Antipodean asking for money up front (merged)

[The Lead Sparrow]

I have been offered a job as cabin crew with Antipodean Air charter. In with the contract is a request for two thirds of the money for a uniform, approx £230, the remaining third to be paid prior to the commencement of training which is due to start on 10th November. As of yet there is no location for training, no office at Gatwick, in fact apart from a short term office in Brighton this appears to be a company on paper only. I strongly reccomend that no one sends off any money or hands in their notice to a current employer untill evidence of a genuine company surfaces.

[AVeight]

Dear All,

I would echo those warnings from The Lead Sparrow. It seems that despite the several warnings not to get involved with this outfit some of you are still falling for his tricks. AAC have no AOC, no right to operate, no funding, no experienced management and no way in hell. The so called CEO, Geln Poulton, has been trying to con moeny out of many people and some have fallen for it.

PLEASE DO NOT TRUST THIS OUTFIT!!! STAY CLEAR OF IT LIKE LIKE A DISEASED MONKEY!!

They will try and convince you that they will be operating on November 10th but they will not!

[Eddy]

The person running this company is cabin crew with British Airways or atleast was until recently.

I thought that the company was going to operate flights on chartered jets with crews coming with the jets from the charter company.

[OZcabincrew]

Nope, i have a friend who is working for a well established airline in Australia that got a job with them as cabin crew. There are a few people in Australia that have supposedly been accepted?

Good luck to all involved.

Oz

[flyblue]

Guys and gals,
as one of our fellow Mods very well put it, "the best way to know if a company has any chance of ever starting operations, is to establish if it has an AOC (Air Operators Certificate ) or not. If they don't have an AOC they are months away from needing staff. Show me your AOC first , then I'll show you mine"
A word to the wise...:rolleyes:

[groovejet82]

IM SORRY, I'VE TRIED FOR SO LONG TO IGNORE TO CRAP THAT GETS THROWN AROUND ON THIS SITE ABOUT AAC, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT KEEP GOING ON ABOUT LANDING PERMISSION ETC, THE ANSWER TO THAT IS THAT AAC ARE LEASING THEIR AIRCRAFT FOR THE FIRST FEW MONTHS FROM ANOTHER COMPANY, THEREFORE NO NEED FOR THEIR OWN CERTS, ITS COVERED IN THE CONTRACT WITH THE LEASING FIRM, SO FOR GOD SAKE GET OVER IT!!

[PPRuNe Towers]

Far from getting over it you've simply raised a host of other issues anyone who has been in the industry more than 10 minutes will be querying.

Starts with dry, wet or damp and continues to ticketing rights and permissions and industry bonding. Are you actually answering questions or here for a desperate rant?

Rob

[Kelas]

groovejet82

Far from get over it...this guy Glen Poulton obviously has no clue. Nothing about what he is claiming makes any sense what so ever. Either he is a con man trying to get quick cash from gullible people who want to be crew or he is a very naive plane spotter who is completely out of his depth. Either way AAC will never fly unde the direction of that charlatan!

[cart_elevator]

they have taken all the details off their website, but from memory:

About 600 pound return to Perth (you can get it cheaper from a lot of full service carriers including Malaysian, QF and SQ if you book online in advance!)

Flying L1011's - do I need to say more? no individual IFE, old crappy planes - do they even meet Oz noise requirements?

No alcohol allowed or served on flights??? Ok, if they are going for a no-frills type service thats cool , -yet- what backpacker in their right mind would do 20 odd hours without a beer?

No frequent flyers points/ alliance with other carriers.


You guys are wondering if they will take prosepctive cabin crew for a ride? Jeeps! I am wondering who would ever fly this outfit, they must be after a 'small religious-cult-demographic' who dont believe in Movies and Alcohol... and all (so it would seem from their website a few weeks ago) for the same money (if not more), than airlines with free grog, video on demand, frequent flyer points and all the nice trimmings :=

They're dreaming if they think this will attract any customers, and if new crew wish to do money on this mob, then let it be on their own heads :uhoh:

[Engineer]

I hear aac are starting training courses on monday 14/11/05 so something must be happening

Considering back in September this company was advertising to start schedule flights from Gatwick and Manchester on the 7th and 9th of this month But now it is only starting training courses must give a clear indication of what to expect. But the world is full of mugs who can be duped into anything unfortunately :{

[EI-CFC]

I too once started with an airline that had one a/c and everbody laughed and scoffed but i am please to say that I am still with "Virgin Atlantc"

Somehow, judging by all the shenanigans going on with AAC, I think comparing it to VS is a bit of an apple vs orange scenario!

[ozzieng]

Ive been following this "airline" for about two years now. It seems things have climaxed in Perth. Based on news programs over here, operations (if you can call them operations) have ended, and knowone can get in contact with Mr Glen Poultan, not even staff appointed by him operating out of Perth WA.

The website hasnt been updated since 08/25/05. :confused: Commencement dates have continually been pushed back for over a year. Flying routes continually altered, crew training regimes continually altered..... the list go's on :uhoh:

Whats the consenses on this in the UK?

