NOW Aircraft...anyone know where they are?
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I feel very sorry for the ops department who have been laid off at NOW and also very sorry for the cabin crew who at this moment are in limbo, they havent got a clue if they have a job or not, all they have been told is that NOW are waiting for finance and NOW only have enough money left to pay them till DEC. Should they wait some more believing the rubbish delivered up to them?
And as JMC man has said an upfront company would have told their wonderful supportive staff they were in difficulties before they left their jobs, which may have been depressing but at least paid the bills.
No NOW were not being upfront because they wanted staff in place just in case the company got the finance, thats called not giving a toss about peoples lives! or is that a great management team?
And as JMC man has said an upfront company would have told their wonderful supportive staff they were in difficulties before they left their jobs, which may have been depressing but at least paid the bills.
No NOW were not being upfront because they wanted staff in place just in case the company got the finance, thats called not giving a toss about peoples lives! or is that a great management team?
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Oh Dear,
Another " We 're just finishing off the paperwork" announcement. I make that 4 such announcements.
The £300,000 they were given as a grant obviously runs out at the end of the year.
In the meantime, an experienced group of crew, operations and various other staff have been laid off without pay as a Christmas Present.
I'm really sorry guys. Back at the beginning of the FIRST thread, I warned against start-ups which could not demonstrate a cohesive and fully funded plan.
I doubt if Lars and company will have any problems putting Christmas Dinner on the table, unlike many of the people they have just laid off.
Another " We 're just finishing off the paperwork" announcement. I make that 4 such announcements.
The £300,000 they were given as a grant obviously runs out at the end of the year.
In the meantime, an experienced group of crew, operations and various other staff have been laid off without pay as a Christmas Present.
I'm really sorry guys. Back at the beginning of the FIRST thread, I warned against start-ups which could not demonstrate a cohesive and fully funded plan.
I doubt if Lars and company will have any problems putting Christmas Dinner on the table, unlike many of the people they have just laid off.
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Now I'm really confused !! ( no pun intended ! ) 
If the Ops Dept, flight-deck & cabin-crew members plus presumably HQ staff have all been laid-off ... then how come they're still able to start early next year ?
Are they going to offer all redundant staff they're jobs back or begin a re-recruitment drive ?
If it is true staff have been laid-off ... then sincere condolences to all involved.
If the Ops Dept, flight-deck & cabin-crew members plus presumably HQ staff have all been laid-off ... then how come they're still able to start early next year ?
Are they going to offer all redundant staff they're jobs back or begin a re-recruitment drive ?
If it is true staff have been laid-off ... then sincere condolences to all involved.
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Heard from an informed source that Now are giving it one month for the alleged finance proposals to be completed in its entirety. If this does not happen, Now will shut down completely.
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Reading previous threads and this current one on Now it seems to me that, like always in life there will be the people that always see the bad in good.
NOW for instance, whether they make it or not, at least they have tried with all the best intentions to make a go of creating not only an airline but an airline that is independednt, unique and employ alot of people, for the customer, at least there could/would be a choice, choice = lower fares.
So for all the "Told You So's" & "It Will Never Work Because...." ask yourself this question what have you created and ran recently and before you snipe, ask yourself "could you of done any better?"
My feelings go out to the many staff whom have an unsure future and to all at NOW, hope the backing appears and for once something good can be reported on PPrune
Chillwinston
NOW for instance, whether they make it or not, at least they have tried with all the best intentions to make a go of creating not only an airline but an airline that is independednt, unique and employ alot of people, for the customer, at least there could/would be a choice, choice = lower fares.
So for all the "Told You So's" & "It Will Never Work Because...." ask yourself this question what have you created and ran recently and before you snipe, ask yourself "could you of done any better?"
My feelings go out to the many staff whom have an unsure future and to all at NOW, hope the backing appears and for once something good can be reported on PPrune
Chillwinston
Paxing All Over The World
When observing company startups - across the range of commercial endeavour - the ones that really move forward, are the ones that keep moving forward. If the Idea phase moves directly to the Start phase and then onto the Trading phase, then everyone sees progress and it develops (to continue the metaphor) a momentum that draws everyone in and they all gather speed together.
