Ascend Airways has cut its Pilot Workforce.
 

I've seen a few mentions today of people looking for work from Ascend Airways, putting 2 & 2 together it looks like they may have dropped people mid type rating too.

Is this the start of a wider trend? Eitherway, not a good look for the airline.

The ACMI market is oversaturated with capacity at the moment. Combine that with increased fuel costs, amongst many other factors, it's creating some short term uncertainty.

None of the ACMIs will be missed at all. Ta-Ta!

Tell that to the people who have just received their redundancy notice

Here here.

Those who accepted working in worse conditions or P2F schemes working for legacy carriers? I dont

This is a really stupid and selfish post. You should be ashamed of yourself.
I share the same concerns over pay to fly, however, being happy because colleagues are facing job losses is disgusting. Shame on you.

I was with you a couple of years ago, then it dawned on me... These guys exist purely and simply because the household airline brands we know and love refuse to hire the proper number of pilots due to seasonal imbalances. Blame them first! The mafia bosses are only providing a service that's much in demand from April-October!

True, but try to go and ask the hundreds of piltos and CC from dumblynx left home from one day to another wihtout months of salary (and as of now aviasolutionsgroup blocked all comments on ther linkedin profile to avoid having people complaining, what a s h i t show)...the ones that were so unlucky to based at that time in India had to go back home on their means.

Is Ascend now "dead" then? or operating with a minimum number of crew still? if "dead" will the Ascend CEO return to the family business (Titan)?.

The company isn't dead.
There are excellent people working there.
They are fulfilling a role and plugging gaps that airlines have.

Some of the posts here are from people with probably no experience of the Airline or ACMI operations or are bitter that they didn't get in.

A few of EIUK cabin crew had just started training with them ,but told a week in ,that they were not needed!....

ACMI has always been quite cyclical — when conditions tighten, it tends to expose how sensitive the model can be to demand and contract structure.

Avion Express is also cutting jobs, hopefully they will go bust soon
A reminder, one of Avion Express “ ICAO” non EU citizen got caught flying over Europe with forged papers, no I won’t feel any sorry if these circuses go out of business

I contacted when they seemed to constantly be recruiting , never got a reply

Please stop wishing on airlines going bust.

Find your emotional intelligence and have some empathy, real human beings with bills to pay work for these airlines you despise.

Zen Creampie
I have read several different threads in which you look forward to the demise of ACMI companies.
It is becoming increasingly obvious you have no idea what these companies do and why there is a need for them.
You wishing that hundreds iid not thousands of people are put out of a job is despicable and you should be ashamed of yourself.
Looking at your previous posts, you are probably a joy to fly with, however I wouldn't bet too much on you actually being in any seat.

What some short sighted immature unintelligent poster fail to understand is that if and when an airline fails, it throws pilots onto the pile of unemployed pilots looking for work. Whether you agree or disagree with terms and conditions at any ACMIs, what you don’t want is anyone prepared to work on less terms and conditions than you, looking for work and applying to your company. This would only hold back your company needing to improve your terms and conditions. Stop being pathetic and wishing others in need of a job. It’s supply and demands and the only thing you can blame is those companies that use ACMIs. Everyone wants cheap flights and holidays, blame them as well.

The fact of the matter is X pilots dumped onto the pilot market is not good news. Not for any pilot anywhere.

Supply V Demand ….. simple

I was also flying for an ACMI that went bust, all of the pilots found jobs relatively quickly.
Several reasons that closed, one of them was not competitive to other ACMI operators that offer poor T&C, cutting corners, hiring cheap labor from third countries, P2F schemes etc etc
So, people with skills won't be out of job for long if companies who drop the standards get out of business.
I don't think anyone is happy that nowadays pilot salaries are comparable with McDonalds salaries

I think I’d struggle to find a McDonald’s paying £100k

You would also struggle to find Ascend doing Pay to Fly, Poor T&Cs, cutting corners or hiring cheap labour from abroad.
They have cadets who earn a salary equal to other FOs, the T&Cs are industry standard, they are UK based so cutting corners is not an option, nor would their clients allow it and pilots from abroad are on the same package as UK pilots and they have to have the same licences etc.
So Ascend bringing down the industry is laughable if you weren't so keen to multiple pilots looking for work.

I agree with the sentiments. I think the issue really in Europe is that the fragmentation of the regulators and unions allows these operators to flourish with poor Ts&Cs that cant be countered... which are ultimately due to a drive for severely underpriced flights available only due to the underpayment of flight crew and often instances of disguised pay to fly (paying for a type into the system that you end up working for).

i believe this could be considered as “calumny” as you are clearly stating something that DID NOT HAPPEN the way you described it, as previously happened in here, several users were held accountable for what they said.

are we going to get your real name revealed soon? Hehehehe. Food for thought .

LOL here we go again...hopefully they will be done soon.

https://www.brasilaviation.info/avio...s-no-pa%C3%ADs

Ascend Airways descent.
 

