Luxaviation cash flow issues
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In general, there are a lot of business aviation pilots going back to the airlines as GA isn’t providing a competitive package any more. The previous advantages of a decent salary, rotational roster and relatively low workload was favourable compared to the negatives of uncertainty of when you would be home, low pension contributions and no medical insurance(unless your management).
GA will suffer with an experience drain if this continues. I’ve turned down 3jobs in the last 4 months but one will tickle my fancy at some point.
GA will suffer with an experience drain if this continues. I’ve turned down 3jobs in the last 4 months but one will tickle my fancy at some point.
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Well one thing is quite certain, the likes of Lux attach absolutely less than no importance to nurturing and retaining their pilots with decent ts and cs or treating them decently.
They really dont appear to give a monkey's and seem to embrace high staff turnover as the norm.
of course....if you are loosing airframes its quite handy that you dont have to make anyone redundant ( cos they already walked!)
They really dont appear to give a monkey's and seem to embrace high staff turnover as the norm.
of course....if you are loosing airframes its quite handy that you dont have to make anyone redundant ( cos they already walked!)
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Pilots and office staff alike then. more staff have resigned since the redundancies have been announced. could it be the beginning of the end for the whole Cambridge centralised team?
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with the shameful events in Salisbury and the governments response today the spotlight is increasingly going to be shone on large investments of unknown Russian origin. I wonder if anyone in the higher ranks of Lux might not be feeling a little uncomfortable. The Lux business model clearly relies upon vast and continuing quantiities of pump priming money...and there seems no sign of any let up in the spending and investor support that must surely still be needed to keep the organisation oxygenated........and sustained to the point when it can be cashed in for vast profit (???)
Last edited by Sheikh Zabik; 14th Mar 2018 at 21:07.
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Make no mistake the Russians are likely to be behind this operation. The Chinese came to the party long after the music started...attracted presumably for the same reason as the Russians...The opportunity to expatriate large sums of money out of their countries into a worldwide operation. Our industry with its high value mobile capital assets seems an obvious choice.Look at Hansens previous history. He crafted and perfected his money skills in Moscow and Consider some of his declared associates ....Bogachev for example (Magellan) and there is a Russian gentleman who's name escapes me but seems involved at a high level with management.
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Well if any one had any lingering doubts that the Company had the first clue about running a large GA operation here is proof positive that they are indeed clueless.
By a letter to staff today following the melt down of the "streamlined centralised ops" in Cambridge , they have now acknowledged that this has been a total failure ( with both owners and staff) and have now planned to wind the clock back and de centralise. As a result Ops is returning to Stapleford and both crews and clients will be able to speak to individuals of their choice rather than one phone number ( call centre) type phone lines.
It beggars belief that the company ever seriously thought owners would be happy to deal with anonymous ops staff about their multi million pound assets. Equally crews down route have felt incredibly isolated and unsupported when problems have occured and they have been left holding to speak to the lastest completely inexperienced ops recruit .
This re de- centralisation is an admission that the Lux model does not work.
The industry relies for its success on personal local relationships with crew, ops staff, owners and agents. Almost all the good guys who were the back bone of these relationships ( that used to work so well) are long gone.......including any knowledgable and experienced management.
This train-smash is only just beginning and its a mark of the complete lack of understanding of the architects of it who clearly thought they could wrap it up and centralise it..like they were selling soap powder.
An utter shambles........
So where now Mr Hansen??? ( we thought youd want to have cashed in by now.... Ah, wait a minute, youve done nicely surely on a personal level already through brokering the various acquisitions...no?)
By a letter to staff today following the melt down of the "streamlined centralised ops" in Cambridge , they have now acknowledged that this has been a total failure ( with both owners and staff) and have now planned to wind the clock back and de centralise. As a result Ops is returning to Stapleford and both crews and clients will be able to speak to individuals of their choice rather than one phone number ( call centre) type phone lines.
It beggars belief that the company ever seriously thought owners would be happy to deal with anonymous ops staff about their multi million pound assets. Equally crews down route have felt incredibly isolated and unsupported when problems have occured and they have been left holding to speak to the lastest completely inexperienced ops recruit .
