Monarch - 3
Gatwick - Kittila
Anyone know what's happening with the Gatwick - Kittila / Lapland route ?
Flights seem to be available on some dates (e.g. half term in Feburary) for the sector from London to Finland, but the sector from Finland to London doesn't have availability on any dates at all
Are we perhaps about to see the route being cancelled ?
Flights seem to be available on some dates (e.g. half term in Feburary) for the sector from London to Finland, but the sector from Finland to London doesn't have availability on any dates at all
Are we perhaps about to see the route being cancelled ?
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 14th Oct 2016 at 02:14.
From Welcome to the MRO Network | MRO Network
Monarch Secures £165m Investment
Posted on 13/10/2016 - 11:10
Doubts over the immediate future of Monarch Airlines have subsided after the British carrier confirmed a £165m ($201m) cash injection from majority shareholder Greybull Capital yesterday (October 12).
In a statement, Luton-headquartered Monarch said the investment from Greybull, which first bought its stake in Monarch in 2014 to the tune of £125m ($152m), resulted in the successful renewal of its ATOL licences from the CAA for the next 12 months while also funding future growth plans which include the addition of new aircraft.
Fleet expansion plans include an October 2014 order for 30 737MAX aircraft with 15 options.
The first of the Boeing narrowbodies is expected for delivery in 2018. Andrew Swaffield, CEO of the Monarch Group, said the airline is now “firmly focused” on the future as a stronger operation.
Posted on 13/10/2016 - 11:10
Doubts over the immediate future of Monarch Airlines have subsided after the British carrier confirmed a £165m ($201m) cash injection from majority shareholder Greybull Capital yesterday (October 12).
In a statement, Luton-headquartered Monarch said the investment from Greybull, which first bought its stake in Monarch in 2014 to the tune of £125m ($152m), resulted in the successful renewal of its ATOL licences from the CAA for the next 12 months while also funding future growth plans which include the addition of new aircraft.
Fleet expansion plans include an October 2014 order for 30 737MAX aircraft with 15 options.
The first of the Boeing narrowbodies is expected for delivery in 2018. Andrew Swaffield, CEO of the Monarch Group, said the airline is now “firmly focused” on the future as a stronger operation.
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POC you seem to have conviently forgotten those s***td by the PREVIOUS owners, in respect of the DB pension scheme. Just pointing out in that respect not a lot of care was taken of the loyal long term employees.
Flew to Cyprus with Monarch last year. Was most impressed by their attitude and helpfulness - take off delayed by an hour as a couple of glass cockpit items needed replacing so captain invited kids of all ages to have a look at the cockpit while we waited. I had never seen a glass cockpit so joined the queue - a youngish mother even offered to be my "mum" - turned out captain was former Victor pilot so we had an interesting chat until the engineers turned up. I wish them well.
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Perhaps FANS needs a holiday. Maybe one with Monarch Holidays flying on Monarch Airlines would be good. Maybe then he can see how good Monarch really are. They beat TCX hands down every time and are a bit better than Thomson. Never flown with Ryanair, EasyJet or Norwegian so can't compare
The elephant in the room is why the authorities appear to have taken such a tough stance, if Monarch are doing so well? I strongly favour the cock up over conspiracy view of life, but you do wonder.
Incurring considerable expense (if the rumours are true and I certainly saw the 747 in Palma) in chartering capacity seems to have been unnecessary. Was it crossed wires from some faceless bureaucrat. Or was this the authorities indicating a lack of trust in Monarch's backers based on prior experience.
Greybull say they were a minor player in Comet (electrical retail insolvency). But they clearly have track record of investing in distressed companies (Tata Scunthorpe etc) not all of which go on to greater things. Whether they are plucky investors with the long term interests of all stakeholders we will see in due course. Meanwhile good luck to everyone at Monarch!
Incurring considerable expense (if the rumours are true and I certainly saw the 747 in Palma) in chartering capacity seems to have been unnecessary. Was it crossed wires from some faceless bureaucrat. Or was this the authorities indicating a lack of trust in Monarch's backers based on prior experience.
Greybull say they were a minor player in Comet (electrical retail insolvency). But they clearly have track record of investing in distressed companies (Tata Scunthorpe etc) not all of which go on to greater things. Whether they are plucky investors with the long term interests of all stakeholders we will see in due course. Meanwhile good luck to everyone at Monarch!
Last edited by lederhosen; 15th Oct 2016 at 12:52.
Like Lederhosen, I generally prefer cock up over conspiracy, but there is a funny smell here.
Certainly positioning aircraft for a repatriation exercise ahead of any failure is a first as far as I am aware. The filing of flight plans shadowing the Monarch schedule and, if true, handling requests quoting "CAA charter" seem naïve at best, and deliberately de-stabilising at worst.
