VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018 - 2019

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TLspotting
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by TLspotting »

lumumba wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 14:18
luchtzak wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 13:01 Slots at Heathrow are expensive too, yet airlines are able to make money. You know the operating cost hence passengers have to fly your airline.
I understand but Heathrow is a hub also Antwerp has to compete with Brussels Airport and the Eurostar.
Now I'm not saying it's not viable but I'm not sure it is.
Antwerp and London are not directly routed. Eurostar doesn't stop at Antwerp Central so you need to take the train to Brussels South and then Eurostar.
Hi. I'm Thibault Lapers. @ThibaultLapers & @TLspotting

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sn26567
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by sn26567 »

TLspotting wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 14:21Eurostar doesn't stop at Antwerp Central so you need to take the train to Brussels South and then Eurostar.
The Eurostar to Amsterdam stops at Antwerpen Centraal. In the opposite direction, indeed, a stop at Brussels Midi is mandatory for passport control.
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carllegein
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by carllegein »

Flanker3 wrote: 31 Aug 2018, 23:34 Vizion Air, why don't you guys take over what's left?
You guys know what you're doing, plus you have an active Part145, Part M, a quality department in VLM.

Take it over for peanuts, keep it lean and small, use it for you own charters and expand the charter business organically.
we will first see how to cover all booked flights. Luckily not all eggs in one basket, so we have the reliable Saab and ATR72 working for Vizion Air. And honestly, if we are highly succesfull it is because we try not to play in a too high league : ) there is a difference between a great virtual airline that is financially strong and a airline with 100 staff in terms of investment and risk!

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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by carllegein »

TLspotting wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 11:04 VizionAir is still active, I got a message from them this morning.
sure we are. Of course we are sad that our mates of VLM and our OOVLN are no longer. We will make you proud guys

carllegein
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by carllegein »

lumumba wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 11:43
TLspotting wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 11:04 VizionAir is still active, I got a message from them this morning.
But VizionAir will stay with or without VLM but they will have to find there planes from another company.
exactly. we are risk aversive so we will not blow up too soon, we will keep growing steadily. But no regular flights for us, too complex

Passenger
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by Passenger »

Quote from Richard Branson: "If you want to be a Millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline".

TLspotting
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by TLspotting »

Passenger wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 16:08 Quote from Richard Branson: "If you want to be a Millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline".
Tell me someone who started an airline with a billon, without any help of any airline.
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FLYAIR10
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by FLYAIR10 »

According to newspaper 'Het Nieuwsblad' ,at least in our morning edition, there would be 'several candidates to take over VLM airlines'. I wonder where they got that and how that could be possible, considering the negative result of the last year(s) . Or do they mean their last 2 routes to LCY and ZRH?

What about the AOC? Is that also suspended with immediate effect now? I mean the the Belgian aswell as the Slovenian one? Or are they still available in one form or another for a potential take over candidate who shows up any of the coming days/weeks? Could the current VLM (theoretically?) still operate e.g. charterflights or move planes,under receivership's supervision?

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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by sn26567 »

The reasons for the bankruptcy are clear: VLM offered 45% of the seats available at Antwerp Airport, but transported only 17% of the total number of passengers at the airport (43,000 pax in the first 7 months of 2017, vs 120,000 pax for TUI and Flybe combined).
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by jan_olieslagers »

It is too easy/not really clever to think in terms of seats offered/seats sold only. There is no comparison between high yield business routes such as LCY and the low yield tourist routes offered by TUI.

Profit is determined by sales vs. cost, not by seats offered vs. seats sold.

My own analysis of the sad demise is that management was impatient to see quick expansion - which is not easy, to say the least, in today's very competitive and very saturated air transport business - spending all the profits of the milk cow ANR-LCY on questionable experiments.

koninckske
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by koninckske »

From what I understood is that VLM is not bankrupt yet. They decided to liquidate the company. This means as far as I know that the AOC is suspended, but not yet cancelled like it was last time.

If there is a serious investor who wants to move fast, VLM could be operational rather soon than late.

Personally I expect possibly Harm Prins to make a move. He could use VLM Regional as service provider to The Aviation Factory without TAF getting involved in running an airline.

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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by Passenger »

Who can trust guys who raise their capital with this kind of fantasy?
http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/tsv_pd ... 323059.pdf
Bankers and professional insurers reply to such a trick with "show me the money".

Who will invest in a company with their debts? And it's just figures till 31/12/2017 we know:
http://cri.nbb.be/bc9/web/catalog?lang= ... 0547945971

Indeed, they are not officially bankrupt yet. But to avoid bankruptcy, some cash input is needed. Urgently. Hic et nunc. Real Euro's. And a lot.

One can make up the loss of a flight with 45 empty seats out of 50. And one can make up the loss of two flights with 45 empty seats out of 50. But one can never make up the loss caused by a 10% load factor day after day, week after week. The main cause of the forthcoming bankruptcy: Hamburg, Munich, Zürich and Maribor. And a violation of the basic rule that I've posted here many times already: leave enough time betweeen announcement of a new route and the first flight.

koninckske
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by koninckske »

There are many ways of taking over a company. You can take it all including the debts or you can only take a (profitable) part.

