Duo

[Gullyone]

Duo has gone, as from the first May. Got a job?!! :{

[richterscale10]

GONE! Sorry to hear that.....another one bites the dust! Hope you get a job soon!


Richter

[Mark Lewis]

http://www.duo.com/en/

A bit of a shock!

[Daysleeper]

Darn, I was supposed to position home with them next month, oh well back on the midnight jumpseat instead.:{

Sorry to see them go, always enjoyed traveling with them.

[biggles819]

Deeply upset by the news ive heard this morning, wish you all the greatest of luck finding new work. Miss Everest, ill miss you ;)
best of luck.

[Electric Sky]

Sorry to hear that and a little surprised. It is a horrible thing to have to go through but that is our industry and where one door closes, another opens. Good luck to all involved in finding something new.

ES ;)

[TartinTon]

Having worked for them when they were Maersk I can only offer my best wishes for all those now unemployed and to hope they find employment soon. I hope that BA and AP Moller hang their heads in shame (doubtful when they are stuck so firmly elsewhere) :mad: :mad: :mad:

[finalschecks]

No saab 2000's then eeeh ? :{ :{ :{

[TopBunk]

Tartin Tom

I hope that BA and AP Moller hang their heads in shame

Whilst I feel for guys losing their jobs, what the h*ll has it got to do with BA? Maersk used to be a franchise partner, AP Moller decided that aviation didn't fit in with future company plans and so sold on to Duo [at least that is what I recall]. Nothing to do with BA.

[GK430]

Oh dear, more empty spaces on the EGBB apron:{

http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v156/Emirates/duo_-_sunset.jpg

[Codman]

Sorry to hear it guys, remember a number of you from Bizzy Air days (before the BMA collective assimilated us).

Fingers crossed for the job search.

[Hudson Bay]

Sorry to hear the news guys. It's a ruthless industry we work in and when we do we get treated like crap. I for one look forward to the day the tide changes and we hold the cards. It happened before and it will happen again. Good luck with the job search.

[nimbuscumulus]

I heard at least everybody got payed yesterday.

[hec7or]

I'm sure BA's loyalty to you is as touching as yours to BA, now is not the time and place for this sort of comment.

[trainer too 2]

How many staff are we talking about ie pilots / cc and office?

All the best to them, they had a great product just a difficult market....

[witchdoctor]

Tongue in cheek warning!

I think it must be the curse of the Oxford AT website!

First European, now Duo. And as for the guy with the 'job' at Now.........

Don't give 'em your pictures guys - it's the kiss of death I tell you.:ooh:

Seriously though, sorry to hear it and fingers crossed for you all. Good luck.

[Shuttleworth]

So sad to se this happen.
The whole MBO thing must have been founded on a crock of ****. Moller and the participants must have anticipated this since it's such a short period of time since the planning and execution.
Now we know the truth . The MBO was just a "way out" for the Danes.
Some really great guys work there ( though many left for BMI etc). I wish them luck with the job search. ( At least BA and Virgin looking for large numbers this Summer)

[IB4138]

Obviously a planned manoeuvre by management.

Why else wait until all flights have ceased for the day and staff have gone home. Appointing an administrator at 00.01 must have been the intention and well known to the higherachy for days.

It's even out of hours for accountants!

The web site message is nothing more than sticking two fingers up to everyone, staff and passengers alike.:(

[Joe Curry]

>>How many staff are we talking about ie pilots / cc and
office?<<

Total staff were reported to be in the region of
300. ? :ugh:

[dada]

daft name anyway. duo money? they do now!

[srs what?]

BBC reports (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3676381.stm) that 300 jobs.

Can anyone explain why passengers won't be protected by ATOL?

[AppleMacster]

srs what?

The CAA ATOL page is here (http://www.caa.co.uk/cpg/atol/public/faq.asp?faqid=87&groupid=127&disp=n)

It just says an airline can opt out of the scheme, but only if they tell you at the time of booking.