Certainly positioning aircraft for a repatriation exercise ahead of any failure is a first as far as I am aware. The filing of flight plans shadowing the Monarch schedule and, if true, handling requests quoting "CAA charter" seem naïve at best, and deliberately de-stabilising at worst.
Remote possibility, but could the filing of flight plans perhaps have been an unofficial negotiating tactic by the CAA ? Officially nobody at the CAA said a word against Monarch / Greybull but perhaps someone intended to leave a trail of clues knowing it would get picked up and make it to twitter ? If Greybull were playing tough in negotiations last month, perhaps a need existed at the time for the regulator to let Greybull become acutely aware of the CAA's capabilities ?
unofficial negotiating tactic
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Flew with MON to FUE on the 11th, the day before the extension expired, and returned last night, and I have to say, whilst there were reports the deal was done by the 11th, it still went down to the wire, and considering that crew on the outbound flew knowing it could well be their last for MON they were a credit to the company and were smiling throughout. The A320 had seen better days though (G-OZBW), and the leg room was poor, so I got the exit row on the way back which was much better.
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Monarch announced last Wednesday that it had secured the biggest investment in its 48-year history after securing a £165 million investment from its majority shareholder, Greybull Capital.
Chief executive Andrew Swaffield insisted Monarch would not “take it to the wire” when its Atol is due for renewal next year.
He said the group would continue with its “asset light” business model, and would consider adding more UK bases in the future.
“The financing is built around a six-year business model – it is not a short-term thing,” he said.
It is designed to secure our future. We are predicting a relatively difficult market for next year with low yields, low pound to the dollar and euro and reasonably similar levels of terrorism to now.”
Speaking to TTG, he added: “Building our own hotels is not on our horizon and I think it would be much more likely that we would stick with the asset light model.
“We don’t really see ourselves as competing with other tour operators - we’re really looking to distribute our seats through our own tour operator, and we’re more than happy to do that with the trade.
“Selling through other companies’ holidays as well allows us to have a certain percentage of seats that we can almost guarantee as sold. It makes your business model more secure.”
Swaffield did not rule out adding to Monarch’s existing five UK bases of Luton, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds Bradford, but said it was not an immediate priority.
He quashed suggestions that Monarch’s new investment could make it more attractive to buyers, insisting there was “no reason” for the business to be sold in the near future.
“There is a certain logic to it because airlines in Europe need to consolidate and there’s a general desire for that,” he said. “But mine and Greybull’s focus has been around ensuring that we have got the right capital structure, and are profitable and sustainable.
“It’s flattering that people are interested in us but there’s no reason for us to be sold. That’s not to say that it won’t happen one day,” he added, “but it’s a side issue.
“Greybull is very happy with us and we’re happy with them. That’s not to say that it won’t happen one day, but it’s a side issue. We’re focused on moving forward with confidence.”
Swaffield said that while there were no plans for Monarch to float at the moment, it may be considered in the future.
Chief executive Andrew Swaffield insisted Monarch would not “take it to the wire” when its Atol is due for renewal next year.
He said the group would continue with its “asset light” business model, and would consider adding more UK bases in the future.
“The financing is built around a six-year business model – it is not a short-term thing,” he said.
It is designed to secure our future. We are predicting a relatively difficult market for next year with low yields, low pound to the dollar and euro and reasonably similar levels of terrorism to now.”
Speaking to TTG, he added: “Building our own hotels is not on our horizon and I think it would be much more likely that we would stick with the asset light model.
“We don’t really see ourselves as competing with other tour operators - we’re really looking to distribute our seats through our own tour operator, and we’re more than happy to do that with the trade.
“Selling through other companies’ holidays as well allows us to have a certain percentage of seats that we can almost guarantee as sold. It makes your business model more secure.”
Swaffield did not rule out adding to Monarch’s existing five UK bases of Luton, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds Bradford, but said it was not an immediate priority.
He quashed suggestions that Monarch’s new investment could make it more attractive to buyers, insisting there was “no reason” for the business to be sold in the near future.
“There is a certain logic to it because airlines in Europe need to consolidate and there’s a general desire for that,” he said. “But mine and Greybull’s focus has been around ensuring that we have got the right capital structure, and are profitable and sustainable.
“It’s flattering that people are interested in us but there’s no reason for us to be sold. That’s not to say that it won’t happen one day,” he added, “but it’s a side issue.
“Greybull is very happy with us and we’re happy with them. That’s not to say that it won’t happen one day, but it’s a side issue. We’re focused on moving forward with confidence.”
Swaffield said that while there were no plans for Monarch to float at the moment, it may be considered in the future.