Tesco's new G550 Registration

[SpoolingUp]

Tesco's new G550 registration - G-LSCW GINFO Search Results | Aircraft Register | Operations and Safety (http://bit.ly/1CJZvMN) - G-LSCW ? FlightAware (http://flightaware.com/live/flight/GLSCW).

Is it me or is there some sublime messaging going on here. Unless I am mistaken, Those letters stand for Lidl, Sainsburys, Co-Op & Waitrose? Why no 'A' for Aldi?

I don't know, Just a thought, surely someone must have thought about it?

[First.officer]

According to a news report I read somewhere the other day, they're in the process of selling all the aircraft off??!!!

F/o

[ShyTorque]

It might stand for Let's Screw Customers Weekly.

[SpoolingUp]

Indeed - and sadly it means more people will lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Just the perfect storm of Profit Warnings and an aircraft that was purchased sometime ago, being delivered at a completely inopportune moment!

[mixture]

an aircraft that was purchased sometime ago, being delivered at a completely inopportune moment!

An aircraft that should not have been ordered in the first place !

Nothing more than a boys toy for the directors !

65-70% of their revenues come from the UK, they've dumped their US & Japanese ventures and scaled back in China, so for what's left of their international ops they can jolly well take commercial flights !

[SpoolingUp]

There seems to be a little bit of bourgeois bickering here. My original post was a little cheap humourous jibe. I'm all for more jets for the big Corporations because it means more jobs for the likes of those who frequent this website.

If you 'Wat Tyler' disagree with the likes of Tesco having Company Jets, then go and buy some of their shares now whilst they are plummeting, or perhaps wait another month or so. You can then turn up to the shareholders meetings and influence the Board's decisions. Tesco's will recover in time and you'll make money on your shares, you might even get to fly for them one day when they are successful and prosperous again (probably on a chartered aircraft - I admit) - but what's wrong with that?

Anyway, what I really want to know is why the Royal Family and the British Government don't have their own private jets?? Nothing worse than seeing Prince William getting onto a Vistajet aircraft - that really is embarrassing!!

[mixture]

I'm all for more jets for the big Corporations because it means more jobs for the likes of those who frequent this website.

Nothing wrong with jets.... IF....you have substantial overseas operations (or your home-turf is the size of the US or Australia).

Tesco have neither.

HQ is the UK. You don't need private jets to get around the UK.

And as highlighted earlier, their overseas ops are dwindling "65-70% of their revenues come from the UK, they've dumped their US & Japanese ventures and scaled back in China"

Thus Tesco do not need jets.

Tesco's will recover in time and you'll make money on your shares

I admire your rose-tinted spectacles in the face of a share that's been on the decline for two years (although they really never made back their post-crisis peak of 450 in April 2010, let alone their pre-crisis peak of 491... so they've really been declining since then, its just the down-trend has gotten stronger during 2013/2014) and is down almost 50% year to date to a level that's lower than the lows of the 2008 crisis where they bottomed at 291....their present low was last seen in 2003 ! :E

Given Tesco either underestimated or failed to see the German invasion (Aldi & Lidl), and instead persisted on their land-grab the writing is very much on the cards for Tesco. They're unlikely to disappear of course, but "modest" (to put it politely) performance is likely to be the order of the day for the foreseeable future ....

In the non-food space Tesco also seem to have underestimated how powerful the internet would become.

Poor share performance is going to be the way for a number of years, certainly no prospect of anything happening 2015/2016/2017 given they've just had a change of both CEO and CFO who will need to get their heads around what's going on. So if you're going to be buying Tesco shares you'd better be young and hiding those shares at the bottom of your pension pot SIPP and hoping the shares do something by the time you retire !

Personally I wouldn't touch Tesco shares with a bargepole ....there are much better risk/reward options for picking shares that will provide a reward in a much shorter timeframe than the 10+ years Tesco are likely to need !

Even Warren Buffet recently described his substantial investment in Tesco as a "huge mistake".

[ShyTorque]

Severe lack of investment in our local supermarket meant the roof literally leaked in dozens of places; they began putting out lots of buckets to catch the water coming through in heavy rain. They even had to shut down a bank of freezers due to water falling on them.

So the only thing I go to Tescos for these days is their Tiger Bread.
I think they are a bunch of master bakers.

[PaulFrank]

Even Iceland have their own jet:

M-FRZN (http://www.planes.cz/en/photo/1171865/cl605-m-frzn-private-prague-ruzyne-prg-lkpr/)

[SpoolingUp]

Thanks for that concise rant Mr Mixture, but where does all that out of season Fruit and Veg come from - certainly not the UK.

How does the British public get such a wide variety of products all the year around, certainly not by executives banging around the UK on a low cost airline.

What on earth is the point of selling all those aircraft at a loss, just to appease the masses??