If that process is broken, all momentum is lost and the problem of starting again is not just the same as before but redoubled. As a potential passenger of NOW, I hope that they prove to be the exception.
If that process is broken, all momentum is lost and the problem of starting again is not just the same as before but redoubled. As a potential passenger of NOW, I hope that they prove to be the exception.
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FLYMATE
Reading your posts I take it you are very young???!!!!
I find it amazing you can be so blinkered...your obviously new to the airline world!! Get over it, grow up and move on..!
Best of luck and wishes to all looking for new jobs...
Reading your posts I take it you are very young???!!!!
I find it amazing you can be so blinkered...your obviously new to the airline world!! Get over it, grow up and move on..!
Best of luck and wishes to all looking for new jobs...
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CPT4C think you will find that easyJet played a VERY big part in the latest events at NOW, in as much as the original investors got cold feet when they saw that no aircraft were being delivered as planned. That was indeed caused by our friends in Tangoland. What needs to happen now is that alternative aircraft need to be obtained from a reliable source and any potential new investor will hopefully not get the same "cold feet feeling".
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Honiley, yes that's it, I am actually 12! Silly Honely not to notice just how much I know about aviation, obviously not reading my previous posts. It's called enthusiasm and belief Honiley. I suggest you wait and see what happens in the new year. So easyJet got their way, well we will just see how strongly NOW fight back and get their rightful place at Luton.
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Flymate,
you get all this stuff thrown at you because of your naive postings.
The suggestion that NOW will launch "sometime in the New Year"is based on a statement from the NOW management. This is the same management team who announced they would start in March/August/October/December 2003. So they have an evident track record of getting it wrong.
I accept there has been lots of excuses, many of them pointed back at Orangeland, but for anyone to think they could start a Low Cost Operration at the home base of the Biggest in Europe, and for Easy to "facilitate" the newcomer borders on criminal naivety and business suicide. NOW have no "right" to get up and running. They need to have a strong enough business case to entice investors into believeing that it can be a success. They need to demonstrate that there is a profitable niche that they can fill. They need to show that there is sufficient room in the sector to carve out their own niche and develop and grow organically.
Sadly they failed to do any of that. If the project was sufficiently funded, the matter of the return of aircraft to easyjet would not have arisen. If they were sufficiently funded, they would have had a break clause in their LOI with the lease company to enable them to switch quickly to another option if their first option was delayed. If they were sufficiently funded, they could have launched their Ticket sales and routes and leased in aircraft if theirs was delayed ( paid for by the lease company assuming the put an agreed delivery date in their contract).
However, none of this happened...and nothing has materially changed. There is no money. And now there is even less credibility.
Your loyalty and enthusiasm is admirable if a little misguided. How long can you survive without an income on the promises of NOW's management team that it'll all come good in the end?
Show's over, people. There's nothing to see here. Move on.
Chillwinston
Noble sentiments. But you have to ask , did NOW REALLY try to do something good. There are many examples of start-ups over the past number of years, particularly since 9/11/01. These start-ups have shown a modest level of success in their particular market. They announced their plans, and followed them through to completion and now offer employment to many people. In other words, they delivered on their promises.
NOW have doen the opposite. They made a big entrance with a lot of promises, and have delivered nothing except a lot of people on the dole for Christmas. So I'm afraid they deserve no credit for "trying" as you put it. If they had been a bit more honest with the people they were employing, I might think differently. Instead they took people out of jobs , and then left them high and dry.
I have heard ( second hand) that the various "Interim " executives were getting paid up front, and all have other things they do anyway.
To answer your question " Could I have done better?" I would answer "YES". On the basis that they did NOTHING...that wouldn't be too hard, would it?
you get all this stuff thrown at you because of your naive postings.
The suggestion that NOW will launch "sometime in the New Year"is based on a statement from the NOW management. This is the same management team who announced they would start in March/August/October/December 2003. So they have an evident track record of getting it wrong.
I accept there has been lots of excuses, many of them pointed back at Orangeland, but for anyone to think they could start a Low Cost Operration at the home base of the Biggest in Europe, and for Easy to "facilitate" the newcomer borders on criminal naivety and business suicide. NOW have no "right" to get up and running. They need to have a strong enough business case to entice investors into believeing that it can be a success. They need to demonstrate that there is a profitable niche that they can fill. They need to show that there is sufficient room in the sector to carve out their own niche and develop and grow organically.