This re de- centralisation is an admission that the Lux model does not work.
The industry relies for its success on personal local relationships with crew, ops staff, owners and agents. Almost all the good guys who were the back bone of these relationships ( that used to work so well) are long gone.......including any knowledgable and experienced management.
This train-smash is only just beginning and its a mark of the complete lack of understanding of the architects of it who clearly thought they could wrap it up and centralise it..like they were selling soap powder.
An utter shambles........
So where now Mr Hansen??? ( we thought youd want to have cashed in by now.... Ah, wait a minute, youve done nicely surely on a personal level already through brokering the various acquisitions...no?)
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Well I think we all knew this could potentially end in tears. However, it takes a certain courage to admit you did things wrong.
One can only admire their change of thought.
One can only admire their change of thought.
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Very charitable thought LGW but somehow I doubt if theres much sympathy from the scores of Pilots Cabin Crew and Ops who having been dicked from pilar to post since the man from Luxembourg arrived and could take no more..... It is ironic indeed that the very people they now want back to run ops are the great guys and girls who walked away ages ago.
This acknowledgment that centralisation does not work ( even when managed by compliant yessmen managers.....the only type left) goes to the absolute core of what Lux was about.
If centralisation is a failure and you cannot achieve economies by getting rid of local operational centres .....then you employ just as many people as there were before....but with a huge overhead of Harvard MBAs with important job titles to carry as well.
There is another unspoken issue which is that the cultures and work ethics of the different parts of the company are very different. We may all be European but the approach, motivation and indeed language of someone at Stapleford is not the same as someone in Germany, luxembourg or France...
The venture was always doomed to fail.....and, Im just guessing here, Its taken the complaints of several wealthy owners that they had had enough.....for fingers to be taken out of ears....
This acknowledgment that centralisation does not work ( even when managed by compliant yessmen managers.....the only type left) goes to the absolute core of what Lux was about.
If centralisation is a failure and you cannot achieve economies by getting rid of local operational centres .....then you employ just as many people as there were before....but with a huge overhead of Harvard MBAs with important job titles to carry as well.
There is another unspoken issue which is that the cultures and work ethics of the different parts of the company are very different. We may all be European but the approach, motivation and indeed language of someone at Stapleford is not the same as someone in Germany, luxembourg or France...
The venture was always doomed to fail.....and, Im just guessing here, Its taken the complaints of several wealthy owners that they had had enough.....for fingers to be taken out of ears....
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Is it really a surprise ? To become millionaire in this business you need to start billionaire.. period...When NJE was created they poured something like 2 billions in the pot, loosing hundreds of millions a year to try to reach a computed figure of 200 planes in Europe, and even with the support of uncle Warren this fell somewhat short, and shrunk to around 70 planes; like Vista ( give and take some airframes) Lux is no different except that they tried to run the company like a manufacturing or worse a pure service asset, under one umbrella. This was born to fail and failed. GlobeAir is next on the list ( on a smaller scale, we are talking a total of 20 millions asset) because it is operated without margin in operation ( they save on bogus maintenance, and cutting costs down route, and under paying staff).
The main source of cash stream gone ( or rather the dozen of little streams), Lux will just explode and will be parted by specialized companies.
As far as UK based concept is concerned, there is good and bad, but definitely subtlety and reassessment is not in the active vocabulary.
Now, today is April's fool, so... this act of contrition might only be just a fake..
The main source of cash stream gone ( or rather the dozen of little streams), Lux will just explode and will be parted by specialized companies.
As far as UK based concept is concerned, there is good and bad, but definitely subtlety and reassessment is not in the active vocabulary.
Now, today is April's fool, so... this act of contrition might only be just a fake..
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Fascinating......and entirely predictable....Some quality posts here! Spot on CL300!
Standing from a distance it does seem that apart from a few grand ideas and a shed load of money ( from who knows where) Lux were in such a hurry to spend their money and build their empire that all the boring stuff about how to keep workforce and clients on side as well as build a team of competent local managers who knew what the plan was and were capeable of executing it was overlooked.
