Wiking Helicopters
 

It appears Wiking are in serious financial trouble. Many UK based staff have not been paid for months, with nothing but excuses being made from Germany.

If you are considering taking on a position with Wiking, I suggest you think twice.

If you are employed by Wiking at the moment, I would try and apply as much pressure as you reasonably can. That usually involves removing the service to the customer! I wish you well.

Has this been substantiated or is it just a gripe from someone trying to stir things? We should know...

Are you on about the Beccles operation with the H145 supporting the Windfarms? Me and my missus drove past there few weekends ago on the way to Southwold.

They spent a fair bit of money on the Hangar.

As I type , their H145 is inbound to here at EGSC.

cheers

I'm stirring things up only in so much as I hope the owners do the right thing and pay their staff what they are due.

If everyone stays quiet then they win!

That’s your role here? Being some kind of helicopter messiah?

Please check your facts since what you wrote initially is wrong.

It is just trying to cause damage here. For what purpose?

I call B/S as if someone hasnt been paid for months I would guarantee sure as ****e they aint working there anymore.

What a shame at the reactions. Obviously there's some that don't care about staff being treated properly and fairly. All I can do assure you that there is no personal agenda, nothing underhand, and what I stated is based on fact. I don't wish to say any more as I hope the situation gets sorted soon.

After that you can all drawn your own conclusions and make your own life choices.

Sure.

You really believe that it’s even possible for an employer not to pay for months? Or even a month? How many court cases are now ongoing? Ever heard about labour law?

Do your fact check. No anonymous trial by forum posts.

I imagine anyone working for Caverton will have burst out laughing when they read that!

Something about smoke and fire?

While I would like to see Wiking succeed, the company does have some internal turbulence. Either paying or crewing/rostering. Maybe a disgruntled employee needed to get something of his or her chest,..?

Today is a good day for Wiking the CEO has left the company. Now 5 helicopter of 7 on ground due to technical reason. No spare parts on stock?

Indirectly owned/operated out of Turkey? I think it is controlled by one of their previous customers.

New Infos from today Wiking Helikopter Service is in Solvency.

oh dear! Restructuring or biting the dust?

I would expect that if they went into insolvency, then there would be a pause in flying while some "administrative matters" got sorted out. However, as I type this, three of the fleet are airborne and a fourth flew earlier in the day

I don't see Wiking in the official insolvency register.

GoodGrief for your info:10 IN 46/22: In dem Insolvenzantragsverfahren über das Vermögen der WIKING Helikopter Service GmbH, JadeWeserAirport, Flugplatz 1, 26452 Sande (AG Oldenburg, HRB 207825), vertr. d.: Thorsten Vogt, Am Roland 27, 40883 Ratingen, (Geschäftsführer), ist am 15.06.2022 um 15:45 Uhr die vorläufige Verwaltung des Vermögens der Antragstellerin angeordnet worden. Verfügungen der Antragstellerin sind nur mit Zustimmung des vorläufigen Insolvenzverwalters wirksam. Zum vorläufigen Insolvenzverwalter ist Dr. Christian Kaufmann, c/o PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH, An der Reeperbahn 2, 28217 Bremen, Tel.: 0421/835008-0, Fax: 0421/835008-49, E-Mail: [email protected], Internet: www.pluta.net bestellt worden.Sorry the message is only in German!!!!

Chapter 11 in the US allows protection from creditors insitsing on the business paying outstanding debts: which can force a bankrupcy. If there is a viable business to be rescued, turning and burning to get through an insolvency is better than a bankrupcy. If not, it's just delaying the inevitable.

From FlightGlobal:
German offshore transport specialist Wiking Helikopter Service has entered administration on the back of rising fuel costs, loss-making contracts and the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sande-based Wiking was placed into administration on 15 June, with Dr Christian Kaufmann of Bremen insolvency practitioner Pluta Rechtsanwalts provisionally appointed to handle the company’s affairs by a Wilhelmshaven court, German insolvency service documents show.

Pluta blames the financial problems on the effects of Covid-19 on the business, alongside “unprofitable long-term contracts, as well as significantly higher energy and fuel costs, an unfavorable financing structure and considerable pension costs.”

