Cabair
I feel very sad at what is happening at Cabair and also what i'm reading. The main concern has to be the students who have paid up front and now find themselves in the situation that they've probably lost their money, and the instructors who have been left without a job and owed 4-6 weeks wages. Speaking as a past Cabair student, I have to say that in general i was happy with my time there. Yes, there were a few problems and niggles, but the standard of teaching, both in Ground school and Flight school was very good. The majority of the staff were excellent and if ever there was any gripes with them, it was because they set a high standard and wanted the students to succeed. Ground school was very demanding but that's the way it should be and Flight school was well organised and disciplined. The aircraft were all well maintained and we had the advantage of training on modern glass cockpit aircraft. The biggest problem, in my opinion was the management. In any business, the figures have to add up to succeed and if they don't, then adjustments must be made to correct this. We are in one of the worst world recessions of recent time and very few businesses can boast healthy growth. Cabair should have closely monitored the situation and made vital business decisions accordingly, irrespective of how unpopular they would have been to safeguard their position and the position of the students and instructors. I cannot see Cabair, with all the bad publicity that it has received recently, survive this. If new owners come in, then it will need to re-open under a new name and a firm new business plan must be put in place and adhered to. There should be daily, "hands on" running of the business by the owners to ensure that it succeeds and safeguards should be put in place for the unexpected.
I genuinely hope a solution can be found to save Cabair and the student's money but regrettably i can't see this.