Get the aircraft on an AOC, Charter the backside out of them, get a good PR Team in, do a bit for charity, do a bit for the UN, use them for Aeromed and then use them when you need them. But just to ground the aircraft and not use them and rack up penalty costs is ludicrous.

The aircraft should be used more, not less, because the costs can be written off against TAX. Now Mr Tyler, march to the Capital!

[mixture]

but where does all that out of season Fruit and Veg come from - certainly not the UK.

But how many people with the authorisation to use to the corporate jet are buyers from the Tesco purchasing department ?

Exactly. :ugh:

Therefore I re-iterate, in relation to Tesco, corporate jets are nothing but boys toys for C level execs.

[McDoo]

Mixture

You really don't have a clue do you? And you are clearly not a corporate pilot otherwise your comments might have been more educated.:ugh:

The biggest threat to the livelihoods of people in this industry is the petty sniping from jealous individuals (and the gutter press) who believe that companies actually buy expensive aircraft so that the directors can swan off on 'jollies'. Nothing could be further from the truth.:=

Meanwhile, in the USA, WalMart operate 23 jets and a turboprop. Nobody gives them a hard time over it....

...and yes, buying shares in Tesco might be a good move:ok:

[mixture]

McDoo,

Alright then, well if we look at it from a purely company point of view.... wasting all that money on corporate jets to fly these ego-trippers to their important meetings that they cannot possibly contemplate getting to in a more affordable manner on a commercial airline has not done the company much good has it ?

They've dumped or are reducing most of their international ops, and hence the over-inflated requirement for a jet is rapidly diminishing.

And then just look at the state of the company ......CEO gone, CFO gone, dodgy accounts, struggling to keep up with the competition.....

Having access to those jets hasn't exactly made them into a magical success story has it ! All it has been is a great big waste of time and money, just like many of their overseas operations.....

Meanwhile, in the USA, WalMart operate 23 jets and a turboprop. Nobody gives them a hard time over it....

Yes, and in accordance with my statement above "Nothing wrong with jets.... IF....you have substantial overseas operations (or your home-turf is the size of the US or Australia)."

Walmart's home turf is the US.....easier to justify a small fleet in the USA rather than the UK where you can get from one end of the country to the other in a couple of hours on a train (or quicker a commercial domestic flight).

[McDoo]

Nothing wrong with jets.... IF....you have substantial overseas operations (or your home-turf is the size of the US or Australia).:ugh:

Tesco are the second biggest retailer in Eastern Europe and Turkey. They are huge in the
Far East and actually have an academy in Seoul. They have suppliers and investors all over the Globe who need to be visited and schmoozed.

If that isn't a case for corporate jets, everyone on this site might as well all pack up and look for another career.

BTW did you know they have ships too.....it's a global business, go figure...

[mixture]

Tesco are the second biggest retailer in Eastern Europe and Turkey. They are huge in the Far East and actually have an academy in Seoul.

And how many commercial flights a day are there to Europe and the Asian hubs ?

Exactly !

[McDoo]

Spooling Up

:D:D:D:D:D

[McDoo]

Mixture,

None at all that get highly paid executives to three cities in one day.

Who are you? Disgruntled shareholder or gutter press?:mad:

[McDoo]

Ah, gone quiet, hasn't he? ;)

[mixture]

Ah, gone quiet, hasn't he?

No, I'm just choosing not to engage further with people who have a biased conflict of interest in the desire to see Tesco continue to maintain its un-necessary corporate jets.

If you take a cold hard look at it, you'll soon agree with me that in its present state, and given its recent track record, Tesco cannot justify maintaing the fleet.

BTW did you know they have up to SIX HUNDRED ships too..

Yeah, right, pull the other one, as if Tesco own or lease 600 ships for their own exclusive use.... we're talking about Tesco here, not Maersk ! :rolleyes:

I'm outta here, too much bias from the corporate jet drivers .....

[SpoolingUp]

I'm outta here, too much bias from the corporate jet drivers ..... So there we have it, Mixture came into the Forum for a rant in a field of aviation he doesn't really understand, and got seen off by McDoo! Tremendous :D

Mixture, go and take on some bio-fuel, taxi around on one engine and whilst you're waiting for your passengers to turn up, have a cup of Peppermint Tea!

[mixture]

From the FT :

A person close to the company said: “If you want an indication of what has gone wrong at Tesco [it was that] we ordered another Gulfstream.”


I rest my case, you lot are too biased and refuse to take off your rose-tinted spectacles !


got seen off by McDoo! Tremendous

Not sure I'd see it as a victory on your part. Rather that I decided to let you stew in your own biased juices. Big difference !

[SpoolingUp]

Oh, no........he's back spouting more jealous vitriol.

Mixture, you seem to have far too much time on your hands to be writing all this drivel!

[Lord Spandex Masher]

I wonder why it is that the new Chief Exec. has ordered ALL 5 jets to be sold...

