Victoria International Airlines - Uganda
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Victoria airlines suspends flights
Well either nobody informed the crew or the aircraft is doing flights for another airline because I still saw VIA (ZS-SIG) last week and yesterday afternoon at FAJS.
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Join Date: Jul 2004
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Avstar upgrades share in Ugandan Airline
Todays papers report (Business Report) that Avstar, the Durban based leasing company will increase its share in Uganda's Victoria International Airlines from 13% to 37% if shareholders agree. Avstar also have a 15% share of 1Time locally.
Victoria temporarily suspended its operations after only six weeks after its first flight in November because sales through its website were too slow.
Good luck! Big undertaking!
Victoria temporarily suspended its operations after only six weeks after its first flight in November because sales through its website were too slow.
Good luck! Big undertaking!
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Good Luck to AVSTAR
Seems to me the problem with victoria is that they were severely short of cash. Rumours in the marklet was that they had only 1 million Us dollars for start up capital - and Avstar was originally given shares by way oy capitalising the Lease charges due.
Whatever the truth of the matter - VIA stutter in the market after hardly six weeks , in my humble view, is TERMINAL!!!! they are going to be .
If they come back into the market (with some real cash from AVSTAR) they will be received with a large dose of scepticism and AVSTAR had better be prepared to dig deep into their pockets.
I am not too much of a numbers crunhing type but somehow it seems to me that with the kind of fares VIA were floating in the market - they really need FULL aeroplanes at all times to make money. Given the dismal numbers they were carrying ( their excuse about the reservation system notwithstanding) - I fear there is only way likely outcome , to my mind, awaiting their return. We will watch the space!!
Whatever the truth of the matter - VIA stutter in the market after hardly six weeks , in my humble view, is TERMINAL!!!! they are going to be .
If they come back into the market (with some real cash from AVSTAR) they will be received with a large dose of scepticism and AVSTAR had better be prepared to dig deep into their pockets.
I am not too much of a numbers crunhing type but somehow it seems to me that with the kind of fares VIA were floating in the market - they really need FULL aeroplanes at all times to make money. Given the dismal numbers they were carrying ( their excuse about the reservation system notwithstanding) - I fear there is only way likely outcome , to my mind, awaiting their return. We will watch the space!!
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Seems as if the B732 I saw was ex VIA doing local (SA) flights. This morning it was parked at a domestic terminal loading bridge. The big "Uganda" and "VIA" on the side of the a/c removed.
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Déja vu...
I stumbled over this thread by accident and all this VIA stuff seems all too familiar...
I have dealt with Avstar before when they were operating in the Comores. The fact that they 'forgot' to file their flight schedule, is ops normal for Avstar management. The fact that the finger was then pointed at the Kenyans is also pretty much 'ops normal'.
The Comorean operation (Royal Aviation) suffered a similar fate, just not as public as VIA.
Passengers were flown to Madagascar and Tanzania, and then never picked up again. Staff were not paid and subsequently they had a large turn-over of crew. Crew had been forced to fly while having Malaria - 'Just to keep the business afloat'. A/c maintenance was done by an Auto-Electrician and then subsequently signed out by a company back at Lanseria. They had 2 a/c which were used back-to-back, and flown almost empty between the islands on something that might have resembled a schedule back when humans were still using sun-dials. There are many more 'suspect' occurances, but I will not go into that...
The finger for all of this was then pointed to the Comorean company, which was trying its best to try and make it work, but was not backed-up by their South African partner company.
The management of this company is comprised of a pilot that left Air Mauritius under 'suspicious' circumstances, a school teacher and a 2nd hand a/c salesman. I'm not surprised that they made a stuff-up of this again.
I don't know how they got the investor/s to fall for such a half-baked business plan AGAIN.
If I could offer a warning to anybody that intends to do business with these people: Keep your eyes wide open, your ears to the ground and wear a steel plate on your back!
Cheers!
I have dealt with Avstar before when they were operating in the Comores. The fact that they 'forgot' to file their flight schedule, is ops normal for Avstar management. The fact that the finger was then pointed at the Kenyans is also pretty much 'ops normal'.