Sadly they failed to do any of that. If the project was sufficiently funded, the matter of the return of aircraft to easyjet would not have arisen. If they were sufficiently funded, they would have had a break clause in their LOI with the lease company to enable them to switch quickly to another option if their first option was delayed. If they were sufficiently funded, they could have launched their Ticket sales and routes and leased in aircraft if theirs was delayed ( paid for by the lease company assuming the put an agreed delivery date in their contract).
However, none of this happened...and nothing has materially changed. There is no money. And now there is even less credibility.
Your loyalty and enthusiasm is admirable if a little misguided. How long can you survive without an income on the promises of NOW's management team that it'll all come good in the end?
Show's over, people. There's nothing to see here. Move on.
Chillwinston
Noble sentiments. But you have to ask , did NOW REALLY try to do something good. There are many examples of start-ups over the past number of years, particularly since 9/11/01. These start-ups have shown a modest level of success in their particular market. They announced their plans, and followed them through to completion and now offer employment to many people. In other words, they delivered on their promises.
NOW have doen the opposite. They made a big entrance with a lot of promises, and have delivered nothing except a lot of people on the dole for Christmas. So I'm afraid they deserve no credit for "trying" as you put it. If they had been a bit more honest with the people they were employing, I might think differently. Instead they took people out of jobs , and then left them high and dry.
I have heard ( second hand) that the various "Interim " executives were getting paid up front, and all have other things they do anyway.
To answer your question " Could I have done better?" I would answer "YES". On the basis that they did NOTHING...that wouldn't be too hard, would it?
Last edited by Hawk; 20th Dec 2003 at 01:19.
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FLYMATE
I acknowledge your belief and loyalty to your employer. And you should be rewarded for it. But with every posting you make I consider you an incredibly young, naive and even foolish person - I wish you the very best of luck. I hope you find what your looking for elsewhere in your career.
I think you are on your own my friend.
The bottom line FLYMATE is, for those of us who have worked for more than 10-15 years within the Uk Airline business, (and i'm sorry but your general grammer and attitude leads me to believe you haven't!) I would have thought 1 in 5 of us around at the moment have all been made redundant. Our main loyalty lies with our families, mortgage payments, car insurance, household bills etc etc - It's very sad if this project has indeed died and disrupted the lives and careers of some very good people....Many of us saw the flaws in the project and jmc-man, for all the abuse he has taken, I believe, has spoken alot of sense.
But FLYMATE - let it go, move on, just like everyone else will....
A very brave effort on the part of NOW management, good on'ya for having a go! Best wishes once again to all those searching for jobs.
I acknowledge your belief and loyalty to your employer. And you should be rewarded for it. But with every posting you make I consider you an incredibly young, naive and even foolish person - I wish you the very best of luck. I hope you find what your looking for elsewhere in your career.
Silly Honely not to notice just how much I know about aviation
The bottom line FLYMATE is, for those of us who have worked for more than 10-15 years within the Uk Airline business, (and i'm sorry but your general grammer and attitude leads me to believe you haven't!) I would have thought 1 in 5 of us around at the moment have all been made redundant. Our main loyalty lies with our families, mortgage payments, car insurance, household bills etc etc - It's very sad if this project has indeed died and disrupted the lives and careers of some very good people....Many of us saw the flaws in the project and jmc-man, for all the abuse he has taken, I believe, has spoken alot of sense.
But FLYMATE - let it go, move on, just like everyone else will....
A very brave effort on the part of NOW management, good on'ya for having a go! Best wishes once again to all those searching for jobs.
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"To answer your question " Could I have done better?" I would answer "YES". On the basis that they did NOTHING...that wouldn't be too hard, would it?"
Then I sugest you save your pennies, knock up a business plan and tout your start up idea around the financial markets and lets see jmc-man airways take to the skies.......!
There is a difference between talking a load of S**te and actually have the goujons to do what the people at NOW! have tried to do and as for me, yep, I took the risk and started my own much smaller business and everyday I still have nightmares (for both me and my staff) of it still folding, 13 years since I had the goujons to take a risk
Then I sugest you save your pennies, knock up a business plan and tout your start up idea around the financial markets and lets see jmc-man airways take to the skies.......!