How are they going to get around Europe and the world now? Maybe.....airlines?

[SpoolingUp]

Charter........KISS!

[McDoo]

Mixture,

Me biased? No. Informed? yes.

You on the other hand are basing all your arguments on what you read (or is it write? :E) in the gutter press.



I think you are in the wrong forum....

[McDoo]

But how many people with the authorisation to use to the corporate jet are buyers from the Tesco purchasing department ?

You'd be surprised!

[Citationlover]

hi to all,
have been reading this thread with interest as im both a tesco worker and a fan of all things that fly.

the previous CEO purchased the gulfstream i believe with the intention of it being based in the far east as this was his big dream to break the chinese market so from that point of view the jet probably would have been justified

the new boss has told the people with the purse strings to sell the jet and i believe is happy to take a loss of the deal.

as for the rest of the fleet , i dont know which aircraft they operate but im told there isnt a lot of value in them

they are still using netjets to get around the UK and Ireland and into various locations in europe.

from a personal point of view i dont have a problem with companies owing private jets anymore than owing a fleet of limos to drive the top boys round,
as tesco are still a very profitable company who in turn employ over 300,000 people in the UK alone, but have to agree that it is one PR disaster after another at the moment with maybe more to come

[Tony Mabelis]

I was told by a senior accountant at my previous German motor company employer, that the company Gulfstream was a "tax deductable tool" and therefore probably in the long run costs the company approx $0.00.
Tony

[BizJetJockey]

Citation,

who told you they are using Netjets?!

[Global_Global]

I think it is amazing to see in a thread by professionals from the industry there are so many ill informed people about what biz aviation can do but equally what the cost is....

No wonder that people in the boardroom get it wrong as even the drivers have no clue about their toys! :E

[fairflyer]

You'd assume that most of the users here might be pro business aviation and if a company turning over between £57-64 billion a year for the last five years, making between £2.6-4.1 billion in operating profit, can't justify a corporate jet (or two), then there's not much hope for us in a niche part of the aviation industry being beaten up everywhere we turn.

Give business aviation a break, please.

[Global_Global]

Give business aviation a break, please.

Agree :ok:

[darkroomsource]

A company of that size, clearly, can justify a corporate aviation department and a (small) fleet.

However, a company that is under investigation for its accounting practices; appears to be losing market share at an alarming rate; has lost chief executives under "questionable" circumstances; is a company that can not appear to be "throwing money around indiscriminately".

The key word is appear.

[cldrvr]

who told you they are using Netjets?! Lemme see, the owner of NJ is Tesco's biggest non-bank shareholder....(only 2 years ago he was the biggest)


Duhhh.


As he has lost 700Mn on his holdings, the least they can do is throw some charter business his way........

[His dudeness]

@cldriver: good one !:ok:

You'd assume that most of the users here might be pro business aviation and if a company turning over between £57-64 billion a year for the last five years, making between £2.6-4.1 billion in operating profit, can't justify a corporate jet (or two), then there's not much hope for us in a niche part of the aviation industry being beaten up everywhere we turn.

I guess you have not yet understood that the nowadays operating profit margins have to be at least 2 digits. Thus we all should bring fuel and catering and be thankful and obedient for being allowed to breath the same air than the superior beings (the holy&devine industrial management folks) sitting in the back.

Irony mode off.

[Citationlover]

i was chatting to someone at head office about the jet and it was from that conversation i was told they use netjets regularly from london city to dublin,liverpool and into europe

[BizJetJockey]

Do your research and you'll find that their company hawker and CJ operate their European flights, not NetJets.

[Global_Global]

Regardless who or where: they will be flying a lo less going forward :rolleyes:

[Richard101]

GINFO Search Results Summary | Aircraft Register | Operations and Safety (http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=summary&owner=TESCO%20STORES%20LTD)


It would be very odd that with 4 aircraft (well 3 I assume the old G5 has gone) based at Luton they would use NetJets to fly around

[Tray Surfer]

G-CGUL is a rather snazzy looking frame!

Such a shame that peoples jobs are going to be effected by all this…

Hope they all find something quickly when the end comes.

[con-pilot]

It would be very odd that with 4 aircraft (well 3 I assume the old G5 has gone) based at Luton they would use NetJets to fly around

I understand that the entire flight department has been shut down.

This sort of thing has happened in the US quite a bit, a new CEO wanting to make a good impression with the stockholders and board of directors, shuts down the company flight department, throws everybody out of work and sells the aircraft.

Then the next day, so to say, a fractional ownership aircraft, such as Net Jets, shows up and picks up the schedule that was to be flown by the company flight department. In most, if not all cases, the cost of using the fractional aircraft will exceed the cost of their old flight department.

But that doesn't matter, as the new CEO can still point out to the stockholders and board of directors that the company does not own any aircraft.

