Flying Instructors & ExaminersA place for instructors to communicate with one another because some of them get a bit tired of the attitude that instructing is the lowest form of aviation, as seems to prevail on some of the other forums!
Not news to many of you I'm sure but Cabair are consulting with their FI's over redundancy and by mid 2009 they are talking about reducing the establishment strength by quite big chunks.
They're planning for the downturn it would look like. Probably wise.
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Could this be a sign that things are beginning to go pear shaped across the FT industry or is it peculiar to Cabair?
I heard a few months back that they had to find £ 1.5M to shore up operations following the Thielert debacle - when you consider Cranfield alone operates 26 x Thielert engines, then there's all the retro-fit PA28's, that's got to be a heavy price tag. Something had to give somewhere.
It is a shame as there are a lot of good people working for Cabair who have put a lot into it.
Good luck to all. I sincerely hope it works out for them.
Well if downsizing does indeed happen; despite all the talk about lack of instructors jobs the latest copy of Flight Training News had over ten advertisements for FI's. Oddly enough i am pretty sure one of them was a Cabair ad. I know of 3 people who have recently found instructing work so it is still out there..
For a company as large as the Cabair group planning is essential in terms of strategic management and since HBOS and other sources of big loans are not now available a change of plan would be necessary. If single engine training is planned for Spain and students are a bit thin on the ground for the new year what else could they do? The fact that they are keeping their people informed is a good thing surely, and the fact that they are not biting and whingeing on this thread is a credit to them I think. But yes I too have heard that they will require fewer staff unless sources of finance for ATPL materialise from somewhere. I know some who are affected but they are staying tight-lipped and hoping to hold onto their jobs and understand at least one has already been let go. Hard times ahead for sure, it could affect any of us and all of us in some way.
Dancing with the devil, going with the flow... it's all a game to me.
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Therein lies your problem.
I would doubt any school will be interested in wiping a freshly minted lazy FI's arse by calling them back and laying out a red carpet when they've probably got umpteen potential candidates waiting in the lobby for a moment of the CFI's time.
The scenario that I heard via a Cabair manager, is that the instructors are to be 'made redundant' and re-offered their positions as self-employed!
Several points if true:
1: If you're to be made redundant, there is no job available for you to then be offered it as self-employed. If Cabairs inrentions are correct, it is 'unfair dismissal' that is being offered
2 Most FIs are not self employed according to HMRC. There is a checklist to see if you are here.
Good idea to join Balpa if there is an unfair dismissal situation ahead!
Cabair are currently "consulting" their FIs about possible future redundancies. This is not because they are being "nice", it's a legal requirement when you want to make a certain number of being redundant, or change their contracts. There has to be a consultation process.
Ususally when they want rid of someone they just make their life difficult (eg taking their students away) until they leave, or they make them perform a "check flight" with the CFI who says their flying isn't up to scratch and they are booted out.
I have heard they want all their FIs on £8 per flying hour and £30 per day retainer (ie not much!).
They will not employ FIs on a self employed basis - only on a PAYE "get paid as you fly" basis.
Last edited by vital actions : 19th December 2008 at 18:34.
As with any other company at this difficult time, Cabair will have to 'rightsize' in order to survive. Anyone knows that margins in flying training (private or commercial) are wafer-thin, if indeed they exist at all. Couple that with the likely outcome of the current £/E impact upon charter flights and it seems likely that short-medium term professional recruitment will be adversely affected.
Cabair carry a huge overhead - I just hope that they make the correct decisions in order to secure the future of their business - even if that means reducing headcount, hopefully just in the short-term
Were I Cabair, (which, thankfully, I am not) I'd be looking at the whole operation - i.e. all elements of the overhead, people, aircraft, locations, and be trying to 'rightsize' all round. This is bound to include arriving at the correct balance of Instructors and support staff against current (reducing?) and forecast future business. Presumably, they are looking at their whole headcount, not just Instructors, and our thoughts and concerns should be with them all.
These guys have been around for many years, and must have some decision-making skill to have kept Cabair afloat this long.
I would imagine that reducing headcount will be just one of the considerations they will need to look at in order to keep the business aloft in the long term. But they will probably be reluctant to reduce the training school estate until they really have to - it is a sad, but realistic fact of life that buildings and operations are harder to replace than people.
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