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Vfrpilotpb
3rd Oct 2001, 12:37
Good Morning Ppruners,
My daytime job here in the UK is the running of very large transport vehicles, between the UK and the continent, in order to do this we in the haulage industry are regulated and licensed by the Ministry of Transport, and our continental pals are regulated likewise, before anyone can start in the Road Haulage Industry we have to prove beyond any doubt that we have the ready cash and funds available to cover any situation, including that of no work for weeks on end(makes a mess of your forcasts) and at irregular intervals we can be asked to provide proof that this financial security is still available, we have to re-register every 5 years and go through all the same routine of proof again, this has been a system put together by the Transport Ministry's of the EU in order to stop Cowboys setting up and then leaving a trail of debt and enviromental problems all over the relevent area where they work, it works nearly perfectly,
Why then are we hearing the daily bleatings of the major aircarriers making such statement as "We have run out of money" is there no requirement for any of the seemingly cowboy air operators to have huge financial back up, Servicing of any passenger or freight a/c must be immense but are these people and companies running so near to the bone as to not be able to stand any quiet periods or downturns in turnover,(indeed are they running safe,) and if this is the case, how safe are we the SLF who are paying for their services, in other words are they safe to fly, and to trade!Despite all the junk that we are fed about the airlines being overegulated, where's the wool on their backs, or has it all gone!

[ 03 October 2001: Message edited by: Vfrpilotpb ]

GROUNDHOG
8th Oct 2001, 21:24
Interesting post and question that has to be answered in several parts.

Safety is paramount to all airlines, the industry's record speaaks for itself and it is wholly wrong to doubt this fact. Certainly in the UK we have the heaviest regulation and best systems in place to prevent circumvention of the rules and quite right too! Not sure if you can compare the safety of road haulage/airline because of the vast differences in parameters but air travel is without doubt and remains one the safest forms of transport there is.

Economically, the problem with running an airline (I have sat on the Board of two or three) is that the numbers are so big. I do not know what it costs to lease a Scania tractor unit but I can tell you a Boeing 767 will cost you around $750,000 a month give or take a $100,000 or so! That excludes maintenance reserves or insurance. The margins are so slim these days that to have enough cash in the bank to allow for half a dozen of those sitting around for any length of time would need massive reserves.

There will always be the entrepreneur that will start a small airline ( charter or scheduled) and these will by nature come and go but then I suggest this is certainly the case in all industries and not everyone gets to be Eddie Stobart now do they? How many 'Independent' hauliers went out of business because of rising fuel costs?

You really cannot compare the two businesses as I have already said, the economics are so different.

What I will say is I feel proud to have been part of the airline business, one of the most innovative and safest industries in the World, one that has transported many millions of passengers in comfort and safety over countless years.

Long may it continue and good luck to everyone in it today weathering the storm, keep going because the sun will for sure be back out soon.

Groundhog