Doom and Gloom at Air Partner
 

Dec 8th 2008

Shares in Air Partner fell by more than 10 per cent after the private jet airline group gave warning that second-quarter trading was below internal targets.
The company said that since its annual results in early October there had been a significant and well-documented further deterioration in the global economic climate, meaning that second-quarter profitability was 15 per cent lower than last year.
Moreover, the group said that its forward orders were down 50 per cent and that trading may remain below expectations. Aubrey Adams, the chairman, said that there had been a polarisation of trading conditions over the past year, from strong trading, through to the global banking crisis, to today’s economy woes. The shares fell by 59½p to 500p.

Blake,
That is not doom and gloom it is economic fact. Nobody from British Airways to Air Partner to the corporate flight department of Ford will be able to escape the consequences of the economic situation. We all have to work through it and all have to accept the consequential pain. In my view it will not be before Summer 2010 that things start to return to a normal market in our industry. My company made good profits 2004-2007.5. I am glad the money is still in the bank!

Strange that Blake7, I thought Tony was still the Chair, not this Aubrey Adams?

Or maybe I've missed something?

Mr Mack stood down a few months back (it was announced formerly in November 2007) end of an era really. He's still around as the non-executive director I believe. The new guy started April 2008.

Perhaps this thread could be more accurately re-titled "Doom and Gloom Everywhere"?

(unless some folk want to start threads to say their business is unaffected...)

There is rumours flying around in France that AP have lost a lot of private clients , and they are in a desparate attempt to launch another AP card scheme here to try to prevent more clients to defect to Netjets. They are even thinking about paying potential client's penalties to enable them to break out of their chosen card scheme. Now that sounds like dirty tricks to me, if you ask me.

That's what you have to do when you are the biggest .....
.... in terms of office space, employees, coffees consumed, air breathed etc.

One day clients will understand, that using bigger brokers only means that you are paying bigger 'broker fees' - for nothing.

In the meantime, Air Partner brokers with share options have seen their options reduced by two thirds. Maybe they should ask for proper salaries instead so that AP has the same salary costs like other 'big brokers'.

Good luck.
Affretage.

Doesn't sound like dirty tricks, just an attempt to win business in a tough market. There's nothing underhand about that I'm sure.

Affretage: wrong on all counts. AP isn't losing clients to NJ; it isn't buying business in by paying others exit payments. It isn't desperate. France is still profitable today and AP are just extending their UK JetCard product into Europe as planned last year.
As for 'bigger brokers and bigger fees', in case you haven't noticed it is a competitive world out there and no one can afford to be over-priced. Did you get muddled that AP France grew again last year and its biggest rival closed down last month? It's great to start rumours, but the facts are still the facts and they don't change.

AIP weren't having a lot of fun running up to the last AGM a few weeks ago:

"* AIR Partner is notoriously secretive. But it has now gone too far, says Pirc, the activist shareholder group. Pirc is calling for a revolt at next week's annual meeting over Air Partner's remuneration policy, which includes a “unique” non-financial performance bonus, a long-term incentive plan with no conditions attached, and “discretionary” payments to directors."

Any feedback as to how Pirc got on?

Hmmmm - sounds like a couple of people on here have hidden agenda's. I can take a guess as to who Affretage could be, and I'm sure Blake 7 could be an "ex" from ZRH perhaps.

The first post is a non-story, which purely reflects the market today and then it ends up as a bun fight about the director's renumeration package. Come on guys, it's difficult enough at the moment without anyone trying to stir it all up. And before anyone starts banging on about me being an AP employee, I can tell you nothing could be further from the truth! They wouldn't want me!

Monkey Boy

You are obviously a monkey within the Air Partner cage. If you have anything to do with AP France, then you should be able to read and understand the following. Read it carefully. If you enderstand French and you still insist that previous comments are bullsh1t, then I guess it is time for you to va te faire .... :mad:[/font]


Compte rendu de l’entretien:



Analyse de l’existant :



- Le ralentissement économique va provoquer une baisse de l’aviation d’affaires

- Les officiels et les hauts fonctionnaires du gouvernement Sarkozy sont un véritable relais de croissance

- Perte de 40% des clients d’Air Partner au profit de NetJets (Attrait pour les cartes)

- Lancement d’une carte Air Partner en début d’année offrant plus de flexibilité et d’avantages que celle de NetJets :

o Pas de limites de durée (24 mois pour NetJets)

o Pas de contrats d’engagement

o Financement des pénalités imposées par NetJets en cas de rupture des contrats

ð Impact 60% de la clientèle perdue récupérée

- Très faible impact prévu du Very Light Jet : Les turbopropulseurs sont plus intéressants économiquement



Contraintes des acteurs du marché de l’aviation d’affaires :



- Manque d’adaptation de la réglementation Européenne à l’aviation d’affaires

- Les contraintes de sûreté

- Les contraintes environnementales





Facteurs clés de développement de l’aviation d’affaires sur un aéroport :



- Le développement de l’offre de services :

o Les cartes forfaitaires

o Les cartes de fidélité

Right, what part of:

Is difficult for you to understand?!