There is a difference between talking a load of S**te and actually have the goujons to do what the people at NOW! have tried to do and as for me, yep, I took the risk and started my own much smaller business and everyday I still have nightmares (for both me and my staff) of it still folding, 13 years since I had the goujons to take a risk
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Chillwinston, you need to chill.
Now have achieved NOTHING. ZIP. DIDDLY SQUAT. NADA.
What "Goujons" was required to get £300,000 from the South East Develoment Fund....make a lot of promises...and deliver nothing. I don't believe these guys risked anything.
Now, if you were to tell me that the Directors of NOW mortgaged their houses, took all their savings and investments and put them into an airline, got it up and running against all the odds, demonstrated that they were an airline that people WANTED to travel on...and became a respected player in the industry...then they might have achieved something.
Why not ask the senior guys how much of their own money they've put on the table?
I hope you're not too disappointed by the answer.
Now have achieved NOTHING. ZIP. DIDDLY SQUAT. NADA.
What "Goujons" was required to get £300,000 from the South East Develoment Fund....make a lot of promises...and deliver nothing. I don't believe these guys risked anything.
Now, if you were to tell me that the Directors of NOW mortgaged their houses, took all their savings and investments and put them into an airline, got it up and running against all the odds, demonstrated that they were an airline that people WANTED to travel on...and became a respected player in the industry...then they might have achieved something.
Why not ask the senior guys how much of their own money they've put on the table?
I hope you're not too disappointed by the answer.
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jmc-man - I am chilling (but do i need to be told that!) maybe you should read the post again, the point im making is AT LEAST THEY TRIED!
I await the inaugural flight of jmc-man airways whom no doubt will be perfect as you obviously have the balls to create something but there again maybe you'll be too busy
I await the inaugural flight of jmc-man airways whom no doubt will be perfect as you obviously have the balls to create something but there again maybe you'll be too busy
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Now now boys (no pun intended) lets not throw toys at each other. Getting back to the topic in question, maybe the new investors need to look into "why" things didn't pan out as planned. I'd say the first question to be asked would be "do we change the structure of the management team and get into place people who do actually know a thing or 2 about running an airline rather than someone who thinks he does". The plan was flawed right from the start under this leadership. I have to agree with some others on here, jmc-man included, and say that most of the staff and would-be staff have been fed nothing but "wishful thinking".
Let the ex GO people take it over and let them start again. It will work then, rest assured.
Let the ex GO people take it over and let them start again. It will work then, rest assured.
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Chillwinston
If you are subscribing to the notion that it is better to have tried and lost , then never to have tried at all, then I will agree with you. However if you feel that NOW directors deserve some credit for trying and failing, when the only people to have suffered are the staff they encouraged to join a project that was not fully funded, then you and I will plainly disagree. They were wrong...and they deserve condemnation for mistreating people in this manner. They are not the first, nor for that matter is it the first time at least one of the directors did this to others.
Viking 9
I don't think any of the major players in GO would be interested in NOW as a project, except maybe to offer professional advice for a fee. If you get a chance, read Barbara's book. It gives a great insight into what it takes to set up and make a success of a low cost operation. Much of the NOW business proposal flies in the face of the very essence of a low cost operation, and was flawed at conception.
If you are subscribing to the notion that it is better to have tried and lost , then never to have tried at all, then I will agree with you. However if you feel that NOW directors deserve some credit for trying and failing, when the only people to have suffered are the staff they encouraged to join a project that was not fully funded, then you and I will plainly disagree. They were wrong...and they deserve condemnation for mistreating people in this manner. They are not the first, nor for that matter is it the first time at least one of the directors did this to others.
Viking 9
I don't think any of the major players in GO would be interested in NOW as a project, except maybe to offer professional advice for a fee. If you get a chance, read Barbara's book. It gives a great insight into what it takes to set up and make a success of a low cost operation. Much of the NOW business proposal flies in the face of the very essence of a low cost operation, and was flawed at conception.
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jmc-man what I meant was, the current ex GO people who are with NOW now ! Professionals through and through so surely with a change of structure, new heads doing the thinking and acting, it may, just may, work......