MyTravel Redundancies
 

I'm surprised nobody has yet posted about this so I'll start the ball rolling.

MYT have today announced that they are withdrawing their entire Boeing fleet from service with a loss of up to 118 pilot jobs. The last remaining DC10 will also go making a total of nine aircraft (5 757s, 3 767s and the DC10).

If anyone hears more information please share it as the company aren't exactly coming forwards with how they intend to choose the 118.

Oh dear, is this the first step towards more doom and gloom for MYT formerly know as Airtours ??

db

You won't hear any more information because there isn't any. The company are entering into a 90 day consultation period with all staff concerned. It certainly makes a change for the comapny to let the staff know first rather than hearing it via BBC news or PpRuNE.

bacardi walla - it's been over 2 years now, any chance of letting it drop!

With the announced withdrawl of MYT's Boeing fleet, My Travel will be left with the following Airbus fleet operating it's services

A320 x 8
A321 x 6
A330 x 3

(excluding those operated by My Travel Lite & My Travel Airways A/S)

db767. Check your PMs

Thanks Bananasbananas!

It also seems that MYT's Stansted and Leeds bases are closing, with Bristol and Cardiff becoming seasonal only.

With MYT being a little short of pilots on the bus fleet, surely they may be able to absorb some of their staff from the Boeings.

Good luck to all concerned

Terrible news but inevitable. A hole in the finances that big was always going to require further rationalisation.

Good luck to all those affected and I hope this is the last of the bad news, MYTs fortunes start to recover and those who lose their jobs find rapid employment elsewhere.

Unfortunatley this is needed to keep the company competitive/alive, it will be a crewing dream with ccq on the bus. I understand that the boeing phase out will not be immediate although the 4 old girls (eastern a/c) will be parked at the beginning of the winter. One 767 will operate from GLA next summer.

Just heard this on BBC radio news.
If the staff heard it before the press, that's one bit of decency lacking these days.

Another bad day for the North West aviation industry.

After the closure of BA's hangar, the reductions at FLS and now My Travel all at MAN, it seems nobody is safe anymore.

Good luck to all concerned.

Big Tudor let what drop ? Have I missed something here ?

I wish no harm to come to anyone with this latest MYT announcement, I just hope that more bad news is not to come.

bacardi walla

I think Big Tudor was refering to your rather unhelpful and pompous sounding post.....

I echo his comments. I think the guys at MYT have enough to discuss here rather than trying to deflect comments like that from you.

Bacardi Walla

"Let what drop?" You know exactly what Tudor Means!

Let it drop.

The plan is apparently for the four ex-Eastern 757s to be sold to a buyer with whom the company is already in talks, but in either event, they will be phased out at the start of the winter. The one remaining [newer] 757 (G-WJAN) is off to Canada at the start of the winter for a long-term lease to Skyservice.

On the 767s, two are to go out on long-term leases and the future of the third has not yet been determined. codpiece face, whilst there are various suggestions that one may be retained for Summer 2005, the options strongly indicate that this will not be the case. Negotiations are ongoing with another UK tour operator to take that particular aircraft over; selling it is not an option at present due to the very high value at which it is included in the company's books.

The DC10-30 is going at the end of the summer to Air Scandic who are supposed to be obtaining a second one (ex Finnair) to replace the two A300B4s. Arrival of the '10 at Air Scandic will see them launch onto some new long-haul ventures, apparently to include South Africa ex MAN, but that's another story.

One would hope that, with a number of the aircraft at least remaining in the UK market, this will aid employment prospects for those who will be affected by this move.

What we are seeing here is certainly sad but not surprising. The DC10 is a 1978 aerolplane, 26 years old. There are very few pax dc10's left in the world. It is an aeroplane that I know well. Compared with the simiarly payload/range A330 the operating costs must be staggering now.

The ex-Eastern C powered 757's are all over 20 years old. As BA found the economics of the C powered aircraft drifted away several years ago. The similarly sized A 321 has far superior economics to the C powered 757.

It also makes no sense to operate the 763 and the A330. The are too similar innperformance to justify having separate fleets.

What MyTravel is doing under pressure from its lenders is cutting back again and again until it finds its core of profitable business. It is probably getting close to that now and if so the new managemnet will have done a fine job.

What is most important is that the various stakeholders
( customers, staff, investors of all sorts and suppliers) are dealing with a secure and profiitable business. No one likes having to work under threats about future security in a business that has had, maybe be still having, severe financial problems.

Let us hope that this is the last retrenchment for MyTravel but I suspect that we will soon hear that MyTravel Lite will disappear.

