airlines.

The sad events that are taking place in the training industry are bad enough without completely stupid, inaccurate rumours being started.

Good luck and best wishes to all of you struggling to cope with all the current problems.

[200V AC, 3 Phase, 400 Hz]

Tengah Chum

If you are going to make comments like this you should back it up with some kind of evidence. For example “I was told by a friend who was on a full time course that the company has gone bust”. Posting this sort of thing just makes people jumpy, I have money down at OATS and you have pi%$£d me off. I know this is a rumour network but lets be sensible about things.
:mad: :mad:

[preiffer]

tengah chum - Where the hell do you get this sort of information from??

I'm enrolled with OATS, and have money with the comany. At times like these, the last thing the industry needs is ridiculous statements like yours. It worries people unnecessarily and only adds to concerns already in people's minds about aviation as a whole.

Perhaps some training on fact-finding could be useful...?


<talk about an industry talking itself into recession.... People like tengah chum seem to be doing a good job!>


:confused:

[Tosh McCaber]

Tengah Chum-

You note that your occupation is a farmer. Where on the farm did you obtain this inside information? Whilst this forum is a RUMOUR network, it is important that it is based on facts, and not abused by untruthful statements with malicious intent, which have no basis on fact. I have no doubt that previous such comments have helped in the downfall of the two Schools in Bournemouth.

Mike McLoughlan of OATS has categorically stated that your posting is rubbish. Please remember, apart from the fact that your statement could destabilise a very well respected establishment, that you could be sued for spreading misinformation, if it is unsubstantiated.

Please substantiate or retract- we look forward to hearing from you again. Over to you.

By the way, I neither study nor am on the staff at OATS- I would like to think, however, that "rumours" are put out from substantiated scources. What's to stop someone with a grudge thinking- "Hey-good idea- lets have a go at Oxford-Cabair-BAe, that would pay them back!" This, as I see it, is a big drawback with an anonymous Rumour Network such as this- how do you stop the Crazies?

[ 09 November 2001: Message edited by: Tosh McCaber ]

[PFD]

Tengah

I see your spelling is as accurate as your information :-)

[QUERY]

If this is true- worthwhile warning.
Because no evidence has been produced, indeed everyone else says the rumour is rubbish, why hasn't it been deleted and the culprit castrated?
People need no laxatives at present, so PPRuNe should not be providing a facility for fools to wind-up Wannabes. If nothing is done, shouldn't someone be sued?

[Captain Airclues]

Asking somebody like tengah chum not to start malicious rumours is a bit like asking the creator of a virus not to harm your computer.

Airclues

[Mike McLoughlin]

15:00hrs Friday - 93 sorties flown so far today at Oxford, with 5 more hours of operations to go.

Add to this sorties being flown later today at our Fair Weather Bases in Texas and Arizona.

Big bonfire party tonight being organised by the cadets from course AP207.

Tengah's rumour is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, totally UNTRUE.

[GonvilleBromhead]

Apparently, and I've only just heard it from a friend of a bloke in the boozer, the bloody RAF's gone bust too !! Wouldn't have believed that unless I'd just heard it meself from a friend of the bloke in the boozer. Tornados mothballed, Hercs going for a bloody song, get 'em now while they're cheap, great for family outings.

Just goes to show, eh ?!

TC, arse !

:mad:

[Captain Chaos 747]

One word will say it all "BO11OCKS".

I have not been to OAT found them a little arrogant and rude and did not think they where anything special, but only a complete toss-pot would believe they had gone bust!!!!

[Midland Maniac]

Starting rumours like that is no joke!!! are you aware that some of the people who have lost money at SFT (like myself) are looking at Oxford to get them out of the crap that they are in!!!!! I don't think that posting such rumours without substantiating the claim is very clever!!!!!

I think that we all need to instill a bit of confidence back into the aviaion world...even more the avaition training world so we can all try and get some normality back after the Sept. 11th disaster!!

mm :mad:

[Ray Ban]

I know this web site is a haven for rumours, both credible and incredible, true and untrue but it seems to have gone mad now. Anybody with an axe to grind or score to settle is having a field day at the moment. The last thing we need to knock is the confidence factor in flight training and with all this scare mongering, we are not doing it any favours.

I would like to see anyone posting a potentially damaging rumour back it up with their real name and a verifiable email address otherwise the post should be removed.

[ 09 November 2001: Message edited by: Ray Ban ]

[David Webb]

Ray Ban,

I agree. All my comments/postings are attributable to ME as a person. It also helps others on the forums to see who the hell they are talking to!

[Crosswind Limits]

Sensible idea Ray Ban! We all need to be responsible for such statements. I wonder what the moderators would say?

[PPRuNe Towers]

And what would you suggest? Damned if we halt a thread (SFT) and damned if we don't..

The real point to a thread like this remaining open is as a reality check for wannabees.

