Astraeus
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Rumour has it that Zoom Airlines were looking to expend over these shores plus zoom are alleged to be sealing a deal with Globespan (the tour operator) to take over all of its canada flights from Air Transat. Zoom will be doing the flying with Flyglobespan as the latter have insufficient capacity to take over the current amount of charters that Air Transat/Globespan fly by itself. The AEU fleet of 757's and the two 737NG are all capable of hitting east coast canada from the UK as they are all ETOPS certified.
AEU have a number of lucrative oil runs down into Africa though which I'm sure they will not want to relinquish.
Should be interesting times ahead!
AEU have a number of lucrative oil runs down into Africa though which I'm sure they will not want to relinquish.
Should be interesting times ahead!
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AEU 757s are not ETOPS certified hence why the Canada flying went else where when the last of the 737s left LGW last season.
Astraeus Website and the CAA are listing 737's in there current fleet. See G-Info
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The Astraeus fleet consists of 4 757-200's ( ETOPS capable but not approved), 2 Boeing 737-700( ETOPS Capabale and Approved), and 4 737-300's ( not ETOPS capabe).
Our Deer Lake operation was expensive because it was our only ETOPS operation and was very seasonal. We had no requirements to get ETOPS approval for the 757 fleet other than to cover Deer Lake, and it was too expensive to complete for two short seasons of a weekly flight to Canada. So the work went to Monarch.
Our Deer Lake operation was expensive because it was our only ETOPS operation and was very seasonal. We had no requirements to get ETOPS approval for the 757 fleet other than to cover Deer Lake, and it was too expensive to complete for two short seasons of a weekly flight to Canada. So the work went to Monarch.
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Cool Mod
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We had this earlier in the day.
It is common knowledge that Astraeus is 'up for sale' - the news is carried in Flight.
This is what Hamrah said this morning:
So................... you can speculate all you like but whatever you decide is YOUR thought NOT that of Astraeus until they say so.
How often can you get information from the horse's mouth as they say?
It is common knowledge that Astraeus is 'up for sale' - the news is carried in Flight.
This is what Hamrah said this morning:
Astraeus has not been sold to anyone.
This rumour has been going around for a couple of weeks, and we have advised our staff that it isn't true. It still isn't true.
When , or if, a sale is completed , we will advise our staff FIRST.
This rumour has been going around for a couple of weeks, and we have advised our staff that it isn't true. It still isn't true.
When , or if, a sale is completed , we will advise our staff FIRST.
How often can you get information from the horse's mouth as they say?
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PPrune pop, your comment..
Not to nit-pick but....Danny, yourself, Hamrah..and all the other mods preside on PPrune (the professional Pilots Rumour Network) because the site is here for exactly the reasons you seem concerned about, namely a rumour or two......
I know that AEU has a certain significance to PPrune, and has been instrumental in assisting many on here in getting their careers started (including me when I came to the UK. I say this as a former Pprune cadet/employee of AEU who left on good terms and still have some very good friends there), can we please however stop with the sensitivity? AEU is an airline, it is subject to all the rumours, publicity, and tiddle tales that the rest of the airlines on here are subject too.
Certainly if AEU were subject to libelous comment I am sure that you and your fellow mods would ensure that those who present such comments would be censured/removed etc....until then, comments such as your previous one convey a certain sense of hypocricy IMHO...we are on a rumour sight after all aren't we?
I dont wish to sound holier than thou, far from it in fact (those that know me, know Im no saint) ...I would however like to think that the mods on Pprune could show some impartiality despite the vested interests being in place
So................... you can speculate all you like but whatever you decide is YOUR thought NOT that of Astraeus until they say so.
I know that AEU has a certain significance to PPrune, and has been instrumental in assisting many on here in getting their careers started (including me when I came to the UK. I say this as a former Pprune cadet/employee of AEU who left on good terms and still have some very good friends there), can we please however stop with the sensitivity? AEU is an airline, it is subject to all the rumours, publicity, and tiddle tales that the rest of the airlines on here are subject too.
Certainly if AEU were subject to libelous comment I am sure that you and your fellow mods would ensure that those who present such comments would be censured/removed etc....until then, comments such as your previous one convey a certain sense of hypocricy IMHO...we are on a rumour sight after all aren't we?
I dont wish to sound holier than thou, far from it in fact (those that know me, know Im no saint) ...I would however like to think that the mods on Pprune could show some impartiality despite the vested interests being in place
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Haughtney1
Thanks for your interest, but the facts are simply this.
Astraeus is for sale. The sale might or might not complete. If the sale completes we will have a new owner. If it doesn't it will be business as usual.
There are lots of rumours. I can't comment on any one of them ( legally).
If or when something is confirmed, the FIRST people we will tell will be the team, the people who are Astraeus.
So, what PPRuNe Pop was trying to tell you is that you can speculate all you want on here. Nothing official will be forthcoming through this bulletin board, until the AEU staff are told first.