Then a couple of years or so down the line, the company buys an aircraft, starts up a new flight department because that will be cheaper than using the fractional aircraft.



One year at an NBAA Convention I attended a seminar whose topic was 'Reasons for businesses to purchase and operate aircraft'. Over all the presentation was good and covered all the aspects of the subject. At the end they asked if anyone had any questions or comments. I did have a comment.

I said that there are three reasons why a company will or will not buy an aircraft, they are:

One, the CEO and the COO want an aircraft; they will get an aircraft.

Two, the CEO wants an aircraft, but the COO does not; the company will most likely get an aircraft.

Three, the CEO and the COO do not want an aircraft; they will not get an aircraft.

Basically it is that simple. However, anytime a new CEO takes over, all bets are off whether the company will keep the aircraft if they have any, or if they do not have any aircraft, they will get an aircraft.

[Richard101]

G-CGUL is a rather snazzy looking frame!
Your not wrong Tray Surfer very nice bit of kit... 2008 Gulfstream G550 for sale by Gulfstream Pre-Owned Aircraft Sales (http://www.avbuyer.com/aircraft-for-sale/turbine/jets/Gulfstream/G550-35440/)

[Tray Surfer]

Not seen that before, the divan at the front too… Interesting LOPA on this one.

Either way, I don't want to demonstrate bad taste by glancing over the pickings of an unfortunate situation for those who have lost/are losing their jobs.

[cldrvr]

Tesco today wound up its aviation division. No details on layoffs.

The supermarket chain filed a winding-up notice for Kansas Transportation Ltd, the company that owns its corporate jets, at Companies House on Friday.High-flying Tesco executives come down to earth as jets division wound up | Business | The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/10/high-flying-tesco-executives-come-down-to-earth-as-jets-division-wound-up)



Kansas Transportation’s accounts shows Tesco spent £28.9m flying executives around the world in private planes between 2005 and 2012, the most recent annual accounts available.And they will spend double that with Netjets going forward. This is not saving any money, this is just a PR exercise.

[N707ZS]

Slightly off topic, if you store a brand new Gulf 550 how often do you have to perform engine runs?

[Tony Mabelis]

Consult the RR engine Maintenance Manual.
Tony

[UAV689]

It is amazing the grief that tesco get! Anyone would think they are a goverment departement! A lot of retailers have aircraft, river island, arcadia, even stimpsons the key cutters. More the merrier I say!

And they are not just used by the top bods! I have friends that use them to visit stores in UK, not saying that is right or correct, but for us pilots it is a great thing that we should encourage!

[x933]

Key difference is with the companies you have mentioned (River Island, Arcadia, Timpsons) is the jets are not owned by the company - but (through "shell" companies) by an individual - normally owner/CEO depending on the company.

Now, a company using a jet owned by a third party and not on an AOC or similar would probably constitute grey charter (depending on the circumstances, etc) but why let the facts get in the way of a good story :E

[darkroomsource]

No, the real difference is that they're in trouble with their accounting practices, and are under extreme scrutiny by their shareholders and the government.
This is a PR move, but it has nothing to do with looking to save costs. If the new plane hadn't arrived the day after it was announced that they were being investigated for their accounting, then its likely the flying department would not have been touched.

[Ahh de Havilland]

Can anyone actually confirm that Tesco has closed their flight department?

From what I can see the only evidence for that conclusion is The Guardian's report that Kansas Transportation has been dissolved. G-CGUL is for sale with Gulfstream but this most probably because it was traded in part exchange for G-LSCW. None of the other a/c (G-CGUZ, G-CDLT or G-LSCW) are listed for sale on the net.

The Tesco fleet has been registered to Tesco Stores Ltd, Corporate Flight Department October 2013. Presumably Tesco moved the aircraft when their operation became public knowledge and the subterfuge of using a seemingly unrelated company was revealed; once this was done the company was of no further use and was closed down.

Hopefully the department is still flying. This is certainly my view.

Incidentally does anyone know the true significance of the regn G-LSCW?

[G-ARZG]

G-LSCW
'Let's Stop Conning the World' ?

[BizJetJock]

AdH
Sadly it is true, I have been contacted by one of their pilots looking for a job in the last few days.

[N707ZS]

Has it been sold? It left its hidey hole at DTVA this morning for Luton.

[clivewatson]

Also had contact from some of the victims of Tesco's knee jerk reaction, so sadly yes, it seems to be true.

Seems that muppets were left running the shop for a while.

[Citationlover]

In reply to the guy who told me to do my research and that tesços use their own aircraft around Europe and not netjets
FYI records I've seen show netjets have been used 6 times in past 2 weeks from various locations around Europe ,they may use their own fleet ex uk to European destinations but inter European flights are done with other suppliers


Citation lover

[BizJetJockey]

What records are these citation lover??