Cheers

[Woomera]

Page 6 half page in the "West Australian", the Perth, Western Australian daily rag.

Antipodean Air Charter trainees in the middle of a training session for which they had paid $1,000, told " the company is bankrupt" and the prinicpal can't be found. Home address turns out to be a boarding house in Brighton East Sussex blah blah..

$60,000 loss for locals has been mentioned

Chap named Glen Poulton ex BA steward, named as the boss.

Seems to have been preying on ex Ansett CC and the usual hopefuls.

A pity the hopefuls don't read PPRuNe, they can't say they weren't warned.:{

[craic1510]

Yeah sorry guys, it was all on the news too. The whole thing was a con, the airline was never going to be in existance. The police raided the training class. So sorry for those of you that paid money to these :mad:

craic1510

[go_dj]

Yes Craic1510, how I remember you telling everyone here they were on the up and up after being told that blind freddy could see it was a scam 18 mths ago.

posted 8th August 2004 18:03
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I agree with fourplay on this matter. Although the forum has been removed, there is nothing to stop us using the chat room or even private messages is there? I can understand why moderators have removed the subject, but for those of us that will be working for AAC, lets just wait until the airline is stronger. That way, everything positive we have discussed will be a big slap in the face for those that have continuously knocked this venture!!

craic1510

[Flymegirl]

Yes it is true all crew in OZ and UK have been informed via email from one of the line supervisors, Glen informed him late on Thursday Eve...........

[go_dj]

Investigations by "West Australian" reporters subseguent to the
announcement disclosed that Antipodean held no safety licence in
Britain nor did it hold a British Air Travel Organisers licence or had
applied for access to Perth.

Lets hope that the 60 gullible people caught out for this $1000 scam have learnt
a valuble lesson for the future.

"A fool and his money are soon parted"

[Mick814]

This matter was been reported to Sussex Police, Gatwick Airport late Friday and as the investigating officer I would be grateful if those persons who believe they have been subject of any criminal offence either in the UK or Australia contact me to discuss the matters further.
Detective Sergeant Mick JONES, Sussex Police, Gatwick Airport 0845 6070999 extn 37233 / 37299
Fax +44 1293 592817
email [email protected]

or private msg me on pprune 'mick814'

[skyboy1919]

Sorry to all those who are involved in this, once again its the normal hard working guys and girls that are out of money, and work. I went through the EAAC disaster, takes time to get over, but made me stronger. I hope for once, someone decides to do something about this, and I wish those out of money and out of work good luck.

[mooguy]

Mentioned that Glen Poulton has disappeared completely, no-one can find him since this debacle unfolded.

Sixty flight attendants were dumb/desperate enough (theres so many wannabe F/A's in oz not funny) that they each shelled out $1000 each, its a bit sad really.

Last year I myself applied, but when I realised you had to pay, and even a year ago for the life of me I couldnt get a hold of Glen Poulton, I dropped it.

To craic and others online who were so pro this whole venture, I have one question...."Why were you so protective/defensive of someone you didnt know?"

[Mr Seatback 2]

Once again, people have been diddled.

I know people are keen and enthusiastic about new ventures such as these, but let me say this once more (as have many other people on this site):

DO NOT JOIN ANY COMPANY THAT ASKS YOU TO PAY FOR YOUR OWN CABIN CREW TRAINING!

No airline that I'm familiar with that's a professional airline has ever asked their crew to fund their own training for their own jobs. With the exception of paying for training BEFORE you're employed (ie. First Aid certificate), STAY CLEAR of outfits such as these.

This isn't the first time this has happened in Australia...hopefully, people will take the advice of those who know better next time.

[justinterested]

Airline jobs crash on bankruptcy

By Sean Cowan

More than 60 airline industry hopefuls who paid up to $1000 each to join a fledgling airline as cabin crew members have had their dreams shattered after they were yesterday told the British-based company had gone bankrupt.

The announcement, made to the group just a few days into a training course held at Perth's Hyatt Centre, has raised questions about the company, which claimed it planned to fly between Manchester, Beirut, Maldives, Florida and Perth.

Investigations by The West Australian yesterday found the British-based
Antipodean Air Charter held no safety licence in Britain. Nor did it hold a
British Air Travel Organisers licence.

It has not applied for access to Perth Airport.

The company's website, which claims it has an office at London's Gatwick Airport, was registered to Glen Poulton - Antipodean's chief executive.

But his home address, in Brighton, East Sussex, is a boarding house where he lodged temporarily until March 26, 2004. He also has a Yahoo email address.

The owner of the boarding house - an historic home known as Heatherset Villa - did not want to be named, but was 'furious‘ Mr Poulton had used his address for business. The owner said Mr Poulton had worked as a steward for British Airways when he lived at the house.

Worker Tina McLeod, a former Ansett stewardess, said the workers were devastated and in tears when told there were no jobs by Antipodean's unpaid part-time Perth-based human resources manager yesterday. They had called police.