No better evidence of this is the fact that for years after acquisition, they just left existing management structures in place. In fact, far worse, they upset profoundly those managers who had intelligence, experience and ability, so they all left. Recruitment of replacements was left to those who were left localy...so the dumbing down spiral of lack of experience or ability was allowed to grow out of control.
Small wonder therefor that these remaining local managers have so spectacularly failed to deliver the centralisation Lux craved.
Even now as these managers gibber like monkeys thrashing about for a plan that might work, the guiding hand of superior beings at Lux is far from evident.
The only reason they have decide to go back to the status quo ( and de centralise) is because it is familiar territory to them and the only way, in their limited ability/ experience they know.
You can be sure that instead of dealing head on with core structural issues, these managers will be furiously busying themselves writing up new procedures and manuals and generating loads of paper work to put into effect the status quo. They are totaly out of their depth....and there is no one to throw them a life line.
Maybe this will all explode....or maybe a face saving de-merger could be organised (perhaps blaming brexit).....but what ever way you look at it, its a salutory lesson that history does repeat itself and that those who are arrogant enough to think they can re invent the wheel.....always end up getting their arses well and truly bitten.
Ps no one need worry about Hansen in all this. Hes surely done just fine already out of brokerage commission even if everything else blew up tomorrow.
Standing from a distance it does seem that apart from a few grand ideas and a shed load of money ( from who knows where) Lux were in such a hurry to spend their money and build their empire that all the boring stuff about how to keep workforce and clients on side as well as build a team of competent local managers who knew what the plan was and were capeable of executing it was overlooked.
No better evidence of this is the fact that for years after acquisition, they just left existing management structures in place. In fact, far worse, they upset profoundly those managers who had intelligence, experience and ability, so they all left. Recruitment of replacements was left to those who were left localy...so the dumbing down spiral of lack of experience or ability was allowed to grow out of control.
Small wonder therefor that these remaining local managers have so spectacularly failed to deliver the centralisation Lux craved.
Even now as these managers gibber like monkeys thrashing about for a plan that might work, the guiding hand of superior beings at Lux is far from evident.
The only reason they have decide to go back to the status quo ( and de centralise) is because it is familiar territory to them and the only way, in their limited ability/ experience they know.
You can be sure that instead of dealing head on with core structural issues, these managers will be furiously busying themselves writing up new procedures and manuals and generating loads of paper work to put into effect the status quo. They are totaly out of their depth....and there is no one to throw them a life line.
Maybe this will all explode....or maybe a face saving de-merger could be organised (perhaps blaming brexit).....but what ever way you look at it, its a salutory lesson that history does repeat itself and that those who are arrogant enough to think they can re invent the wheel.....always end up getting their arses well and truly bitten.
Ps no one need worry about Hansen in all this. Hes surely done just fine already out of brokerage commission even if everything else blew up tomorrow.
Last edited by Ghengis Cant; 1st Apr 2018 at 20:12.
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excellent read and couldn't agree more that the whole LUX thing is bound to fail. Think Ocean Sky for example...
From the bigger operators Air Hamburg seem to run a stable business for recent years from what it seems
From the bigger operators Air Hamburg seem to run a stable business for recent years from what it seems
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........so just how low has a company sunk when it writes to its employees very helpfully reminding them that they are free to opt out of the ( state minimum requirment of course) company pension scheme and save themselves their 3 percent contribution? No mention of the saving to the company too!
a sure sign of desperation that the money is indeed running out.
Why should anyone be surprised?
a sure sign of desperation that the money is indeed running out.
Why should anyone be surprised?
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........so just how low has a company sunk when it writes to its employees very helpfully reminding them that they are free to opt out of the ( state minimum requirment of course) company pension scheme and save themselves their 3 percent contribution? No mention of the saving to the company too!
a sure sign of desperation that the money is indeed running out.
Why should anyone be surprised?
a sure sign of desperation that the money is indeed running out.
Why should anyone be surprised?