FlyNiki grounded

[Denti]

In the wake of the Air Berlin bankruptcy FlyNiki today had to declare bankruptcy as well after Lufthansa as the only viable buyer (apparently IAG and Thomas Cook are not viable) pulled out.

The AOC was pulled this evening and flight operations will be grounded from tomorrow on. Some rescue flights from other operators apparently are trying to get some of their passengers back.

https://www.flyniki.com/en/start.php

[Field In Sight]

I just went through the same thing with Monarch 2 months ago. It is nothing but awful.
What is it about companies doing this before Christmas.
Hopefully the German system allows for better redundancy payments than we received.

The majority of the pilots have now found alternative employment. Which is a good thing at least.

Best of luck to everybody.

[Hussar 54]

But who ( after the AB shut down ) actually owns Niki these days ?

[a350pilots]

German? This is Austria, Monarch pilots are probably better qualified because they can speak English ...

[Denti]

Niki is an austrian company, owned by Air Berlin. No idea what the rules are in Austria, but there is probably no money left.

Same with Air Berlin actually. The company still operates 13 A320 until the end of the year, those that fly those still get their salary, the rest don’t although they are technically still employed while serving their (due to the bankruptcy reduced) three month notice period. All flight deck personnel, wether still flying (those based in STR, CGN, HAM) or not, did get their pink slip and will be out of Air Berlin by march. In theory everyone will get two months severance pay if there is any money left, and the salary that is currently not paid. Not gonna happen, as now the government will gobble up all the money that doesn’t go to the lawyers to recoup their bridging loan.

[gnarlberg]

could also have been part of the plan. Now the big boss gets everything without paying for it. He already owns all the A/C and nobody can buy Niki.

[SMT Member]

Not gonna happen, as now the government will gobble up all the money that doesn’t go to the lawyers to recoup their bridging loan.

Unless I'm very much mistaken, the former employees will be first in line to get what they're owed, then other creditors, then the government.

[slowjet]

SMT ; I think you are very much mistaken. In all other cases that I know of (considerable) the employees are the LAST. All other creditors first. I was in a major company that went bust and we got NOTHING from the creditors list. State hand-out was also minimal. The Administrators secure a huge pay-off too. Way ahead of employees.

[dirk85]

Where I come from employees come first, and only then everybody else.

[Flying Torquewrench]

It really depends on the local laws, who receives their money first.

Having been made redundant when Monarch went bust, I can tell you from personal experience that in the UK the employee is not the main creditor. In our case the owners are preferred creditors and on paper will never recoup their losses, even with the sale of the slots. In real life, they will most likely walk away with a profit as the financing was done quite creatively.

As employees we won't get a penny of what we are owned. They owe me £100k+ but I will never see this money. Even though the last press release stated that all employees get everything they are entitled too. What they failed to mention is that they work to government limits and it is capped at £800!

I feel for the staff at Air Berlin and FlyNiki, hopefully they get treated better.

[ExXB]

IATA has reminded its members of their voluntary commitments to repatriate stranded passengers.

http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Documents/Voluntary-Repatriation-Assistance-to-Passengers-Report-PR-2014-11-25-01.pdf

[SMT Member]

slowjet and Flying Torquewrench

I believe you're both referring to UK law. That's not the case on most of the continent, and certainly not in Austria.

That UK laws, in this and other respects, bear evidence of a feudal system where the Lords get it all and the peasants get shafted, is something I find rather disappointing in this day and age.

I am saddened to learn how bad the UK really is in this respect, and how unfairly you have been treated. Employees are everything in any company, and if things go south they should absolutely be first in line to gather the leftovers.

[G-CPTN]

Niki Austrian airline failure strands many passengers (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42355776).

[The Old Swedish]

German? This is Austria, Monarch pilots are probably better qualified because they can speak English ...

Because English is spoken only in England... We can't speak English in Austria at all... :ugh:

[rog747]

very sad news - hope the staff get treated well - rumour is Niki lauda is up for taking back his airline for a 3rd time

Lauda air (he sold that to Austrian) then Fly Niki (he sold it to AB) were superb airlines with amazing onboard food and service

3rd time lucky Mr Lauda can make a go of it again ?

[lederhosen]

He is a very canny (and tough) businessman, who made good money selling on the two previous occasions. He has the opportunity to buy back cheap and be seen as the saviour....lucky indeed if it works out. To be fair he never appeared to be just in it for the money and was most likely not the sole instigator of his previous two exits.

[Hahn]

Suppose the guys that slaved away for him 14 years ago when Fly Niki emerged from the ashes of AEF Austria won‘t necessarily call this gentleman a saviour.

[ShotOne]

Agreed, crew usually last in line to be paid. Yet when even a third-world flag of convenience shipping line goes bust the ship can be impounded until the crew are paid. What is it about aviation ?