You're making big, tough expensive decisions. A significant proportion are still paying up front after 5 years of warnings not to. People are still paying with cash, cheques and bank drafts instead of credit cards.

We need threads like this to hammer home the points yet again. As a group you're still going to schools without having visited them yourselves and you're still not bothering to read the big red writing at the bottom of the page.

If you're already mentally composing your reply along the lines of tosh, piffle and I've researched every bit of the business STOP. Re-read the main threads running at the moment concerning all those who've lost out at a whole string of schools, groundschools and clubs recently.

If you do want to really know what the moderators and administrators think we're available at the seminar tomorrow and all day on the PPRuNe stand for one to one advice.

Advice that is from a group with absolutely nothing to sell you except a badge to help keep this forum running.

In our case you don't even need a credit card because, as ever, we pass on the experience for free.

Rob Lloyd

[ajaz]

I think this is disgusting i have lost over £8,000 pounds at PPSC and SFT and was planning of going to Oxford pls guys i would really like to know what is going on ..And if its all crap its better if u dont put stuff like this on this channel especially to boost our ego..You want sending to Afganistan and asking the American for a lift on one of the Cruise missiles..Dick.!! :D :D :D

[Mike McLoughlin]

I think that Mirage 2000's last item shows how much pain these wild rumours can cause.

I am the general manager at OAT and I can assure you that this thread is genuinely, entirely untrue. Like any organisation, we can't please all of the people all of the time. However, we do have a band of ground and flying instructors that are second to none in our industry. Every day I see examples of our people going the 'extra mile' for their students. They don't have to do it, they do so because they care about their profession and want to help the young people entering it. (They certainly don't do it for my benefit!!!)

Guys and Girls, if you really want to find out the truth, please come and visit or e-mail me at [email protected]

As for the RAF going bust, that explains why they are now sending some of their multi-engine trainees to us for CPL/IR training.

Finally, why has Osama Bin Tengah gone to ground after launching his unwarranted attack??????????

Sorry for being a boring old f**t, but I think you deserve to know the truth.

Going to bed now.

mike

[rolling circle]

Methinks the lady doth protest too much!

I notice that Marigold did not burst in to print so quickly when it was suggested that OAT only managed a 3 month approval at their last CAA inspection. Were my spies correct, perhaps? And why do Oxford find it so difficult to keep a CFI?

[Elizabeth II]

Mmmm no smoke without fire. I very much doubt OATS have gone into receivership given as Mike the milkman says they have a sizeable backer. But never the less a backer that hasn't had an easy time of it lately. OATS has lost i'm told 70 % of its business in the last few weeks, and it was losing money hand over fist before that ! I suspect the present owners may have lost their apetite (as have the majority of the "highly motivated staff" !!!)
The only sucessful part of this organisation is the marketing department, and I can't see them selling that for much !

[Mike McLoughlin]

This is getting tedious. We have NOT lost 70% of our business in recent weeks. Simply not true.

Yes, The CAA have been critical of some of our administrative procedures and, quite rightly, they are insisting on improvement.

However, I was there when the lead auditor said 'Despite these criticisms, of all the large FTOs that we are responsible for, Oxford still has the highest standards of training'

Nuff said???????

[moggie]

OATS are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

failure to respond = "something to hide".
response = "methinks the lady doth protest too much".

This is the problem of "Rumours and News" - malicious gossip quickly becomes "fact" despite there being no basis to the original rumour.

My guess is that they have been hurt by cancelled contracts, as we have, but I very much doubt that they will fail. Like us they are in for a lean period but like us they have good backing and even if they were (very big IF) to enter rceivership, that is not the same a folding up. Receivership is a means of giving yourselves time to get sorted out or sold off to someone who recognises that OATS have a good name and reputation and will continue in business.

There will be plenty of room for us all when the business picks up (especially if SFT are no longer around) and I doubt that OATS will be allowed to die. However, if other threads are to be believed (and I know some to be fact) they do need to sharpen up their act in a few areas. Complacency is a killer in a tight market - ask the folks from BAe Flight training Prestwick (RIP).

[PPRuNe Pop]

We had the pleasure of being alongside some of the leading lights of OATS at the International Careers Exhibition at Heathrow today.

Danny, PPT and other others admins were delighted to meet them, and I can tell you that there is NO problem with OATS. They have as you can see above, been somewhat alarmed at the course of this thread, and we think that we have dealt with it fairly and properly. As PPT says, we are damned if we do and damned if we don't.

We discussed the situation at length and we are happy that no problem exists other than feeling the pinch like all other business's.

As with the British Women's Pilot Association, they will be attending the Christmas Gatbash where we can welcome them in the true PPRuNe manner.

Oh! And OATS are NOT in Receivership.

[ 11 November 2001: Message edited by: PPRuNe Pop ]