She said they had responded to both online and newspaper advertisements for Perth-based crew.

Mr Poulton could not be contacted for comment yesterday. The office of Antipodean Air Charter was switched to an answering machine.

[RaverFlaver]

I think Craic and others were simply being optimistic rather than protective. Nothing wrong with having a hopeful and positive attitude. Admittedly the circumstances didn't look right from go though.

RaverFlaver :)

[SkySista]

I was going to apply when they said they wanted Perth-based crew... then I thought... "hmmm..... an international airline based in Perth.... too good to be true....."

thank god for PPRuNe is all I can say, I thought it sounded off but everyone on here giving info about the past rubbish in the UK really clinched it for me - you guys potentially saved me a grand!!

Sorry for everyone that had their hopes pinned on this....

[airbus_galley_girl]

Website Main Page:-

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Antipodean Air Charter has been forced to cease operations and begin insolvency procedures.

Once receivership details are confirmed, individual creditors, including former employees, will be contacted with further information. This may well take a few weeks to be processed by Sussex authorities.

AAC apologises for the hardship and inconvenience this has caused and has pledged to do everything possible to reimburse all of those affected by it's demise as soon as possible.

[Birds2perches]

Oops. I remember this topic coming up ages ago. Sorry to see so many innocent people get stung. I've met Glen too and seemed to me like the 'plane spotter desperately out of his depth' but obviously it's more than that. I knew from speaking to him that this airline was never going to take off but he didn't seem like the kind of guy that would rip people off. Will follow case with great interest. Hope those that lost money recover. The Aussies won't take it lying down though!

[AVeight]

I remember all those months ago when I posted on here warning people of this con artist. I was told at the time that I was jealous, that I didn't know what I was talking about and that AAC would be flying soon!!....well here it is.....I told you so!!!

If those 60 people had made the effort of basic enquiries they would have known that it was all a con. That's why sites like pprune are very important. They allow professionals who know about aviation to give those without a clue some basic information.

Sorry to those who got ripped off. Hope that get your money back!

PS To Craig1510 and all those who said I was wrong....hope you have learnt your lesson. Don't throw your blind faith behind any idiot who claims to have a startup airline. Ask questions first!

[Birds2perches]

What I don't quite understand is that AUD $60000 isn't worth disappearing with is it? How far will that get you in life? I'm told he had even approached BA and asked them to manage and maintain his aircraft while on the ground in LGW. They don't even have Tristars so how could they? None of it adds up.

[flyblue]

Please refer to the Sticky on top of the page.

[wrxsubby]

Hi Everyone,

I was involved with this so called airline, and yep had my hopes and dreams dashed, by a clueless ******** called Glen Poulton, things are coming to light now, and it sounds like he had his head in the clouds and was a big dreamer.

The looks on all those peoples faces when we were told, I wont for get in a hurry and I only hope Glen suffers big time, rots in jail I don't care aslong as its unpleasent.

On the brighter side of this debarcle I have made some great friends and i guess if it wasnt for this situation I would never have met so many great people, We would have made a great crew everyone.

I know this is a silly question, but you'll never know if you don't try, if there are any cabin crew recruiters than can help me and the other guys and gals who have been put through the ringer give us a pm :O

Thanks to those people for there support and to those ppl who have said "I told you so" well in hiensight (god knows how you spell it) i wish i had.

[flyblue]

wrxsubby, it would be important that you and others involved contacted Detective Sergeant Mick JONES, Sussex Police, Gatwick Airport 0845 6070999 extn 37233 / 37299
[email protected]

[wrxsubby]

Hey Flyblue,

Already Contacted the WA police, fraud squad and passed on all electronic (email) corrospondence that I recieved from AAC. Now I just want answers, some sort of closure just to know what really happened and for Glen to be locked away for a very long time, If not sit him ona chair infront of all the perth crew and let us ask the questions.
I also emailed this mick jones guy but have yet to recieve a reply.

[FLY-JAY]

Yes another one bites the dust. I was one of the crew who unfortunately never got the opportunity to get off the ground with them. Would love to hear from any other poor soul who got caught up in this web of distruction.......

[FLY-JAY]

Yeah, I've been caught out by all of this. Unfortunately I did not read PPRUNE before signing up and paying the £230........

would like to hear of other manchester crew who also fell for this.

Keep smiling........

Jay-Fly:D

[BOAC]

More importantly, FLY-JAY - have you contacted the police as requested?

[sinala1]

I too was caught up in this - luckily I got out before it got to the asking for $$/££ stage. I was offered a position as InFlight Services Director on what was then to be B742's - which later changed to the L1011's. I declined the offer of a job due to a more stable position being made offered to me as part of an exchange programme with my current airline.

I feel sorry for those who have parted with their hard earned money - Glen really did seem like a nice guy and presented a strong case - clearly a conman who had done a significant amount of research.

Good luck to those who lost their money :{ , I do hope that it comes back to you and that karma comes Glen's way...

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