AppleMacster

[BRUpax]

Not entirely surprised I have to say, but nevertheless sad for all who have lost their jobs. Still, for every airline that goes down another emerges sooner or later. Hopefully it won't be too long before all Duo staff have found employment again. I wish you all luck.

[Harrier46]

SRS what?

The logic behind the ATOL scheme is that if you are a scheduled airline and sell tickets directly to your customers you don't need it because you will not go bust and they will happily fly off into the sunset! However if you are a travel agent, tour operator or anybody else organising air travel you are likely to go bust just as soon as you take payment from the poor unsuspecting passenger and you must pay up for the ATOL bond to provide for this likelihood. What a black and white world the CAA live in.

[A300Man]

The thing that got us all about this one was the total lack of warning. Sure, there were rumors abound about EAC, MYT and others who have failed or who are in trouble.

But, unless I was on another planet, this one came right out of the blue.

Regardless, Good Luck to everyone at Duo in your search for alternative employment. I wish you all the very best.

[beamer]

Handling agents at BHX have been flagging this one for a couple of months - not enough pax at the end of the day apparently.

There ARE jobs out there guys - good luck to all of you.

[srjumbo]

Sorry for being thick but who owned the airline, where was it based, where and with what did it fly and why has it folded? Good luck to those who have lost jobs! It could be any of us tomorrow!!

[Arkroyal]

Bad luck all.

Wait for the bookings (and loot) from all those Bank Holiday travellers, then shut up shop and bank the lot.

Stranded, who cares. In the end it's what the loco punter asked for after all:confused:

[TartinTon]

To clarify, BA was using Maersk at the time to develop routes with a view to taking them off them when they reached a certain level of profitability (BHXFCO) totally in breach of the franchise agreement but AP Moller didn't have the balls to stand up to them. Maersk actually had a chance to be BMI Regional in between signings of the franchise agreement but didn't have the foresight (or competent Managing Director) to cut the BA bonds at the time.

Clear enough?

[TopBunk]

TT

Clear, well no, not really.

Exactly which routes did BA actually 'take back' from Maersk, as opposed to your conjecture that they would at some point in the future, for which you offer no proof.

Anyway, as I said in my first post, my thoughts are for those now looking for a new job, anything else is just chewing the cud.

[KEPIT 2 YUSEN]

Tartin Ton

What you say may have been true 5 - 6 years ago, it doesn't really reflect on recent events. Duo have had a free hand to do as they please and it still has not worked. Maybe operating the wrong aircraft type for a low cost airline was the problem, maybe too many "old hands" were still there with their heads stuck in yesteryear putting too much of a drain on funds - who knows?

One things for sure, having worked there at one time, it was not through lack of dedication or commitment by it's excellent staff who have sacrificed a lot in the interests of success - may they be rewarded quickly with job offers befitting them.

[TartinTon]

I almost agree with you Kepit. I worked there as well and know that the vast majority of the staff were knowledgable, capable, committed people who deserve to be re-employed as quickly as possible. If only some people had been a bit braver/visionary 4 years ago, things could have been a lot different.

[hec7or]

A Pilot's Perspective

duo airways was not a new airline, it was just another brand and change of ownership for VB, formerly Birmingham Executive Airways/ Birmingham European Airways/ Brymon European/ Maersk Air Ltd and finally duo.

The company operated for nearly 17 years from BHX flying Gulfstream 1s, Jetstream 31/41s, a SAAB 340, a Shed, BAC 1-11s, Boeing 737-500s and finally CRJs.

The heyday was the BAC 1-11 and B737 operation as a BA franchise partner in the 1990s, but whatever the paintjob and whoever the owners were, the staff worked professionally and tirelessly trying to make it succeed and it provided a smooth takeoff to many pilot's careers.

VB RIP

[AVIACO]

Sir,

You have very succintly and honestly posted what several of us are thinking. duo (in all its previous guises too) was an excellent company to be associated with. My favourite era was the 1-11 days.