The Comorean operation (Royal Aviation) suffered a similar fate, just not as public as VIA.
Passengers were flown to Madagascar and Tanzania, and then never picked up again. Staff were not paid and subsequently they had a large turn-over of crew. Crew had been forced to fly while having Malaria - 'Just to keep the business afloat'. A/c maintenance was done by an Auto-Electrician and then subsequently signed out by a company back at Lanseria. They had 2 a/c which were used back-to-back, and flown almost empty between the islands on something that might have resembled a schedule back when humans were still using sun-dials. There are many more 'suspect' occurances, but I will not go into that...
The finger for all of this was then pointed to the Comorean company, which was trying its best to try and make it work, but was not backed-up by their South African partner company.
The management of this company is comprised of a pilot that left Air Mauritius under 'suspicious' circumstances, a school teacher and a 2nd hand a/c salesman. I'm not surprised that they made a stuff-up of this again.
I don't know how they got the investor/s to fall for such a half-baked business plan AGAIN.
If I could offer a warning to anybody that intends to do business with these people: Keep your eyes wide open, your ears to the ground and wear a steel plate on your back!
Cheers!
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USB
Crew had been forced to fly while having Malaria - 'Just to keep the business afloat'. A/c maintenance was done by an Auto-Electrician and then subsequently signed out by a company back at Lanseria.
I beg your pardon sir, i don't think any pilot can be forced to fly when ill.
In my opinion, it's a choice! If for any reason, i feel ill, it's a valueable reason not to fly.
It is also my opinion that none of the pilots had any shares in that company and thus, no reason to want to jeopardise their lives etc for the peanuts a dying company may have to offer.
At the first sign a company is on it's way down, is a good reason for crew flight if you ask me.
An airplane maintained by auto-electrician and being signed out elsewhere? Hmmm, forgive my ignorance, but i sincerely doubt if ANY pilot would accept an airplane signed in such a manner in the name of safety.
You may have you grief with that company, but i ask that you try to keep your complaints believeable enough for some of us to digest, this is not to say that you may be wrong, but, that's quite some story to swallow.
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Dear sir, you don't have to believe what I say, but I can only speak of personal experience. Not all companies are as clean-cut as we would all like to believe...
I have nothing to prove, or gain, by making up stories. The sole intention of my post was to warn other people in the industry, so that they can avoid going through the same experiences I did. For all I know they might have completely cleaned up their act and are operating the safest aircraft in the skies, but just be weary that they have broken the rules before...
I have nothing to prove, or gain, by making up stories. The sole intention of my post was to warn other people in the industry, so that they can avoid going through the same experiences I did. For all I know they might have completely cleaned up their act and are operating the safest aircraft in the skies, but just be weary that they have broken the rules before...
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Avstar Operations
U S B - you seem to be speaking from experience. I just don't know why anybody would risk their life, the passengers lives and the aircraft whilst they were suffering from malaria and if indeed you did this, I must doubt your standards in aviation. No operator in their right mind would risk a court case having forced you to fly in an 'incapacitated' state.
If you were the crew member who accepted an a/c from an auto electrician, once again I would say 'where did you get your licence from?' If here in South Africa, then you are a poor show of standards for all of us.
Concerning VIA. It takes guts to venture into an expensive and volatile industry, where you are reliant upon many many people to produce the goods. In this case Avstar were simply providing the a/c and crew and had NOTHING to do with the operations, marketing, ticket sales, and CAA related matters. This was entirely the arena of VIA. So - where does that leave the rumour. It is ended with some hard facts.
Regarding the safety of the Avstar aircraft; there is absolutely no compromise on safety and maintenance. Period
May I ask you kindly to re-think and not sleight a company that you may have had a unhappy experience with, due to whatever reason was the whole truth, but remember this, there are two sides to every story, and best we remember that. Hope you never fly with malaria again, and have upped your standards on the aircraft you accept for flight
If you were the crew member who accepted an a/c from an auto electrician, once again I would say 'where did you get your licence from?' If here in South Africa, then you are a poor show of standards for all of us.