[PilotRoger]

It would make sense if Eurowings and/or Austrian to take over all the crew

[a350pilots]

Because English is spoken only in England... We can't speak English in Austria at all... :ugh:

But maybe not on such a level other airlines require it to be?

Apart from that, Monarch flight operation standards were not comparable to those of Niki, which was more some sort of a Cowboy operator. Insiders do know what they talk about.

[rotorwills]

Real shame, Flew On his brand new 777 to Sydney 1997, in the front and food and service was excellent. Cabin crew, all attractive young girls, in blue jeans and red shirts and baseball caps. Even had a guy dressed as a chef handling food prep. Wine was too good for altitude drinking. Cannot see Nikki being interested in taking on any more aviation stuff. He appears to be really happy as Toto’s FO. Lol

Merry Xmas to all and hope all crew find some positions quickly.

[alserire]

From EI Facebook page if anyone hasn't seen it and is looking for a job now Niki is gone.

"We're hosting open pilot recruitment information sessions in Vienna for former NIKI type-rated pilots.

WHEN: Saturday 16th of December at 1pm, 3pm & 5pm
WHERE: Radisson Blu Style Hotel (Boardroom), Herrengasse 12, 1010 Vienna."

[pabely]

And here comes MOL again to stir things up Ryanair says in touch with administrators over Niki assets - Nasdaq.com (http://www.nasdaq.com/article/ryanair-says-in-touch-with-administrators-over-niki-assets-20171215-00443)

[a350pilots]

This would give O Leary the pieces he needed to declare war against Lufthansa

[Low Level Pilot]

"Yet when even a third-world flag of convenience shipping line goes bust the ship can be impounded until the crew are paid."

Under maritime law crew, if unpaid, can have a lien imposed upon the ship (writ "nailed" to the mast) until they receive their wages. However if they leave the ship and return home they would lose their right. Can take months to sort out. Would you want to stay aboard your plane until all is sorted, or would you be better off getting out and finding a job elsewhere asap? Recently a case in UK were a crew (Indian I think) remained on board for over 12 months. First time the ship went up for auction not enough money raised so more delay until a buyer appeared.

[ShotOne]

I wasn't suggesting the two situations are the same, llp but at least there is a statutory means for the crew to receive what they are owed. In the end the Indian crew you mentioned got paid in full -unlike almost every flight-crew victim of airline bankruptcy

[Alpine Flyer]

Austria has a national funds (https://www.insolvenzentgelt.at) to secure employees salaries and severance payments in case of bankruptcy. All employers pay into this funds. Payments are limited to 9720€ per month of salary owed but this should cover most Niki pilots.

While Mr. Lauda certainly had good ideas to improve flying as a product, he denied his staff at Lauda Air a CLA for over a decade and tried to run Niki through a crew leasing company. His fleet and network planning at both Lauda Air and Niki are perceived to be a bit "impulsive" and the deal he made on selling either seems to have benefited him more than the respective buyers. This has not stained his image as an aviation expert in Austria. It remains to be seen whether he will involve himself in a re-born Niki and whether that will benefit someone else this time.

[The Old Swedish]

But maybe not on such a level other airlines require it to be?

Apart from that, Monarch flight operation standards were not comparable to those of Niki, which was more some sort of a Cowboy operator. Insiders do know what they talk about.

Facts please. Otherwise keep your arrogance for yourself.

[brakedwell]

But maybe not on such a level other airlines require it to be?

Apart from that, Monarch flight operation standards were not comparable to those of Niki, which was more some sort of a Cowboy operator. Insiders do know what they talk about.

Please explain or shut up!

[lederhosen]

It seems that Lufthansa has already acquired most of the Niki fleet (which was leased) in separate transactions. This makes it a bit difficult for anyone else to take it over.

[Kerosene Kraut]

Their fine print seems to require LH have to hand over whatever aircraft they have taken from Niki's fleet IF somebody else should finally buy what is left instead of them.
Mind you the EU is still investigating LH's main AB-deal for anti trust issues. They are not through yet.

[Martin2108]

I don't see EU antitrust involvment. LH negotiated directly with the leasing companies to acquire the planes.

[lederhosen]

Whose fine print is that? Kebekus the AB liquidator is reported as having informed Lauda to this effect, also confirmed by Wöhrl. I cannot see the liquidator having any interest in putting off potential investors. But if you have a source Kerosene Kraut, please provide it.