Good luck to everyone in your searches for new careers.

Aviaco

[warkman]

I liked Duo, I used them regulary for trips BHX-GOT, good price and good service. However one time I went to book and the route had gone without notice. It turned out they were in a pricing/route war with City Airlines, a GOT based company, who the GOT companies booked with to support local industry and the route became unviable for DUO.
Next thing, only City Airline/BM code share operated the route, normal pricing became £500 GBP regardless of how far in advance you booked.

Shame.
The staff were very good :-(

[No Mode Charlie]

Well, at least in one subject.

If anybody from duo would have heard you call them a low-cost airline they would have been displeased to say the least! They were certainly NOT a low cost carrier, you clearly haven't been on one of their flights otherwise you would have been able to tell the difference.

The whole strategy was to offer service rather than low cost! Given more time and money I'm sure it would have worked, sad to see them gone!

Good luck all in finding jobs elsewhere!

[Dom Joly]

Thank you N.M.C. - it is nice to be appreciated.

If only more passengers had passed on their experiences of the service then we may not be in this situation. The company firmly believed that word of mouth was the best form of advertising. This was totally against the front line crews opinions who knew that hard advertising was required in the first place to get these passenegers.

The local rag 'Sunday Mercury' however winds me up a lot more than being mistaken for a low cost. They have front and second page devoted to the distress caused to the approx. 1200 passengers that would be travelling with duo over this weekend. They make a big feature of the fact that it is unlikely they will get a refund. However, the company almost solely operates on web/telephone bookings. In order to make the payment for travel I'd be surprised if less than 99% paid by credit card. In which case they will be refunded by their credit card companies. They will still unfortunately have to find alternative transport which will probably cost more than the duo ticket and may well be delayed further whilst arranging this transport.


To these people, as a a duo pilot I am sincerely sorry. Speaking for the air crews, we prided ourselves in trying to make a difference in all areas where it counted.


Back to the Mercury. If only 1% therefore lost their fares is this such big news? Hypopthetically 1% of 1200 = 12 passengers. I'm sure this won't mean that the unfortunate passenger will be unable to make their mortgage payments and have to sell their house due to it. All in all realy missing the mark I feel.

What would have been more news worthy would be the 300 odd employees who have hung on in there over the years with eroding Terms and Conditions and no pay rise in over 4 years (even pay cuts this and last year).

Now there is something worthy of mention. Brum folk do there every bit to make a company work and having the rug pulled from beneath them just when success is around the corner!

Once again my sympathies to all the employees and passengers who have suffered. We gave it our very best shot.

[KEPIT 2 YUSEN]

NMC - You right, I haven't been on a duo flight but knowing the "gals and guys" , you would not get a better standard of service. It comes naturally to them !


I would not insult one of them by confusing "low cost" with "cheap and nasty" however, I am on their mailing list and only 2 weeks ago was e-mailed some very attractive Summer prices which compared favourably when I checked them against low cost carriers - I checked! I think the message and strategy never really got out to enough people effectively.

Sadly word of mouth is not enough nowadays and I agree that given time, those guys would have made it work.

Dom - Good luck all of you !

[grow45]

As SLF on the EDI - ZRH route (but obviously not often enough - sorry) can I just add a few words of thanks to the crews who did such a good job and have lost their jobs. I thought the product was great and got the impression that load factors were starting to increase. A bit more time and money might have made all the difference and maybe the administrators will be able to find a buyer and allow at least some of you to keep your jobs.

Thanks and best of luck for your futures.

g45

[Dom Joly]

K 2 Y

Cheers - Hope to see you around.

[RobinHoodDoncaster]

I used to work for the old Maesrk Air, left in 2002. But they were a great bunch to work for. Management were a bit sus and shifty for my liking. Treating pilots and cabin crew like mushrooms most of the time.

