OK Epilon now I'am thouraghly confused (easy with me). Are you saying that its back to the drawing board for VEI. Your comment intimates failure of some type?

This also gets this thread to 20!

A number of VEI chaps and chapesses have allegedly been seen around the Ryanair office in the past few days. What chance of the exodus being reversed?

Good luck to JR - one of the last of the good guys. Some VEI people seen around the Ryans in past few days. Are the time limits being extended and what chance of the exodus being reversed?

With the problems with Sabena(over 60% of VEX`s flying is SN codeshare)will the focus of negotiations change,will VEX be the priority sale???

Or will Sabena go under first, allowing V-Exp to pick up some pieces / slots / routes etc?

Best of luck to those at both SN and VS/VK

G-INGER

So another week gone by and still no news from our "experinced management team with a proven track record".

Meeting with both DFO's (Ireland and Belguim) took place at LGW yesterday.
DC said that there should have been an anouncement on Tuesday after the banks closed, but a last minute query has postponed this. The plan is for the new Irish airline to operate 4 aeroplanes then a further 2 before the end of the first year. A start date for operations wasn't known, it could be some months after the end of the present schedule. This is due to the time required to find aircraft, have them painted and new interiors put in. The investors have agreed to keep the guys on the payrole while this is going on.
What the flying was going to be was a bit sketchy, LGW was mentioned as a destination but the pilot base would be only SNN.
DC came across well and seemed confident on a new SNN airline, however like everything there's nothing signed yet and he made it clear that guy's were free to leave during the notice period, if they felt they'd better prospects elsewhere.

Alan Blake the new DFO of the OO also cmae over, he was looking to recruit pilots for LHR. The OO are short of pilots in London and are losing two FO's due to resignations, two Captains due to forced retirement and one promotion opening up a right hand seat position.
Alan came across very well, as a genuine guy with a problem to solve, however during a discussion after the main meeting, the problems the non-belgians have had to deal with are still alive and kicking, even though due to the companies financial problems the Union is not as powerfull than two years ago.
I think unless a significant effort is made to solve the problems of working out of LHR, then there will be few takers.
The only other thing mentioned was that the that the UK pilots have to work out their notice till the start of June. There is a possibilty of farming out to the OO to solve the problem of crewing the summer programe without Irish aircraft.

Good luck to every one and I hope this helps.

Billy the Kid, When you say 'the investors', do you mean Aeroflot, or is there a new team involved now?

Aeroflot was mentioned as a possible senario, but only because the media had made a connection already.

On a seperate note, BBC newsnight had an item on the Irish economy yesterday evening. The EU told the Irish government to increase taxation to cool the economy, which is one of the fastest growing in the world at present.

The fast growth is leading to high inflation due to the spending of Irish consumers. The Irish government was not happy about being told what tax levels to set. But it would appear that the tax breaks that companies are getting, are being looked at by Brussels. This is all to do with intergration of the common currency.

Interesting

[This message has been edited by Billy the Kid (edited 10 February 2001).]

So.. the new owners start flying in October 2000, and have a bleak winter ahead of them..

Who in their right minds would start a leisure airline in Winter?

Rather than using the summer peak to fill some seats they have winter to fly around empty!

Chances are that by summer all start-up captal will have dried up.

Billy TK

Good description of yesterdays events at LGW and well put over on this forum.
Agree with you that AB has his work cut out and I also do not think there will be to many takers for the OOs especially with the present situation at SN. Can't see VEX surviving too long should SN go despite what AB said about the slots.

Iam sure some of the SNN based guys would be interested in flying the OO`s!!!!!! strange they weren`t offered it.
http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/tongue.gif

I did ask that question, DC confirmed that the SNN pilots had not been asked.

Paddy
Just ring up Alan Blake in BRU if you want a job flying the OOs, there's a job there or in LHR if you want it. There will not be enough takers from the UK guys for the amount of vacancys he has.

What about the Cabin Crew and Op's and Crewing people who have been made redundant? Are they to be re-employed?

Billy The Kid,
Just wondering how you guys knew that there was a meeting being held. I would have liked to attend.
It appears that we are recieving contradicting information from managment, I wonder if their plans for the UK based staff is diferent to that of other staff? hence not informing all of the meeting.

OK something strange happening here I signed on as Solomon Grundy and get back by email Ellion, who is based in Canada. Ellion if your reading you can have your name back if I can have mine back.

Cheers

test

[This message has been edited by Solomon Grundy (edited 11 February 2001).]

alls well now

[This message has been edited by Solomon Grundy (edited 11 February 2001).]

The meeting was initialy an informal event to be attended by any UK based pilots who wanted to catch up on rumours, news etc. This got a bit more interesting when Alan Blake agreed to meet us to discuss the actual possition regarding 'OO' jobs.

More suprisingly DC agreed to come over and give us actual info regarding the redundancy process and the possability of 'EI' jobs.

It wasnt meant to be a big meeting for the invited only just an informal one which grew.

I think the lads are attempting a bit of a gathering at the awkward on the 3rd March. Maybe we know more by then.. All welcome and the more the merrier.