[Kerosene Kraut]

I have only some german language source (from Austria):
https://diepresse.com/home/wirtschaft/economist/5339865/Lauda_Lufthansa-holte-sich-heimlich-fast-gesamte-NikiFlotte

"Niki-Flugzeuge im Eigentum der Lufthansa müssen zu Marktkonditionen an einen künftigen Niki-Käufer weitergegeben werden."
Niki-aircraft owned by LH now have to be given to Niki's buyer at market conditions.(EU requirement)

[widgeon]

Ref Insolvency.
Having just been through it I speak from experience. The secured creditors have the first call on any proceeds from sale of assets ( normally the bank ) if any thing is left after this the employees are paid and then any unsecured creditors ( all the unlucky suppliers) . There is Government scheme that pays up to $2,000 to employees to cover unpaid wages and severence. This in in Canada, not sure what the EU rules are but i would suspect they are similar .

[widgeon]

Ref Insolvency.
Having just been through it I speak from experience. The secured creditors have the first call on any proceeds from sale of assets ( normally the bank ) if any thing is left after this the employees are paid and then any unsecured creditors ( all the unlucky suppliers) . There is Government scheme that pays up to $2,000 to employees to cover unpaid wages and severence. This in in Canada, not sure what the EU rules are but i would suspect they are similar .The only one who wins in any insolvency is the receiver who has all their fees ( sometimes substantial) covered by proceeds of the asset sale.

[G-CPTN]

What happens if there is insufficient assets to cover the receiver's fees - who pays then?

[Midland 331]

As a long-term self-employed small businessman, having suffered a number of customer insolvencies, my observation is that the receivers always (but always) seem to find their fees from somewhere. Also, the figure of £250/hour seems to come to mind from one of them.

[ExXB]

I don't see EU antitrust involvment. LH negotiated directly with the leasing companies to acquire the planes.

EU competition law (not anti-trust) requires the EC to evaluate the effects on the market by LH’s acquisition of Air Berlin’s assets. The Commission would be much happier if anyone but LH acquired slots and aircraft and operated now-monopoly routes in competition with LH.

Could the same result, or better, be accomplished by sale of assets to someone else? This is a tough one, but they likely with OK the deal with LH being asked to make some concessions. It could cost them some slot pairs at the most congested airports. They will have to decide if that’s in their best interests. Only time will tell.

[The Old Swedish]

So, in his opinion, you must have seen pretty substandard operations if you consider Niki as high standard. :}

[lederhosen]

The tricky bit is that the aircraft were all leased by Niki (actually originally I believe by Air Berlin) allegedly at pretty hefty rates. The lessors were no doubt happy to sell or lease on to LH. The ball is definitely in LH’s court as far as determining what a market rate for a lease to Lauda or some other competitor might be. It is hard to imagine what incentive LH would have other than to negotiate hard. I think this may be gameover for any purchaser, which is ironic given that Niki was considered quite valuable until a short while ago.

[ExXB]

Or LH could simply walk away, citing problems with EU. Next summer’s slots could still be in play, but existing winter slots must be close to the 20% lose-it.

Not suggesting this likely but LH would be crazy not to consider it.

[Joe_K]

Ref Insolvency.
Having just been through it I speak from experience. The secured creditors have the first call on any proceeds from sale of assets ( normally the bank ) if any thing is left after this the employees are paid and then any unsecured creditors ( all the unlucky suppliers) . There is Government scheme that pays up to $2,000 to employees to cover unpaid wages and severence. This in in Canada, not sure what the EU rules are but i would suspect they are similar .

There are no unified EU regulations for insolvencies, the national laws apply. In this case Austrian laws, which seem extremely complicated. But there is a national insolvency fund, which for employees will cover the last 6 months salary owed (up to a cap of nearly 10,000 Euro per month) plus any payments in lieu of notice owed as per the employment contract. That is if you're directly employed by the insolvent company...

[Denti]

Thing is, the Niki insolvency is currently handled by a court in berlin, the same that works on the air berlin insolvency. Therefore german and not austrian law applies and german authorities do not pay for employees abroad.

[EAM]

I guess that doesn't matter, because its a different case. It is handled by the german court because Niki is/was owned by AB and shows up in their financial report, but the employees are employed in Austria, pay social security in Austria so I would say Austrian law applies for this.

[Less Hair]

Niki Lauda has said, this morning he will be informed formally how many airplanes still belong to NIKI's active inventory. Only after that info he will decide if he is still interested in some take over or not. Any news on that please?

[a350pilots]

Lufthansa had a brilliant Plan B.

Buy and leaseback the plane in the meanwhile so the slots out of VIE cannot be served with just 2 airplanes, ergo no buyer will be interested in Niki and bid for the slots for free.

[gnarlberg]

true.
stay united and fight!

[widgeon]

There are no unified EU regulations for insolvencies, the national laws apply. In this case Austrian laws, which seem extremely complicated. But there is a national insolvency fund, which for employees will cover the last 6 months salary owed (up to a cap of nearly 10,000 Euro per month) plus any payments in lieu of notice owed as per the employment contract. That is if you're directly employed by the insolvent company...
I knew I should have worked in Austria LOL.

