Global Aviation Holdings (World Airlines) Bankrupt!

[HA25]

NAA furloughed 42 pilots, downgraded 14 captains, fired 50 corporate employees and no FAs yet.

are they parking jets on the World side too? MD's?

 

[zonejumper]

NAA furloughed 42 pilots, downgraded 14 captains, fired 50 corporate employees and no FAs yet.

The last 2 FA classes were furloughed yesterday, about 35-40...
Hope that's the end of it...for purely selfish reasons....

 

[UM#1]

It's been a slaughter at World and GSS(global services) the last 2 days. 150+ from ATL office gone, many others at outstations around the world. Plan for now is down to 9 or 10 A/C and furloughing to pilot 302 on the seniority list. Don't know the exact furlough dates yet but CP said 11/month. A great airline brought down in flames by bad selfish management...

 

[Fliteidol]

Very sad news. You guys deserve much better than this. I hope there is a genuine plan to get everyone back to work.

 

[Jeff Helgeson]

You are more right than wrong

Sorry, but having a business plan solely based on military traffic is insufficiently diversified. That's why, at ATA, we have a considerable commercial charter business along with scheduled service business units, so that if one area drops off, capacity can be allocated to better performing units. You'd have to be the worst manager in the world to not see that and how to create a hedge against changes in demand. Only a bunch of retarded frat-boys at a private hedge fund could screw that one up more than once.

Oh, wait a minute.....

Actually, the ATA model worked great. Wasn't it the scheduled passenger service where ATA had the issues? I thought it was the scheduled airservice that hurt ATA, was not in there best working model.

 

[UM#1]

Actually, the ATA model worked great. Wasn't it the scheduled passenger service where ATA had the issues? I thought it was the scheduled airservice that hurt ATA, was not in there best working model.

True, I was ATA during the "growth" of the 175 seat 737-800 in the MDW market. Super high lease rates on those planes (highest for any 737 I think) that put too many seats into a market that had SWA as the number 1 competitor. Plus Tague was a terrible leader while he was there. Lots of great employees, some of the best I've ever worked, World also. I guess us ACMI guys are just destined for a life of uniform collecting....

 

[alpine1989]

Based on the court filing, Global to reject leases on 16 aircraft (both airlines).

That takes them from 28 to 12 aircraft.

M11: 2
M1F: 3
74F: 2
763: 5

 

[alpine1989]

Rumor is NAA will close up shop in 6 weeks and move everything to Peachtree City (including Dispatch). Moving across the street takes longer than 6 weeks plus I don't see many Dispatchers moving. Maybe they will pull a Republic and force WOA Dispatchers to move over to the NAA certificate in Peachtree? FAA won't let them cross over so they'd have to get trained and checked out per the NAA training program.

 

[Comair49%er]

How deep into the seniority list did the furlough go? A hand full of Comair pilots went to NAA a few years back. I hope you all find better opportunities soon.

 

[sat74]

A friend of mine just told me will be furloughed sometime this summer based on what he was told by their union. He was hired in 2005 at WOA.

 

[CaptSeth]

Actually, the ATA model worked great. Wasn't it the scheduled passenger service where ATA had the issues? I thought it was the scheduled airservice that hurt ATA, was not in there best working model.

Jeff, scheduled service was quite viable, but the high lease rates and large capacity aircraft were no longer a match to the post 9-11 environment. Our original management's failing was in an ability to make changes to the business plan to adjust to that environment. Our later management team was basically sent in to finish off the scheduled service side and abdicate our route structure to our competitor, who had a much lower standard of service but used unethical business practices to make it impossible to continue to function.

Allegiant is, as a result, capitalizing on some of this as they have entered a number of our former markets.

 

[CCDiscoB]

How deep into the seniority list did the furlough go?

At World from 470 down to 302! Not good!

 

[HA25]

At World from 470 down to 302! Not good!

sounds like the same massacre that hit Evergreen two months ago...

that's 400 our of work pilots in 2 months alone... sad.

 

[HalinTexas]

Actually, the newer aircraft ordered in 2000 weren't that expensive, however, they were the wrong type of plane for the wrong type of operation John Tague envisioned. The fiver original B757's were under EETC leases. We were told they were over $600K/mo. each. Highest type leases in the industry, and we couldn't get out from underneath them.

9/11 timing didn't help much, either.

The worst thing was poor management on ATAs part. John Tague dug the whole, George Mikelsons, jumped in along with the employees (unions) and SWA covered us up. ATA was one lie after another from everyone, and we all believed it.

Everyone seems to correlate failure with corrupt management, and never inept management. George Mikelsons' equity stake was upwards of $180M at it's height. He got about $3M when it was all over.

 

[GogglesPisano]

Best of luck to my World brethren.