Best of luck to all the crews, hope you find work soon. If you can hang on Thomson Fly is coming to Robin Hood Airport. That's where I'm headed when it opens next year. Until then make do with Cov, provided they get their terminal building planning issues in order.

Hosties look on the bright side, plenty of lap dance clubs in Brum it's good money and you can still use the uniforms.

RHD.

[Dash-7 lover]

I worked with them in the brief Brymon European days until we de-merged 8 months after formation and BA made me redundant. Great bunch of folk then and im sure still are. Richard King ops manager...great guy.

Best of Luck to you all. as people have said 'when one door closes etc etc'

seems a shame it was done overnight and so quickly???

[singleacting]

RHD
I'am outraged at your comment quote 'Hosties look on the bright side, plenty of lap dance clubs in Brum it's good money and you can still use the uniforms. ' unquote! Perhaps you think all the pilots and engineers should become rentboys?
Bad timing
Bad taste
Bad manners
Bad post
You should be ashamed!

[moist]

I too left in 2002, in those days with a binliner full of dosh and all.
I would just like to add that no one has mentioned Dave Roberts so far.
I can thank the man for giving me my first break in aviation and the 13 years that followed.
OK so he's so much the worse for having picked me, but he was a very pleasant boss to have.
Cheers Dave and good luck if you need to work that is!!!

[HZ123]

I feel sure that few if any of those who have lost their jobs will bother to read any of this thread. Surely the 'DUO' staff must have realised that from the outset the venture was up aganst it particularly using the CJ700 or whatever it is. Sound economics dictate that it is volume, the number of seats you can fill and a 70 plus seater cannot compete. Some of the staff must ask the DUO management about the failure. Blaming BA and Maersk is rubbish and not the answer. Lets hope they all find jobs.

[BOBBLEHAT]

As an ATCO who works the EGBB / DTY / HEMEL area, let me pass on my regards to all the "FlyDuo" crews who were amongst the most obliging, cheerful bunch that fly around.

Good luck for the future and hopefully I'll be speaking to you all again soon.

[Dom Joly]

Yes sure we were up against it. Who isn't?

The CRJ's were not the aircraft of choice. They were purely what was left when Maersk pulled out (if they ever did???). The company was in the process of evaluating the CRJ's replacement when this happened.

I still find it very strange how we were never allowed to know who the backers actually were. We were always told that it was commercially sensitive. This was understandable when we first started as the company wanted to keep the cards close to their chest. Nearly a year later though we still knew no more. Why this was the case when we were all so called 'shareholders' I do not know.

Bobblehat - Great talking to you all. Never once got a Mike Sierra Kilo...... or a Delta Uniform Oscar...... call from UK ATC. Thanks for your help, understanding and patience over the years. We'll miss you all.

[reverserunlocked]

What a sad day, and out of the blue as well.

A kind skipper at Maersk (cheers Steve ;) ) gave me two jumpseat rides, one to Milan and the other to Copehhagen. The whole 737-500 experience, from walkaround to shutdown back at base, as you chaps see it. This PPL-er was indulged far beyond the call of duty! And what a ride! The pocket rocket -500, great crew, great view and an unforgettable experience.

I just hope that the boys and girls affected find themselves back in the game soon.

RU

[EastMids]

Duo guys and gals, I know its little consolation now you've lost your jobs, but take it from a regular passenger mainly to Geneva - you were the best! I hope you all find work again quickly.

Sadly, the airline market is now dominated by passengers who want something for next to nothing. When an airline like Duo comes along, which really offers passengers something EXTRA and still at a good price, the sceptical public take time to realise. My perception was that GVA was picking up, but its just a huge shame it wasn't picking up quickly enought.

Andy

[ID90]

Sad, sad news..
Having worked for them during the Birmingham Executive, Birmingham European, Brymon European and Maersk bits, I can say without hesitation that I've never worked for a better outfit.
Great staff, both in the air and on the ground.
Good luck to all those looking for jobs.

