Skyservice Shutting Down ???

[Kip Powick]

CITY TV in YZ just reported that Skyservice is shutting down. Apparently GTTA will neither confirm or deny the story. Again, apparently Skyservice staff have been told to clean out their offices.

I must state that I have not seen , nor heard any confirmation to this story and I hope it is NOT true.

[dagger]

Nothing much to add in this story

http://www.theglobea...article1518479/

They have also been pronounced dead on their Wikipedia page.

Can someone say what they were still flying themselves - as opposed to aircraft leased out to others. I'm trying to figure out the implications for the summer schedule. What were they going to fly, and where? Anyone know?

[cp fa]

That is sad news - how terrible for the employees.

The charter market must be absolutely flat - Sunwing has just cut it's staffing levels down to bare bones.

[Mitch Cronin]

Wow! Very sad news....

What a rotten business this can be...

Best of luck to all!

[Lazionic]

ya this is terrible! Anyone know if it was the airline side or the FBO side? Im not sure about now but a while ago i was told that the 2 could operate independent of each other. If one side was to go bankrupt the other could still operate.

[dagger]

ya this is terrible! Anyone know if it was the airline side or the FBO side? Im not sure about now but a while ago i was told that the 2 could operate independent of each other. If one side was to go bankrupt the other could still operate.

Aren't they separate already? I assumed that when Payson sold a big stake in the airline to that Vancouver company, Gibralt (?)

[Lazionic]

im not sure what the situation between the two is now. So its possible that only the airline side is bankrupt.

[LooseGoose]

im not sure what the situation between the two is now. So its possible that only the airline side is bankrupt.

Yes, Skyservice Business Aviation is completely separate and is flourishing

[dagger]

A somewhat more detailed story

http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=2748204

[CanadaEH]

Signature purchasing a stake in Sunwing recently was not good news for Skyservice. It's too bad, but at least they are doing what they can to deal with stranded passengers.

[Ex 9A Guy]

Sorry to hear about this. Best of luck to all those involved. I know we have a few posters here that are/were employed at Skyservice.

[Gumbi]

Sorry to hear about this. Best of luck to all those involved. I know we have a few posters here that are/were employed at Skyservice.

Yes, we do. J.O. comes to mind, and I have some long time acquaintances that work there too. Best of luck to all!

[Moon The Loon]

I echo all the sentiments above. Another chapter ended in the history of Canadian aviation. A sad chapter indeed. Best wishes to you all, especially those ex-C3'ers who had their careers salvaged by SSV back in 2001 and now will be going through the same pains all over again.

[J.O.]

Hi friends.

Obviously today was a very tough day for a lot of people. It was pretty surreal being among the last to leave with all of the desks cleared out and the Ops Centre dark and quiet. Even though this isn't my first shutdown, it still sucks when you put so much into something only to see it fall on hard times. Was it perfect? Not at all, we had our warts just like every place else. But I think it's telling that the employees were paid their last pay plus any vacation owing. That hasn't been the case in the past for many of us who've gone through a similar thing, and I hope my colleagues will recognize that as a small token of recognition of our contribution over the past 15 years.

There is no such thing as a perfect organization, IMHO. There will be people who will be angry and try to put the blame on this or that. All I can say, having been there before, is that the anger buys you nothing and won't help you move on with life, which is what we all will need to do.

To those who have expressed concerns and thoughts I want to thank you. For the first time in a long time, I've got "nothing" to do tomorrow and I may even take the time to enjoy that for a change!

Jeff

P.S. Let me know if you need any help. I'm pretty good at pounding nails and digging ditches!

[BoomerPete]

There are times when this industry really sucks, and this is one of them. My thoughts and condolences to everyone who worked so hard to bring Skyservice to life and keep it going. People can discuss all they wish the macro-economic reasons why the market zigged and the company zagged til they're blue in the face, and they may well be right. But, those of us who toil in this industry know that there are a lot of good people who did their very best to make SSV a safe, reliable and respected airline who are hurting today. We feel for all of you, as friends and colleagues, and hope that you all find new adventures and opportunities to explore as soon as possible.

Pete

[Say Again, Over!]

So sorry to hear that news....

I'm glad to see you can still smile Jeff.

I wish you and all of the others involved the best of luck at quickly finding some work in the profession you love so much.

All the best!

Felix

[ccairspace]

Hi friends.

Obviously today was a very tough day for a lot of people. It was pretty surreal being among the last to leave with all of the desks cleared out and the Ops Centre dark and quiet. Even though this isn't my first shutdown, it still sucks when you put so much into something only to see it fall on hard times. Was it perfect? Not at all, we had our warts just like every place else. But I think it's telling that the employees were paid their last pay plus any vacation owing. That hasn't been the case in the past for many of us who've gone through a similar thing, and I hope my colleagues will recognize that as a small token of recognition of our contribution over the past 15 years.

There is no such thing as a perfect organization, IMHO. There will be people who will be angry and try to put the blame on this or that. All I can say, having been there before, is that the anger buys you nothing and won't help you move on with life, which is what we all will need to do.

To those who have expressed concerns and thoughts I want to thank you. For the first time in a long time, I've got "nothing" to do tomorrow and I may even take the time to enjoy that for a change!

Jeff

P.S. Let me know if you need any help. I'm pretty good at pounding nails and digging ditches!