It's interesting how different people see the same news in very different ways.

Doom and gloom merchants will see this as a 'backward step' and heralding far worse things to come, i.e. 'my glass is half empty'

Optimists will see this as a positive sign that the necessary steps are being taken in an attempt to rationalise a business that clearly needs it, in an attempt to stabilise and produce a more robust business that can compete and survive in a very fickle and volatile industry, i.e. my glass is half full'

I'm sure all are agreed on one issue; i.e. It's a sad day when any pilot faces redundancy, but that's aviation for you and it's something we all knew when we embarked in this profession.

My view is that it is better to increase the chances for the majority and keep the business, rather than risk the lot and place everyone on the job market. I therefore applaud some positive action by the company in the interests of turning it around; failure to act would probably be a disaster for everyone.

I have little doubt, in the current climate that those unfortunate ones will suffer only a short term glitch in their long term careers.

Condolences to those that draw the short straw this time round, but this business has always been akin to 'snakes and ladders'.

A lot of good guys there, some of whom it seems will suffer - I presume seniority is beign respected and they aren't trying to get rid of guys just based on their ratings?!??

As I said, I meant no harm but will retract the comment made. I do actually wish everyone involved, the best for the future. what ever that may entail.

Been there, done that, know how it feels.

In offering sympathy for the guys I would point out that this is, to those who have been around a few years, a more hopeful situation than it might appear.

Firstly, this may well be the action that brings about the turn-around in My Travel's future.

Secondly, the pilots who are laid off will at least have the chance that they will be eventually offered their jobs back in a still running and viable company as soon as things pick up.

Thirdly, the cuts are probably over the top and the redundancies may well be reduced by the time the final day arrives. If not, some of the slack may be taken up by other companies if they perceive that capacity will be too low next season.

My very best wishes.

Colegate:

The MYT 757's are all -535 E4 powered. The four ex-Eastern aircraft that MYT operate were re-engined whilst still with Eastern. Monarch re-engined their 535 C aircraft at around the same time.

But, being older 757's that spent some time in the desert, they probably are quite expensive to operate/maintain, compared to younger A321's.

MYT's crews are of a high professional standard, and jobs will not be too difficult to find for those unlucky to lose their jobs. Good luck guys and girls, and nil desperandum. The place you move to may be better than that whence you came.

HI GUYS,

Just wanted to share with you that my thoughts to those who may be made redundant are with you. I have been left twice in this kind of situation so i know how many of you may be feeling right now.It may be hard at first but as a result, you will become stronger and more determined than you may have been before.

I have alot of contact with the mytravel crew at gatwick and can honestly say that out of the airlines i have worked for...you guys have to be the best, extremely proffessional and hard working yet you still have fun and games whilst at work and down route and when you open the aircraft door after a long haul night flight....there is still a smile on your faces. Not many airlines can do that these days.

As far as the company is concerned, i can understand why they have done this. I hope this,what may be called drastic, move puts us on the straight and narrow for good and let us all do what we do best. We have all been under target for a while now and with the streamlining of the fleet, i hope it makes us a more profitable and robust company.

Good luck to everyone,

TJ747
;) ;) ;)

I have been with the company for a long time and will be very sorry to see any of my work mates made redundant. A really great bunch of people to work with and despite all the problems of the last couple of years it is still fun to go to work with an MYT crew.

My thoughts are with all the ground staff, cabin crew, and supporting company staff as well as my fellow pilots who will be directly affected by todays news and have made MYT such a great place to work over the years.

Everyone has done their best to work with the company over the last couple of years to undo the damage inflicted by a few fat cat directors who screwed up a fine company. What a shame this is how it may have to end for some who have worked so hard. I know it has to happen and was always going to happen but it does not make it any easier.
:(

3 years ago my wife and I rented a villa on the Florida gulf coast and flew lgw-sfb with myt in premium economy and the service and crew from checkin to arrivals were outstanding. A year later we tried to buy the same product and I was told by a call centre operative that unless I was on a My Travel holiday then they wouldn't sell me a premium economy ticket - we flew BA and have never been back. My point is that there is nothing wrong with the product and everything wrong with the marketing. Good luck guys and gals, from my one experience I think you deserve better.

Big Tudor (aka "Forever Scotland") I wish I could agree with you, but on this occasion you are most definitely wrong. The sad fact is that MyTravel pilot's are still landing this evening unaware of their fate and being told by ground staff that their base is about to close along with the other facts and figures already on this thread. YOU may have been briefed in Manchester (in whatever postion you hold) but hundreds of pilots and cabin crew found out the first news of their impending redundancy on the radio or TV in the early afternoon or online news sites BEFORE any official company declaration. Various online news items were available before the company had informed employees of their redundancy either by 'phone or via the company website. I can furnish proof if you doubt the veracity of my statement.