[30W]

Dom Joly,

"Bobblehat - Great talking to you all. Never once got a Mike Sierra Kilo...... or a Delta Uniform Oscar...... call from UK ATC. "

Neither should you, as unlike foreign ATC units, NATS have the full callsign name printed on the Flight Progress Strip....

Very sad to see Duo's demise. I have never worked for the group in any of it's guises, but have seen them come and go over the years here at BHX right from their initial startup.

They have always come across to me as a thourougly friendly and professional bunch, and I think they will be sadly missed on the BHX scene.

I've been there twice myself over my carrer guys, and know how it feels. Best of luck to all of you, and may job offers come your way soon.......

30W

[PPRuNe Radar]

Neither should you, as unlike foreign ATC units, NATS have the full callsign name printed on the Flight Progress Strip....

Not at all NATS ACCs yet ... but maybe some day in a few years time :ok:

Sad to see Duo go .... spoke to a few flights the night before the bad news and the crews seemed as cheerful as ever.

Lets hope something arises from the ashes. The UK aviation industry always seems good at doing that.

[smellster]

Very sad to see the demise of FLYDUO, hopefully you guys and gals affected will find something soon.

No doubt the slippery bar stewards managing the ex airline will also be on the look out for the next opportunity to screw up, I'm sure we'll here from them soon on these forums?!

[Arkroyal]

Dom saidIn order to make the payment for travel I'd be surprised if less than 99% paid by credit card. In which case they will be refunded by their credit card companiesMaybe, although why the rest of the card companies' customers should pay for the crash is debatable.

Many more will have paid by debit card to avoid the credit card surcharge. They will not be protected.

The timing is cynical to say the least. Take the maximum revenue before a holiday weekend, shut up shop before delivering the goods. If a market trader operated like this you'd have a different view.

[TimS]

It may or may not be fair to blame the Duo management of many things - but don't think Arkroyal's accusation of choosing highest cashflow point to close can be justified.

Any revenue increase generated by the bank holiday weekend would:

1) occur some weeks beforehand (little bank holiday type booking is conducted in the week before)

2) be quite low the week before a bank holiday, which is generally quite slow in terms of new bookings generated - and rush tends to be after the bank holidy for immediate business traffic

I suggest the 'end of the month' was more likely to be the generator and presumably identified by either the bankers or the backers as such.

Incidentally, it is more and more common for the credit cards to hold an airline's funds for some time before releasing them to the airline (one month is common and I have heard of one case of three months - albeit the latter was a seriously dubious outfit whose set-up and early failure before even turning a wheel was featured on these pages previously). I have no idea what Duo's position was.

[Arkroyal]

Tim

Fare points. Rather better handled than Gill, who, I believe, got a free month's work out if their team before wrapping up just before pay-day!

[Maxrev]

Ironic that Maerk/Duo's old 737-500 G-MSKA http://www.airliners.net/open.file/220609/M/ has turned up down the road at CVT as G-THOA http://www.airliners.net/open.file/548730/M/ and will maybe be driven by a few of it's old drivers!

[PENNINE BOY]

Good Luck to all in securing employment soon.

Could not believe Duos advertising campaign though. Huge posters with a duck on a lake! Looked more like an advert for a soft ware company than an airline!

[duopilot]

What ever happened to the £6.8 million given to duo from Scotland

[jkj]

F***ed by the ducks - For those of you in the know - this was not about the operation. Sadly the inability to sell and market the brand in the begining with the cash available was the problem.

Product great - staff dedicated (mostly) - Idea and market position spot on - customer wanting to buy the product - Given time and money there would have been a new chapter written in UK aviation. Sadly some other b***er will now do it and clean up.