However, a rough translation of the French text would be:

"Report of maintenance:
What exists analyzes: - The economic deceleration will cause a fall of the aviation of businesses - The official ones and the senior officials of the Sarkozy government are a genuine growth relay - Loss of 40% of the customers of Air Partner to the profit of NetJets

- Launching of a card Air Partner at the beginning of year offering more flexibility and advantages that of NetJets:
O No limits of duration (24 months for NetJets)
O No contracts of service
O Financing of the penalties imposed by NetJets in the event of rupture of the contracts 2D Impact 60% of the recovered lost customers
- Very weak impact envisaged of Very Light Jet: The turbopropellers are more interesting economically Constraints of the actors of the market of the aviation of businesses:
- Lack of adaptation of the European regulation to the aviation of businesses
- Constraints of safety
- Environmental constraints Key factors of development of the aviation of businesses on an airport:
- The development of the offer of service:
O Contractual charts
O Discount cards "

So, Air Partner seem to think that they're offering a better product than NetJets, and are willing to put their money where their mouth is and buy people our of the NetJets scheme. Where's the problem?! Surely if the clients are happy at NetJets they will stay, and if they're not then they will want to try something new, and this could be for them?
I have never said that your claims are "bullsh1t" (paranoid much?), all I said was that there's nothing in them that people didn't know already and that it sounds like you've just got personal "issues" with a company that's trying to get an edge in a tough market.

?
 

If that is not doom and gloom, please tell us what it is then...:confused:

LADIES/GENTLEMEN

Everbody is having a tough time Air Partner included however like me Air Partner have been in the business a good many years and have ridden out the recession before and they will again

There ar lots of good people at Air Partner who have worked there a good may years and have lots of experience.

There is no way these people will let the company down

There maybe Doom and Gloom at Air Partner as there is at a good number of other companies but rest assure they will weather the storm..


By the way I do not work for AP but I know lots of people there who are good loyal workers..


So is that it now can we put this to Bed


Bi Bi Good night have sweet dreams

AP may have ridden out recessions in the past. But this time it’s different. Flying private jets has become ‘unacceptable’ and parasites (middlemen) such as AP will find it harder to earn their commission. As I said earlier, lean companies will survive this downturn, not ‘top heavy’ companies like AP. People like AP are proud to have more people, more offices, more coffees consumed and more gas emitted per person.

If Netjets and Jet Republic can’t make it work, how does AP intend to make it work ?
Their share price says it all. Investors are losing confidence in the model.

When the going gets tough, the last thing, customers want to pay for are ‘broker commissions’.

As we all know, broker commissions are money for nothing !

Good riddance.

MS
Affretage

Why has the flying of private jets become unacceptable? (as is stated above)

:eek:

there i was thinking that customers were paying for our service & account management & having a phone glued to ourbedside 24/7/365 incase they call!!

fair comment - oui or non?

How can you compare Jet Republic with NJE ? One has been here (Europe) for over 10 years and the other one.... errrr....Ok they are involved in coffee advertising.
Surely you could have picked a more representative company than Jet Republic in order to make your argument heard.
As for quoting "Their share price says it all. Investors are losing confidence in the model.", it doesnt take 2 minutes of watching any stock market performance these days to see that loss of confidence goes well beyond the Air Partner stock.

Worth noting that three quarters of AP's business is not private jets. AP has a mountain of cash the envy of every private jet operator in europe and so if AP goes bust it will be as one of the last one's standing. Woe are the rest of us first; lets hope not.

As much as I disliked brokers to earn money for nothing, I did work with AP and other for a long time. for me, there are 2 ways to do business as a little air taxi operator:
1) invest heavily in PR to get the clients
2) use brokers to get your aircraft airborn. let them do the advertisement

We did have a solid clients base and were able to fill in a lot through brokers. I always like AP since they were honest and paid.
I never viewed money earned by brokers as money for nothing. Lets wait and see, but I seriously doubt AP going out of business soon.