Concerning VIA. It takes guts to venture into an expensive and volatile industry, where you are reliant upon many many people to produce the goods. In this case Avstar were simply providing the a/c and crew and had NOTHING to do with the operations, marketing, ticket sales, and CAA related matters. This was entirely the arena of VIA. So - where does that leave the rumour. It is ended with some hard facts.
Regarding the safety of the Avstar aircraft; there is absolutely no compromise on safety and maintenance. Period
May I ask you kindly to re-think and not sleight a company that you may have had a unhappy experience with, due to whatever reason was the whole truth, but remember this, there are two sides to every story, and best we remember that. Hope you never fly with malaria again, and have upped your standards on the aircraft you accept for flight
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"poor Via"
Greetings fellow aviators.
I have come to the conclusion that VIA did not do it's homework or just plain had a lousy business plan.
The explanation that VIA gave for low passenger volume is pathetic in itself...(all pun intended).
VIA stated that online booking in Uganda and I believe Tanzania was poor and that was the main cause for lack of passengers. That leads me to ask the following questions;
1. How many Ugandans have access to internet, and for those that do, how many intend to travel by air?
ANSWER: Less than 10% of entire population
2. Did VIA not know that Uganda is still a poor underdeveloped country with annual household income for the majority below 2000 US dollars?
ANSWER: Their thinking beats me
3. And how did VIA expect the average ugandan to make online bookings when credit cards do not exist in Uganda?
ANSWER: I am at a loss of words.
I can ask a myriad of other questions but you all and myself have better things to do.
Being a ugandan myself and hearing that the airplanes are already leased to another company totally baffles me. Fly safe aviators!
Bzzzzzzzzzzz!
I have come to the conclusion that VIA did not do it's homework or just plain had a lousy business plan.
The explanation that VIA gave for low passenger volume is pathetic in itself...(all pun intended).
VIA stated that online booking in Uganda and I believe Tanzania was poor and that was the main cause for lack of passengers. That leads me to ask the following questions;
1. How many Ugandans have access to internet, and for those that do, how many intend to travel by air?
ANSWER: Less than 10% of entire population
2. Did VIA not know that Uganda is still a poor underdeveloped country with annual household income for the majority below 2000 US dollars?
ANSWER: Their thinking beats me
3. And how did VIA expect the average ugandan to make online bookings when credit cards do not exist in Uganda?
ANSWER: I am at a loss of words.
I can ask a myriad of other questions but you all and myself have better things to do.
Being a ugandan myself and hearing that the airplanes are already leased to another company totally baffles me. Fly safe aviators!
Bzzzzzzzzzzz!
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VIA Uganda started ops late last year and stopped a few weeks ago citing reservatioK
Anybody have reliable information about Victoria international Airlines - a new airline suppossed to start in Uganda that was announced some months ago in Kampala. They were suppossed to have started in October but they have not done so and not much is heard about them. Cant even locate their offices and cannot find their contact.
Is it true that former SAA ""big boys"" are behind the airline and does anyone have reliable information how they intend to be funded?? Are they recruiting ???
Is it true that former SAA ""big boys"" are behind the airline and does anyone have reliable information how they intend to be funded?? Are they recruiting ???
*0% swiss and 20% govmt who got shares for free. B737 taken back by Avstar PMB
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VIA
Thanks rodmur, but the facts that you put forth have been known for quite some time now. And if you look at the entire thread, you will notice that the facts have been disected and put back together again.
Thanks for the post though!
Bzzzzzzzz!
Thanks for the post though!
Bzzzzzzzz!
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HI
YOU MENTIONED On another note, an all AIRBUS 320 startup is looming in the horizon and the base is supposed to be EBB
ANY IDEA WHO OR A CONTACT
Do you have any contacts for them or Aga Khan group
I supply airline IT systems
Cheers
rodmur
YOU MENTIONED On another note, an all AIRBUS 320 startup is looming in the horizon and the base is supposed to be EBB
ANY IDEA WHO OR A CONTACT
Do you have any contacts for them or Aga Khan group
I supply airline IT systems
Cheers
rodmur
