Dodgy Operators will always be in GA as long as there are punters whose only priority is to get the cheapest flying as quick as possible.
The Dodgy Operators just set their prices noticably cheaper than everywhere else and sit back and wait for suckers to part with $60k+ upfront.
I'm not really blaming the victims here but in 30 years of GA ive seen this happen so many times......
The old saying goes: "If it's too good to be true than it usually is", comes to mind.
Didn't any of the students ever ask themselves why the prices were so much lower than the competition?.
Were the staff totally 100% ignorant of how the school was run - or did they keep the blinkers on?....
Incredibly, CASA will again issue this person an AOC and ASIC will allow the company to run.
Maybe i'm being too hard on CASA - not their job..
Every company's costs are about the same: Fuel, landing fees, Insurance etc., So when a company sets prices lower than the others, something has to give. Eventually the company becomes a 'ponzi' type operation, kept running only on new students large deposits. As soon as student numbers slow down, the money tree dies and the company folds.
The steady operators are still in business, have been for many years and hopefully will continue to do so.
I don't know the owners of SFTC or AA but it sounds like one of the ex-owners is again in business and (believe me!) - will again set the cheapest prices and sit back while suckers throw money his way.
Anyone who has the urge to hand over life savings (theirs or their parent's) - please limit payments to $5k - $10k only. -It doesn't hurt as much