There will be indeed many accumulated debts from the last two years. If someone is going to take some parts, it will be the healthy parts (charter ops or just the AOC). They will recapitalize the remaining business. And the debts can disappear in the bankruptcy.

Maybe some UK companies (Flybe, flybmi,...) still need an European AOC with Brexit nearing. They might get one cheap... buy VLM, put some new planes on the aoc and sell the Fokkers.

Or Brussels Airlines might be interested to put some regional jets with them at a lower cost than on their own AOC. This way they can stop using the wetleases.

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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by Passenger »

koninckske wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 21:09 There are many ways of taking over a company. You can take it all including the debts or you can only take a (profitable) part. There will be indeed many accumulated debts from the last two years. If someone is going to take some parts, it will be the healthy parts (charter ops or just the AOC). They will recapitalize the remaining business. And the debts can disappear in the bankruptcy. Maybe some UK companies (Flybe, flybmi,...) still need an European AOC with Brexit nearing. They might get one cheap... buy VLM, put some new planes on the aoc and sell the Fokkers. Or Brussels Airlines might be interested to put some regional jets with them at a lower cost than on their own AOC. This way they can stop using the wetleases.
They may indeed sell some parts, but the funds then have to stay within the Belgian company (= SHS Aviation bvba/sprl). If they would transfer the money to their Dutch holding (SHS B.V.), they're in breach of Belgian financial legislation. When shareholders know that their company isn't viable anymore, they must advise the trade court and ask for protection against debtors (WCO) or file for bankruptcy. The third way, going into voluntary liquidation, means that the shareholders expect that the company is viable with new owners, willing to invest. SHS Aviation knows that the invoices from Hamburg, Münich, Zürich and Maribor will soon arrive. Plus all invoices for their brand new tv spot (link down below). Hence they asked Monard Law as liquidators...

Now, just look at their initial "investment" of 5.000.000 Euro, back in 2016:
http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/tsv_pd ... 159691.pdf
Things are becoming clear now: our mister H.P. did it again.

- -

At this moment showing on regional tv ATV and added on YouTube on... 30st August 2018:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq4p9rL4g6o


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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by Passenger »

FLYAIR10 wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 16:52 According to newspaper 'Het Nieuwsblad' ,at least in our morning edition, there would be 'several candidates to take over VLM airlines'. I wonder where they got that and how that could be possible, considering the negative result of the last year(s) . Or do they mean their last 2 routes to LCY and ZRH?
Confirmed on local tv by Youri Steverlynck, one of the two lawyers from Monarch Law, appointed by the board of SHS as liquidator: "there is a handful of candidates". Apart from that quote, his statement was just a vague "we are working on it".
https://atv.be/nieuws/video-al-enkele-k ... -vlm-64680

And so far, not one word towards the passengers. Not from VLM, not from Monard Law, not from the airport. Passengers know they won't fly, but what about a refund: yes or no? Unless they been advised by direct mail by the liquidators of course.

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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by sn26567 »

Retrospectively, the Belgian CAA was right to delay the granting of an AOC and should have refused it altogether because of the lack of a credible business plan. The Slovenian CAA has been too quick on this one.
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by PttU »

Konus wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 11:31
SLM wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 10:23 And what about the Vizion air fokker 50? Do they still have one in the Vizion colours? tx
The VizionAir fokker 50 was OO-VLN which left the fleet to join Amapola Flyg on last Thursday.

The three remaining Fokker 50 aircraft are all three in the VLM cs.
The three remaining F50 being
OO-VLI
OO-VLQ
OO-VLS

Passenger
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by Passenger »

Could it be more symbolic/dramatic? The last flight arrived at noon today, coming from Warshaw Modlin Airport: flight VG-3002, reg. OO-VLS, aircraft named to Freddy Van Gaever:

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/airc ... s#1db8f3bd

Shengenzone
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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by Shengenzone »

Report about the last flight on ATV.
https://atv.be/nieuws/video-afscheid-vl ... ilie-64692

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Re: VLM (SHS Antwerp Aviation) news 2018

Post by A318 »

I think it's time to realize it's over. Bankrupt in RTM in 2015, bankrupt in ANR in 2016, again bankrupt in ANR in 2018. You can keep on pulling on a dead horse but it remains dead, sorry. The business plan they used was the same one as before, they almost even flew the old schedule again! Somebody should have sit down and first looked at the lessons learned from before? Union people that were going on strike and even gave negative interviews in 2015/2016 about VLM got dragged in again, I think you are not taking yourself very serious if you do that. Besides all that it's a pitty a lot of people are again without jobs so I think it should be very wise to leave VLM for what it was, a bright and beautiful regional carrier for many years.
A Whole Different Animal

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