Its not all doom and gloom
From Todays Glasgow Herald
Flyglobespan Returns To Profit After Rethink On Destinations (from The Herald )
Flyglobespan returns to profit after rethink on destinations
Flyglobespan, Scotland's biggest airline, is on course to grow profits after returning to the black in the latest year, when it recorded a significant improvement in trading despite surging oil prices and the slowdown in consumer spending.
Tom Dalrymple, owner and chairman of the company, said that although many rivals had struggled in the year to October, Flyglobespan made a trading profit of £1.2m. It made a pre-tax loss of £19.3m in the preceding year.
The renewed success came after the company decided to focus on destinations in Europe after running into problems in the transatlantic market in the previous year.
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The company pinned the blame for the first loss in its 35-year history largely on problems with aircraft leased from Icelandair for flights to North America. It subsequently stopped operating flights using Icelandair planes and limited its operations to services it could provide with its own planes.
In September, chief executive Rick Green said Flyglobespan had been required to refocus on its short-haul European flights, cut back on transatlantic routes and work to ensure that it had the highest loads.
In a trading update yesterday, Dalrymple said the changes had paid off.
"We learned quickly from those experiences. Last year we flew only our own aircraft and the difference has been hugely satisfying - with record load factors for our sector.
"We are back into profit and, had the fuel rises not been so steep, that profit would have been considerably more. But, considering the difficulties of the sector, I have no complaints."
While some airlines have foundered in recent months, including Canada specialist Zoom, Flyglobespan appears to be in a strong financial position.
Dalrymple noted that Flyglobespan was free of debt. In addition to having cash reserves, the company has a significant property portfolio.
Green said: "Looking forward, our sales and revenues are on plan. Our core routes for 2009 are holding their popularity."
Flyglobespan axed routes from Glasgow to Boston and from Liverpool to New York that it had flown using Icelandair planes. However, the company still flies to North America. Last month it announced plans to start a service linking Glasgow with Halifax in Canada from May.
The company recently won contracts from the Ministry of Defence to fly to the Falkland Islands and Qatar from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.