I suspect the Boeing fleet will be gone a long time before the proposed cut-off date. Who, in their right mind, is going to hang around now and wait for a possible lifeline from a company that has made catastrophic managerial errors (that'll be 2 million quid please for my handshake), passed the buck onto the employees (just save 100Kgs of fuel per flight, team, and everything will be ok), screwed the flight crew into the ground with FTL changes (if you accept these, we can get through this, people) and then finally pulled the plug on a fleet that could make a profit if only the company knew how much to charge for a holiday ?

(Sorry guys - we made a £9 loss on every seat this year because we didn't know how much to charge for a holiday. Well, bugger me... they may as well have given us the aircraft to go for a jolly, empty, and we'd have lost less cash).

The Boeing guys will be long, long gone before 12 months have passed. Kudos to the company for being honest in advance, but try crewing 3 767s with 4 pilots, 'cos that's all they're going to have.

Great bunch of people to have worked with. I'm just sorry that inept management (and it wasn't market conditions) that screwed it up.

See you all in Virgin :D

bacardi walla - thanx for your sentiments - don't feel bad about the flak you took for your original post; you may have meant well, but the words perhaps weren't quite the right ones and it obviously touched a few emotive nerves!

We may find that the flight deck redundancies (110 plus?)aren't quite as bad as first feared. The Airbus fleet has been running light with a recruitment ban...(wonder why?)... and there are allegedly loads of pilots in the Virgin pool, among others. That coupled with quite a few retirements that are approaching may soften the blow. (That said, it won't help the more than a few colleagues who are approaching 60 and were hoping to be kept on til 65). Cabin crew is a bit different. I heard about 400 or so are due to go - maybe wrong.

The reduction / rationalisation in the fleets was bound to come and I'm surprised it's taken quite so long, but any way you look at it, it's going to be ever so painful.

The DC10 did a pretty good job in the short time it's been here, but it's legacy has been a shedload of seniority, promotion and basing issues on it's withdrawal of service.

As for single fleet operations - long overdue, and the 'bus probably won on pure economics. Interesting times ahead for sure. The previous (mis)managers have a lot to answer for, but I still wish I worked for Airtours and not MyTravel.

Good luck everyone...maybe see you on the course in Toulouse...or LGW..or CTC...or wherever!

It is uncomfortable posting on this, as I'm not MYT staff, but:
The thing that really irritates is that all this pain is due to major errors of judgement made by people who have now moved on, armed with golden handshakes of a significant size. MYT was once the golden child of the industry, and could do no wrong. It was not brought to its' present situation by forces other than the incompetence of its' own directors. They are all now rich men and women!
I wish all affected MYT staff (especially CC - my colleagues) well, and a settlement on a similar scale to that offered to those who have caused their pain.

Fat chance!:*

I am confused!:confused:

Why was there an ad in Flight last week for engineers at MYT?

Flex

I know that a lot of people were not able to be present when the news was broken to staff. I also now how hard it can be hearing this sort of news via the media. I do think that the comapny did everything they possibly could to brief staff face to face as soon as they possibly could. Rather this way than the traditional means of hearing old Declan on BBC Breakfast breaking the news to us first.

I ain't having a go at anybody here, I really don't feel in the mood. Hopefully the comapny that comes out the other side of this will be in better shape than the one that went into it. Whether I'm still here to enjoy it is out of my hands.

Bad news of course, but perhaps they will ask for volunteers for redundancy first, and those who wish to take early retirement, or are already in the pool at Virgin or BA will be able to go voluntarily.
The other good point is that it is not the whole industry that is in a bad way right now - plenty of airlines are recruiting, so although it is never a good time to lose your job, there is a glimmer of hope that all those pilots being forcibly made redundant will be able to get jobs with other operators.
They were saying on the news that 540 jobs were to go, presumably the rest are cabin crew or ground staff.

My mate 757/767 Capt there told me last night that its a LIFO and not type specific..

He's been told he'll just make the cut with an Autumn Airbus course.

BTSM

This from ATI:

MyTravel to axe one-third of fleet
(27Jul04 08:42 GMT) David Kaminski-Morrow, London
Troubled UK tour operator MyTravel Group is to withdraw its entire Boeing fleet from service - a third of its aircraft - with the loss of up to 540 jobs, in a bid to reduce costs at the company.