As has been iterated above, I would like to extend my condolences to you and through this post to all who have lost today. Over the past few years I have made the acquaintance of a few Skyservice pilots. When the Calgary base closed last year and a number of my friends were laid off, I always felt that if Toronto could hang in, there might be hope for recovery…

Take care and try to keep that healthy attitude of yours.

ccairspace

[Kip Powick]

Jeff, I, along with Scuba02 flew with you as a passengers during one of our flights down south and you took the time to leave the flight deck and introduce yourself as we had never met.... except via AEF. You are a gentleman, a professional, and I m sure it would have been a pleasure to share the flight deck duites with you. This morning Scuba02 was saddened to hear of your misfortune and wishes you and your family all the very best and hopefully future pilot employers will realize that you do enhance, not only our profession, but the public image that any aviation company wishes to project. All the very best Best wishes. KP and DP

[J.O.]

Thanks folks, that really means a lot.

I've come to realize that in this business there isn't much difference between losing a company and the death of a close friend. I suspect you went through many of the same emotions, even though CAIL did roll into Air Canada and you remained employed. I am very proud of the things we did over the years. I have many excellent colleagues both on the line and in the office. I will miss them a great deal, and I only hope that I get the privilege of working with many of them again.

Jeff

[John S.]

I've been told that a bunch of Skyservice employees will be meeting at Arizona's tomorrow around 1630. Not sure if it's a pilot-only thing or even a Skyservice-employee-only thing, but I will be there to offer some personal condolences (and maybe even a pint or two) to my friends. Thought I'd make that public in case anyone else wants to do the same.

GOOD idea. And if you are still condolencing on Saturday night I'll be in YYZ and able to stop in and buy the last round.

Best wishes to all the employees.

[conehead]

Such a re-occuring thing in Canada.... I feel bad for the people every time it happens. Worldways, Odyssey, Canada 3000.... so many over the years. I have met people that worked for all of these airlines, and they always pick up the pieces and move on... sometimes to another airline that winds up going under. People like J.O. have a lot of fortitude...

[Lakelad]

.

Evolution in the air: Skyservice falls prey to shift in travel business

Thursday April 1, 2010 - Globe and Mail

Brent Jang - Transportation Reporter

The abrupt shutdown of Skyservice Airlines Inc. underscores a power shift in the business of taking Canadians to sunny destinations – big tour operators that fly their own planes are winning.

Skyservice, Canada's second-largest charter carrier, closed Wednesday, a victim of the consolidation in the package tour sector, which has been hard hit by falling prices and increased competition from WestJet Airlines Ltd. and Air Canada. The move comes six months after one of Skyservice's largest customers, Signature Vacations, announced its merger with another tour operator, Sunwing Travel Group, which already runs its own fleet of aircraft.

"The pressures on Skyservice proved too great. Despite the best efforts of management and employees, regrettably this day has come," Skyservice president Rob Giguere said in an internal memo to employees.

Amid the prospect of Signature ending its contract with Skyservice, the Toronto-based carrier grounded its planes. The demise of Skyservice left some passengers scrambling to find other arrangements home and forced tour operators to book replacement planes to fly travellers in April to holidays in Mexico and the Caribbean.

Sunwing runs a fleet of newer, fuel-efficient Boeing 737s, but Mr. Giguere, a former Air Canada executive vice-president of operations, had to make do with an older fleet of Airbus A330s, A320s and Boeing 757s. His other major customer, Sunquest Vacations, grew increasingly nervous over the past six months about the future of Skyservice.

Thomas Cook Canada Ltd., which owns Sunquest, petitioned Skyservice into receivership under the Business and Insolvency Act Wednesday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

FTI Consulting Canada Inc. has been appointed as the receiver to oversee the winding down of the debt-laden charter airline, which owes $8.6-million to Thomas Cook.

Robert Kokonis, president of airline consulting firm AirTrav Inc., said the demise of Skyservice is part of the evolution of the leisure travel sector, combining vacation packages and airline operations under one roof. "It has become vertically integrated," he said.

Tour operator Transat A.T. Inc., which owns the country's largest charter carrier Air Transat, saw its class B stock price jump 6 per cent Wednesday. The merged Sunwing-Signature entity, Transat and two other major players in the sector, Air Canada Vacations and WestJet Vacations, all have access to planes in-house.

'The Skyservice Cabin Crew Association said it is "deeply saddened" by the shutdown, noting that painful concessions made by employees weren't enough to save the company.'

.

[newgirl]

First word that came to mind was "Bummer another one bites the dust". I sincerely wish the best to everyone involved as it must be a very sad time for you.

[Homerun]

Some of the blame has to go directly on Westjet's shoulders. They've been dumping increasingly huge amounts of capacity into the winter package tour market over the last few years.

[J.O.]

Westjet's entry into the traditional charter market was just a small piece of a more complex puzzle, but their affect did play a role indirectly, more because of the pressure it has put on the other tour operators.

At the end of the day though, the failure is ultimately a result of the leveraged buyout of Skyservice in 2007. The purchase was heavily financed and the loans included highly restrictive financial covenants against the company as to the amount of cash they had on hand and their ongoing cash flow. The loans also required Skyservice to maintain their contracts with Signature and Sunquest. When Signature decided to invest in Sunwing, it was the beginning of the end for SSV. Signature lost over $40 million last year and they were struggling. A lot has been said about Skyservice employees needing to give back more than they already had. Even if every Skyservice employee had worked for free, Signature's losses would still have been too large. Signature had to invest in Sunwing just to survive. And with the loss of Signature, Skyservice could no longer finance the debts on the books. It would have ended sooner if it were not for some interim financial intervention by Thomas Cook Canada, who are now on the hook for a $12 million debt that Skyservice can't pay.