Flight operations will continue while options for restructuring are analysed, Pluta adds.

Founded in 1975, Wiking operates in the North Sea region – including a UK subsidiary, Wiking Helicopters Ltd – specialising in the offshore transport of maintenance personnel to windfarms and of pilots to ships.

Wiking flies a fleet of five Airbus Helicopters H145 light-twins and five Leonardo Helicopters AW139 intermediate-twins, Cirium fleets data shows; it has two more AW139s on order.

Operations were carried out from four bases: Emden, Husum and Sande in Germany, plus Wick in Northern Scotland.

Obviously not then!

More than a rumour it seems
 

https://www.flightglobal.com/helicop...149048.article

Used their hangar in Sande to do a few bits and bobs on a 135 back in 2011 when a lot of the founding staff were still there. Outstanding bunch with a wealth of experienced and capable people then.

They probably did most of the heavy maintenance for S76's in Continental EU. The workshop as you can appreciate being in Germany didn't lack for anything to do just about whatever you could imagine.

They used to manufacture a lot of airframe parts in house to keep a few old "B" model 76's going. It was about the time they operated their first AW139 which drew a few candid comments!

Guess the place has changed considerably but still not great to hear of the current woes............

You’ve got to hand it to VL, he called it and despite the doubters, he was spot on!

Yes - well anyone who knows who VL is would also know that his sources/information are likely to be accurate, and he is not likely to be making stuff up.

@Torquetalk >> absolutely - and US Chapter 11 is similar to UK "Administration" where there is the expectation of coming out the other side "leaner and meaner" than before. In practice there is usually brief halt to get the paperwork done to establish (eg) who is now the signatory authority on contracts etc. I've seen a 50-year-old family business be forced into that UK system at close hand. In official legal wording, "bankruptcy" in the UK can only be linked to persons, not companies.

Is the UK part of Wiking implicated in this? Wiking UK is 51% owned on paper by a 79-year old British national and a combined 48.5% by three members of the Turkish family who own Wiking Germany's UHC Basari Holding (ie not owned on paper via Wiking Germany). It's only the last 0.5% that shows as being owned by Wiking Germany. There would clearly be an "intercompany account" between UK and Germany which may come into play, though.

Parapex fleet data and WINGX activity data show that the one of the five H145s in the combined Wiking fleet has never flown for the company since import to the UK through LHR cargo from PHI Australia on 1st May, one AW139 has not flown since 7th February. Additionally Wiking UK have a base at Beccles in Suffolk, not just the one at Wick in Scotland

Now you say it that makes sense, haven't heard the term bankrupcy in connection with a company.

Hope it works out and that a viable business emerges. I think that neck of the woods is replete with operators fallling over themselves to get in on the wind park action and please the customer. Even if that means business models that are not sustainable. Some Norwegian legislation would not got amiss.

Not forgetting that the UK has had the operation of three windfarm support EC135s have their contracts cancelled. At one time there were two EC135s operating from Sandscale HP (nr Barrow, Cumbria) and another EC135 from a Lowestoft.

Our industry seems bad at trying to get the message across to windfarm operators that the pollution produced by (slightly cheaper) chug-chug boats is far worse for their sustainability records than a point-to-point helicopter.

For anyone interested, Pluta, the German administrator, says: Wiking Helicopter Service Ltd is not affected by the application for insolvency.

Heli Holland
 

It appears to be Heli Holland being left interested to buy the remainings.

Does anyone know if they got that UK AOC at all?

I don't believe they did achieve their UK AOC, but i could be wrong.

Unifly have just been awarded a UK AOC haven't they ?

Yes they have issued a press release, a couple of weeks ago.

Although there's no sign of the UK registered AW169 actually flying. All flights from Humberside are still being conducted by OY-HOF.

As at 1st August 2022, Wiking did not have a UK AOC

I hear the U.K. arm is also folding.

Beccles-based machine left a couple of weeks ago.

Speculation over - the UK-registered 169 (ex OY-HOW) is now plying its trade offshore and back as G-UNIA

The German Wiking business is still flying

Yes apparently Wiking's UK business has closed the door. The German arm is still operating, for how long who knows!