MyTravel Airways operates five Boeing 757-200s and three Boeing 767-300ERs. It is also set to dispose of its sole McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, having already withdrawn three older DC-10-10s as part of a previous fleet cut.

"We've got ourselves into the position of having too much capacity," says a spokesman for MyTravel. He says that, in the light of market pressures, the company has found it difficult to adjust capacity to demand and that the tour operator needs greater flexibility.

It concedes that up to 118 pilots, 372 cabin crew members and 50 other staff could lose their jobs - although the spokesman says that it will be "seeking viable alternatives" for employees affected.

The company has entered a 90-day consultation period with unions and it will not specify details regarding the cuts, and the locations affected, until this period has expired. No cuts will be made before 1 November, says the spokesman, and the present summer schedule will be unaffected.

But the British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) claims that the cuts will hit Manchester, London Gatwick and Stansted, and Cardiff.

"We have a good working relationship with the company and we shall work closelywith management to try to keep some of the jobs," says BALPA national officer David Margrie. "We have a 90-day consultation period and pilots and other employees will not be given their notice until November, so we have time to see what we can do."

Removal of the nine aircraft will leave MyTravel with an all-Airbus fleet which, says the company, will generate additional benefits. MyTravel operates around 20 Airbuses - a mix of A330-200s and A320/321s.

According to the AvSoft ACAS database, MyTravel leases eight of the nine aircraft, owing one of the 757s outright. The other four 757s and all three 767s are owned by Airfleet Credit, while the DC-10 is leased from Finova Capital.


:suspect: Oh dear!

in a LIFO scenario this news would a more concern to the airbus guys. I gather the boeing fleet is quite senior and has not had anywhere near the same level of recruitment as the bus in the last few years. Between BA, Virgin and the Orange portacabin lets hope the damage will be contained. Good luck to all concerned.

I, and many of my ex-jmc colleagues know exactly how the affected pilots feel, having been through the same scenario a couple of years ago in the light of 9/11. I wish to express my best wishes to all those affected and re-iterate the comments of others in so much that at least there are several employers currently recruiting and some even bigger ones going to recruit about the time that the negotiation period is up.

I have no doubt that the CC will negotiate for early retirement and voluntary redundancy packages, as the jmc CC did. The biggest thing is how many do you have who are close enough to retirement to 'jump at the chance' to leave early without loss of benefits? I know it wasn't quite enough in jmc and several of us near the bottom of the list were still staring down the barrell of the redundancy gun once the negotiation period was up.

The most warming comment I have read thus far was the following quote from David Margrie; That presumably means 6 months before anyone is forced to leave. This is at least a significant amount of time and in the current market I would go so far as to say that I doubt there will be any compulsory pilot redundancies once all the other options are taken up and those who feel 'forced' (like I did at jmc), leave for pastures new.

I hope you all manage to secure continued employment. Be safe as the stress and pressure does affect your flying over such a long period of continued uncertainty.

PP

Airbus Girl

Wish your Company (or should I say 'our company') would employ some of these good people from MYT - Lord knows we need them...................

Thanks guys for your support.
Nice to know MYT crew and pilots are thought so highly of.
Best wishes to everyone concerned. Not sure how much the latest news effects me and my base yet. Might be lucky and just scrape through.
(Not so) Happy Hostie

Happy Hostie,

Im at LGW on the 330/320. Hopefully I will be ok as well, but we are all in dire straits at the moment.

I read the news first on here, which is a bit wrong really.

Still. Up and onwards, hope everything worlks out for you all up North.
We are all thinking of you, and of course the now closed & seasonal bases.

Take care xx

can anyone remember what the numbers of redundancies announced were at other airlines and what they ended up being after consultation,leavers etc? am trying to work out what the rough final figure might be.understand 118 includes a few flight engineers.110 or so pilots.the union should negotiate it down a bit plus a few others leaving anyway etc.

45 pilot redundancies were required at jmc out of 400 or so.

By the time the consultation period had ended, due to the efforts of the Balpa CC and a largely sypathetic pilot mangement, no compulsory redundancies were made. A combination of enhanced retirement terms, voluntary redundancies and career breaks were offered and were taken up to the extent that the company eventually decided not to make the last 6 or so redundant.

Balpa was also successful in preventing LHS to RHS demotion. The captain/first officer imbalance has, after 2 1/2 years, almost evened up and commands are possible again next year.

I think the MYT situation is worse in comparison and compulsory redundancies will be necessary given the numbers involved unfortunately.

Good luck to all those affected. The only saving grace is that there are type rated jobs around out there. Let's hope that the downsizing will ensure that MyTravel survives and no further job losses are necessary.