[pabely]

More news today ........ https://kurier.at/wirtschaft/weniger-bieter-um-niki/303.181.186

[Jimmy Hoffa Rocks]

IAG negotiations finished, the rumour is?

[JAR 1.0175]

IAG press release:

INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES GROUP TO BUY NIKI ASSETS

International Airlines Group (IAG) is to buy assets of the Austrian airline NIKI, which was formerly part of the Air Berlin group, for €20 million and provide liquidity to NIKI of up to €16.5 million.

The transaction is being made by a newly formed subsidiary of Vueling which will be incorporated as an Austrian company and run initially as a separate operation. It is subject to customary closing conditions such as the EC competition approval.

The assets include up to 15 A320 family aircraft and an attractive slot portfolio at various airports including Vienna, Dusseldorf, Munich, Palma and Zurich.

The new company plans to employ approximately 740 former NIKI employees to run the operation.

Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, said: “NIKI was the most financially viable part of Air Berlin and its focus on leisure travel means it’s a great fit with Vueling. This deal will enable Vueling to increase its presence in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and provide the region’s consumers with more choice of low cost air travel”.

More details about the new subsidiary’s branding and route network will be provided in due course, when appropriate.

[Sea Eggs]

What's the original deal with LH? How much was it?

[STN Ramp Rat]

IAG press release:

INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES GROUP TO BUY NIKI ASSETS

International Airlines Group (IAG) is to buy assets of the Austrian airline NIKI, which was formerly part of the Air Berlin group, for €20 million and provide liquidity to NIKI of up to €16.5 million.

This could turn into a clever bit of business, an entire airline for less than the price of a slot pair at Heathrow.

[G-CPTN]

Were IAG the only bidders?

Apart from the assets, what are the liabilities?

[BluSdUp]

Great news
At least for half of the pilots.
As I understand it they had 30 aircraft and IAG gets 15 and all the slots?

Any deal for the rest of the pilots to join any IAG company of choice?
That must be a fair deal , Eh ? Niki Lauda! We do take care of our own!
On and off the Track! Always .
That was what You did when it got a bit crazy back in the old days in the F1 circuit!
Put that in as a clause , I know You can.
Take care of the team, and the Team takes care of You, Niki.
Auf Widersehn

[Denti]

No, they had 17 aircraft and were planned to go up to 20 aircraft next year. Lots of their pilots already applied to Austrian who desperately need pilots. After all 100% of the Dash fleet and around 3/4 of the AuA A320 fleet are flown by Lufthansa cadets on the right side and those will now rapidly rejoin Lufty which creates something of a glaring hole in AuAs pilot corps.

[BluSdUp]

Great
I based my brilliant idea on Wiki and they were wrong about Niki.
Ooops.
Regardless, that is still good news in all the chaos surrounding AB.
Pilots in demand as I understand it.

Can anyone give us some insight on how the Airberlin Monark and Niki pilots are doing with regards to getting jobs.

I was with a small company that went bust in 99 and know of way to many others that has been trough this horrible experience.
It looks that 5 to 10 percent never get a new job or move on to more sane pasture.
As I understand it a few thousand hrs on Airbus , and you are in demand in Europe, is this correct.
I hope so, wish all of them a better New Year.

[Jimmy Hoffa Rocks]

¨IAG said Niki would become part of the low-cost carrier Vueling and would be incorporated in Austria, employing 740 of Niki’s 1,000 former employees. Assets include 15 A320 aircraft and slots at airports including Vienna, Dusseldorf, Munich, Palma and Zurich.

“Niki was the most financially viable part of Air Berlin, and its focus on leisure travel means it’s a great fit with Vueling,” said IAG’s chief executive, Willie Walsh.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iag-niki/ba-owner-iag-to-buy-insolvent-austrian-holiday-airline-niki-idUSKBN1EN1NF

[BewareOfTheSharklets]

So what is the situation now? Are they flying again?

[QDM360]

No, a court decided that the bankruptcy of NIKI must be processed in Austria. The contract with IAG negotiated under German bankruptcy law is void. Back to square one.

[QDM360]

Niki Lauda is going to be the new owner of FlyNiki. The news is now reporting he's the winning bidder in the Austrian bankruptcy process...

[SWBKCB]

IAG 'disappointed' after losing Niki to rival bidder


https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/iag-disappointed-after-losing-niki-to-rival-bidder-445109/

[gnarlberg]

this gets so nasty !

stay strong niki crews ! we know you all wished IAG:...

[MKY661]

In partnership with Thomas Cook apparently.

[inOban]

I wondered who was behind the bid.