Lesson - Tell your customers what you are doing ! Good luck to all

[wangi]

duopilot: What ever happened to the £6.8 million given to duo from Scotland
I take it you're talking about the Scottish Executive's Route Development Fund? The total value of the RDF is £6.8M, that's not what Duo got from them. Additionally I understand it is paid to the airport operator, not the airline, retrospectively to offset fees (and to go toward marketing?).
Dom Joly: Especially after the help from our friends at Scottish Board of Commerce which wasn't factored into this forecast.
???
http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=509982004: The budget carrier Flybe said it had agreed to honour bookings on Duo’s Edinburgh to Birmingham route, which the firm also operates, over the coming weeks.
That'll be the EDI-BHX route which couldn't be booked! It only existed for BHX-EDI-OSL and EDI-BHX-GVA flights?

[FougaMagister]

The end of the road for a great airline. Back in the Maersk Air Ltd days, working for them often felt like being a member of a flying club. Great people, good laughs, good routes, numerous nightstops in BFS, LBA, MXP, STG, CPH, etc. Of course we all preferred the 737-500s, but the CRJ were fine too.

Putting an end to the BA franchise and going it alone, while ballsy, was always going to be risky. I found it strange at the time that no one seemed to consider becoming an AF franchise carrier right in BA 's backyard... surely Cranebank would have taken notice, and with similar a/c types to Brit Air and AF, there would even have been savings done in terms of sims, engineering, spares, etc. A lost opportunity?

While the crews were always great, DUO was too small to survive on its own, and the CRJ (particularly the -200) was only viable as a feeder aircraft, not as a standalone fleet.


All the best to staff - I'm proud to have been part of the team :ok:

[Riddle Me This]

To all those at Duo,

Just wanted to say as one of the many that lost their jobs at European Air Charter just over six weeks ago that I know its a bitch and hope you all find other jobs soon. My first experience of the flight deck was a jump seat ride on a Maersk 737-500 in around 2000 and it seemed like a good team....

March was my first experience of being made redundant and needless to say it wasn't pleasant, but if makes you feel better, nearly all of us had another job within six weeks..... airlines are recruiting and it shouldn't be long before you find another position

All the best and Good Luck!!:ok:

[jace]

Have to agree with riddle, was also at european and theres loads of jobs out there, even had to turn some down one of which was duo meant to start on mon but had better offers luckily. check out aviationjobsearch plenty on there.

Chin up guys youll be back flying in no time at all !!! Good luck!!!

:ok: :ok: :ok: :ok: :ok:

[ATIS]

As one of the unfortunate duo's. Before I head for the dole office, would any of you ex EAC's care to share where the jobs are at the mo. I've got 4000TT. 3000jets

Thanks for the help

[Riddle Me This]

ALL the low cost guys are recruiting like crazy - the irish and orange ones need around 160 pilots per year and i know alot of people that got into those....

Cityexpress is currently recruiting for both their turboprop and jet fleets

Jet2 have interviewed though i think they will do more serious recruiting in the summer

Thomson fly at coventry also have recruited a fair few

Good Luck!

[mustang1]

I'm one of the first officers made redundant with EAC and was snapped up pretty quickly by one of the LCC's.

Easyjet, thomsonfly and possibly bmibaby still recruiting. The vast majority of pilots made redundant have now signed up with another airline.

Times seem to be good, I don't think you duo guys will be hanging around too long.

[Brookmans Park]

According to the newspapers DUO was the third LCC to fail this week does anyone know who the others were?

[Dogma]

Any of you guys going to the Britannia / T-fly open day?

[give me an axe]

does anybody know anything about this payout ??? do we have to do anything to get hold off this couple of quid ???

cheers
GB

ps hows everybody doing on the job front ???

[max nightstop]

Nearly everyone is doing very nicely on the job front. bmibaby have snapped up all of us that could speak english and hadn't pissed off the senior training captain in a previous life (at Duo).

Furthermore, by asking nicely, we have managed to keep ourselves BHX based, leaving it the most overmanned base in the history of LCCs

;)

[Arkroyal]

That'll be the soon to be renamed 'babymaersk' will it? :p