Cabin crew courses cut, cabin crew fired.
All non essential sims cut, contractors fired.
ATO closed.
Part time staff fired.
Fuel paid for cash or card.
No work after next week.
Cash reserves less than 2 weeks.
Disciplinaries for going sick.
Bullying for going fatigued.

Training Bonds in Airline Insolvency – Real-World Experience?
 

General question (not specific to any current situation) — for those who’ve been through previous airline downturns or insolvencies:

In practice, what tends to happen to pilot training bonds?

Are they ever actively pursued or even sold on by administrators, or do they usually fall away given the complexity?

Also, for pilots who happened to leave during those periods, was there any noticeable difference in how bonds were treated (e.g. more likely to be enforced pre-collapse vs not pursued after)?

Interested in real-world experiences rather than legal theory

Active airlines have a serious uphill battle trying to recover bonds when pilots leave, never mind the liquidators of defunct airlines.

They are so unenforceable it is a large reason why many airlines hiring at cadet level just demand upfront payment for type ratings. The cadets aren’t all hanging around post 500 hrs and recovering the money is a lost cause.

I think that is extremely poor advice. Bonds are not a "lost cause" and anyone reading this thinks they are, you are misleading them. There may be loopholes and mistakes to be exploited in different airline contracts but as a broad-brush statement it has to be challenged.

Please, I've worked for 4 airlines, one of them Europe's most notorious LCC. In all cases the bonds were completely unrecoverable. The most they can do is send a scary letter.

Good for you. I'd suggest anyone else takes your advice with a pinch of salt and doesn't assume that will be the case for them.

You enter into a legally binding contract with the airline, I don’t see how it’s unenforceable, airlines are able to seek compensation via civil methods, just as any other company can.

Even it we take your opinion as gospel, the airline business is a very small world. You may find offers of employment disappear, when your new airline starts with your referencing. As happened to a good friend of mine

I have also heard people say that airlines don't chase the bond.
However I have also heard the opposite and seem to recall a poster on these forums warning of the situation they find themselves in being chased by a previous employer.
You could chance it, but there is an integrity thing here.
If the airline survives and there are many many good people working immensely hard to keep it afloat, then jumping ship now may be a very unpopular move and you would loose the benefit of a job and hours building.
Good luck, but remember it is a signed contract and enforcing it is just a matter of 30mins work on a website and a small fee, a CCJ is not something you want.

Let's not forget Bombardier was actually asking about the case regarding when an airline is insolvent and whether the administrators would still chase the bond. That is a flat no, or do you disagree too? Would PWC be chasing pilots for bonds?

When even Ryanair concede defeat, and as a result reintroduce upfront TR payments, sorry but the bonds are all but unrecoverable. At my first airline I had a semi office role and in discussion with the HR director over lunch, they told me upfront there is practically no recourse for them when pilots break bond agreements. Hence why they hate funding ratings and will charge if they think they'll still get the candidates they want.

Regarding loss of trust and it being a small world, I would agree actually. However, that is a different conversation entirely from the one Bombardier asked about. Even then, I have seen multiple bond breakers encounter little obstacles in their career progression .. I am sure not everyone is so lucky though.

Out of interest – source of experience?
 

I have no skin in this game to be fair.
I am only going on what has gone on what I have read and from experience of litigation and business law.
There are many people who profess to know what they are talking about and giving one line answers.
However ask a corporate lawyer and you will not get a simple answer.
Also business law is how each company reads the situation and their expectations as to how they will pursue a potential claim.
Ascend will potentially have bigger problems to deal with at the moment.

It is a legally binding contract, the airlines can pursue you by civil means. It might not recover the money, but it can screw up your life for a good few years.

I very much doubt the bond would be enforceable if the airline went bankrupt, as the pilot has lost the job, through no fault of their own.
As far as my basic understanding on the matter goes, no training bond can be recovered in that situation

Seems like ascend has become descend
 

Looks like the current climate plus the numerous safety issues have done for ascend.

Not only the incident involving departing the runway far too late at Luton last April (as reported on the BBC yesterday), but the well known and hushed up issue with fuel cut off at Stansted last September (their very own Air India moment!) seem to have combined with their inability to find work to ensure that they close down on Monday.

The crew WhatsApp group chats has been in overdrive with talk of a last supper in India tomorrow, as well as the report that their spicejet partner announced that ops cease on the 26th have left crew confused and in an information vacuum as HQ batten down the hatches. Apparently the only comment from the boss (nepo baby of the Titan owner) has been to apologise about the situation, without confirming whether the company will carry on or shut up shop.

No doubt things will play out over the next 72 hours, the only hope is that ascend have enough cash to pay staff on Monday.

One of their third hand 737 aircraft left EMA on Friday, and after a brief stop in CAI was heading East. Is this a mission to pick up stranded crew on MCT and BOM? Who knows, but things might become clearer once it's destination is known.

More to follow!