This is a rumour site, so we can't stop rumours. We just won't respond to them unless they are damaging to us, or just plainly untrue.In the latter case, there was a posting above that we had been sold. We havn't. So I made that clear in my reply.
Hope you're enjoying your new job.
H
Thanks for your interest, but the facts are simply this.
Astraeus is for sale. The sale might or might not complete. If the sale completes we will have a new owner. If it doesn't it will be business as usual.
There are lots of rumours. I can't comment on any one of them ( legally).
If or when something is confirmed, the FIRST people we will tell will be the team, the people who are Astraeus.
So, what PPRuNe Pop was trying to tell you is that you can speculate all you want on here. Nothing official will be forthcoming through this bulletin board, until the AEU staff are told first.
This is a rumour site, so we can't stop rumours. We just won't respond to them unless they are damaging to us, or just plainly untrue.In the latter case, there was a posting above that we had been sold. We havn't. So I made that clear in my reply.
Hope you're enjoying your new job.
H
Nexialist
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Is should not really be a surprise that Astraeus is for sale, it was financed by a Private Equity group in 2002, and they typically look for an exit after 3-5 years (there are exceptions) that exit is normally by means of a trade sale, a flotation on the Stock Exchange, or sale to another Private Equity group.
When it comes to the value of the deal, you cannot rely on headline figures quoted in the Press either. A hypothetical deal might be Purchase for £50 million, take £10million in dividends over 5 years, refinance company with debt of £80million, pay special dividend to shareholders of £80million, sell business for £20million.
The headline figures look awful for the investors - bought for £50 million sold for £20million therefore losing £30million !
Look at the company accounts over the past few years and you see that the investors put in £50million and took out £10 + £80 + £20 million, = £110million - a £60 million profit.
Just had a look at Companies House wesite and the last accounts were up to Oct 04, next are not due until the end of this September (06) so I can't be nosy and see what (if indeed anything) has been done in the way of geting cash out of the company before a float or trade sale. (OCT 04 would have been way too soon)
When it comes to the value of the deal, you cannot rely on headline figures quoted in the Press either. A hypothetical deal might be Purchase for £50 million, take £10million in dividends over 5 years, refinance company with debt of £80million, pay special dividend to shareholders of £80million, sell business for £20million.
The headline figures look awful for the investors - bought for £50 million sold for £20million therefore losing £30million !
Look at the company accounts over the past few years and you see that the investors put in £50million and took out £10 + £80 + £20 million, = £110million - a £60 million profit.
Just had a look at Companies House wesite and the last accounts were up to Oct 04, next are not due until the end of this September (06) so I can't be nosy and see what (if indeed anything) has been done in the way of geting cash out of the company before a float or trade sale. (OCT 04 would have been way too soon)
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Paul Wilson, I hope, is talking hypothetically, I assume, whe he says :-
H
Look at the company accounts over the past few years and you see that the investors put in £50million and took out £10 + £80 + £20 million, = £110million - a £60 million profit.
Nexialist
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Totally hypothetically, have absolutly no idea of the Astraeus financial position, (but I might pay the couple of quid for the next set of results). Just never ever believe headline profit/loss figures for Private companies. As an example Philip Green took £1 Billion pounds out of Arcadia a while back, and the company only made £300 odd million that year BEFORE tax. All financed with debt. He took the debt burden from £250 million ish to £1.35 Billion to do it.
The Aquatone Article
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Paul Wilson,
"Just never ever believe headline profit/loss figures for Private companies"
....hmmmm. Human nature doesn't change just because a company is an airline, but what does mark airlines out from the average "private company" is that they operate within a highly regulated environment, and the filed accounts reflect that. This doesn't mean they're necessarily "true and fair" in an objective sense, but I'd attach a lot more credence to the filed accounts of a UK airline than I would to those of the average private company, simply because of CAA compliance procedures.
"Just never ever believe headline profit/loss figures for Private companies"
....hmmmm. Human nature doesn't change just because a company is an airline, but what does mark airlines out from the average "private company" is that they operate within a highly regulated environment, and the filed accounts reflect that. This doesn't mean they're necessarily "true and fair" in an objective sense, but I'd attach a lot more credence to the filed accounts of a UK airline than I would to those of the average private company, simply because of CAA compliance procedures.
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Guys sorry to burst your bubble about the AEU sale but a friend who works for the company told me that AEU is not up for sale just a minority investor is looking to offload his shares.
The Aquatone Article
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To say it's only a minority investor who wants to offload his shares is a bit like saying that your house isn't really on the market, it's just that the building society wants their money back. Not a brilliant analogy because there's obviously no question of foreclosure - it's a venture capital investment, after all - but all the attention given to this matter is entirely justified; it could lead to big changes at Astraeus.
Last edited by Thunderball 2; 20th Jul 2006 at 20:24.
bycrew,
You might not be aware that Hamrah is a major share-holder in AEU, and he says it IS for sale. That kina trumps your "Friend who works there", no?
You might not be aware that Hamrah is a major share-holder in AEU, and he says it IS for sale. That kina trumps your "Friend who works there", no?