Harbour Air Buys West Coast Air

[geodoc]

Just announced. Wonder how they'll deal with the unionized shop @ WCA, with HA being non-union?

[Highsea]

Normally, When a company buys a company out the employees get laid off and the new owners can choose to re-hire them back or not.

[SeptRepair]

Hopefully others who may know more chime in, but when a company is bought out the employees I think are entitled to severance if they are dismissed and then they can reapply for the job they already had. The new company may have different pay scales and such so its up to the individual if they are willing to accept the new terms. With that being said I know of an instance where a company screwed with the employees during the take over. The departing company paid the new take over company the money to sever the employees. The new company let a couple go and paid the severance to those individuals and said they would retain the remaining people at the same pay scale as before. A couple of individuals did not want to be a part of the new company and asked for their severance and were denied because they were told they had a job and there was no need to be paid severance. The new company ended up pocketing some extra money on the deal and are currently in court ( from what I have been told) defending their actions. Word of advice to those boys at West Coast Air. Know your rights and seek legal clarification on this matter.

[Rowdy]

I doubt if it's 100% true that they will just merge overnight. Maybe HA will keep the west coast air "brand" and operate them seperatly? who knows.. Hopefully someone with some inside info will make light of it!!

[Mr. North]

Great time to form a union!






..ducking and running.

[Crobe]

.

[not telling]

I think this will be a pretty exciting season for both companies. There are very few people who know what HA's intentions are for WCA, but I hope they are good!
In my humble opinion, something had to give, the way WCA was operating was not sustainable. Of all the possible outcomes, I think this is one of the best and it seems like it will be a positive step forward for people working at both companies and the traveling public.
There are lots of mixed opinions and so much speculation going on it's crazy. I have no doubt that some people will no longer be needed. We offer such similar services that a lot of the behind the scenes and management positions will be redundant. That being said, the popular opinion, and the official line, is that the two companies will stay relatively separate for the near future.
we shall see, and we all anxiously await word from the powers that be!

[facecake]

prob the best outcome for WCA,as it was quickly being run into the ground. not surprising. some of the management are to blame for sure.

[Pratt]

I think this will be a pretty exciting season for both companies. There are very few people who know what HA's intentions are for WCA, but I hope they are good!
In my humble opinion, something had to give, the way WCA was operating was not sustainable. Of all the possible outcomes, I think this is one of the best and it seems like it will be a positive step forward for people working at both companies and the traveling public.
There are lots of mixed opinions and so much speculation going on it's crazy. I have no doubt that some people will no longer be needed. We offer such similar services that a lot of the behind the scenes and management positions will be redundant. That being said, the popular opinion, and the official line, is that the two companies will stay relatively separate for the near future.
we shall see, and we all anxiously await word from the powers that be!

I think it is wishful thinking that only management and other non flying positions are the only ones to be affected. History has shown that in mergers, buyouts etc. that the duplication of routes are generally consolidated. Short term plans can involve operating the flight schedules separately but that usually doesn't last for too long.

In the long run this will mean surplus flight crew unless there is extra work to be found.

Hopefully not the case but time will tell.

[medi-whacked]

Does anyone here think that maybe the real reason is simply to get rid of the unionized pilots?
If so..what a deterrent for other pilot groups that might be thinking of joining a union.

I think that the union that the WCA pilots belong to is a construction oriented union. It will be interesting to see what stance or support they offer for the pilot group in the event of layoffs.

What would happen at this point, if the WCA pilots, were to strike in the interest of job security?

Does anyone here know of a similar situation, where a non-unionized company bought out a unionized company? Any occupation, not just aviation?

Surely precedent has been set prior to this situation.

[Otter envy]

Well speaking from experience, ( a former twin otter pilot at WCA ) the company was being run as a major airline and not a small operator. The upper management numbered almost as many as the pilots, all with big titles attached to their names and salaries to match. The pilots were marginalized and taken advantage of, promises were made then when the company saw fit to do so, quickly forgotten about. Lets not forget about about the union that we voted to look after us. Yes a construction union (ditch diggers), with as it seemed no interest in protecting it's "brothers" as much as collecting union dues and hanging us out to dry. The company laughed when it read the contract and for good reason, it was full of holes. A law student could have maneuvered around for the company's benefit with very little problem. I dare say that it was implemented to protect the jobs of a few, while doing little to benefit the many. After all the writing was on the wall when the company saw fit to face lift all of its airplanes in Olympic colors at great cost. Ownership was dressing up for the world in hopes of attracting a buyer. Who knew that they only had to look across the dock to find what they were looking for.

OE

['79K20driver]

We always suspected Baxter was setting it up to sell it after the Olympic Games. Moving from the hanger into a big expensive downtown office was the first thing in the big smoke and mirrors show that started there. Over the last few years they seemed to be disguising themselves as a big corporate company or something while making relatively few changes to the real operation. Who really knows if they actually had a solid plan or were just delusional, as they were never very good at communicating with the troops. I do remember one time having a few beers in a downtown bar when I spotted a couple of the corporate types from the head office. I only knew one of them and went to say hi and of course talk a little about work. I could certainly tell they actualy believed they were working for some big and growing corporation. I kept my thoughts to myself but really had to wonder if they'd actually even been down to the dock. When talking to them you would have thought we were running Boeings with plans for oceanic flights or something and not clapped out 40 year old Twin Otters! It was laughable.
Anyway, if Baxter was dressing it up to sell for an inflated price after Olympic exposure, his plan must of failed because if any potential buyer knew the real story (and value) at WCA it would be Harbour Air, and would thus pay accordingly.
Best of luck to the empoyees at WCA if this is true.

[transcona bubblegum]

i heard HA paid them with a 2 can dine for $8.88 mcdonalds coupon and a bag of hockey pucks.
i saw XX in a starbucks and overheard him say he thought he got ripped off.

[Meatservo]

Well speaking from experience, ( a former twin otter pilot at WCA ) the company was being run as a major airline and not a small operator. The upper management numbered almost as many as the pilots, all with big titles attached to their names and salaries to match. The pilots were marginalized and taken advantage of, promises were made then when the company saw fit to do so, quickly forgotten about.
OE

Again, speaking from experience, I'm not too sure it's all that different across the dock. I saw a lot of big talking heads at the other place. "Marginalized" is getting to be an extremely common word in the flying business. Not just in coal harbour but everywhere. You can become the "Director of Making sure all the Paper Towel Dispensers are kept Full" and make more money and respect than by being a pilot at most of these little-big airlines. Might as well BE a ditch digger.

On a brighter note, I wonder if we'll see 100-series twin Otters flying around with a big "HA" on the tail now?

[xsbank]

Money laundering?

[2dogs]

How long do people really think that HA will operate a beaver for CXH to ZNA with 2 people. Jun 1st you will see all a/c with HA on the tail and on one big dock in Victoria just like Vancouver. In Naniamo you will see a Flying Chipmunck (Flying Beaver bar but smaller)

2 dogs out

[ALF]

i heard HA paid them with a 2 can dine for $8.88 mcdonalds coupon and a bag of hockey pucks.
i saw XX in a starbucks and overheard him say he thought he got ripped off.

HA still paid too much from what I have seen of the fleet.
At least all the WCA Beaver's will now become "Carbon Neutral".

So much for competition in the Harbour. Watch the pax tickets skyrocket now.
Best of luck to the WCA employees...you will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

[Rowdy]

I highly doubt they'll keep many of the WCA/ex baxter beavers...

[FastFlyBy]

http://news.globaltv.com/Seaplane+compa ... story.html


Seaplane companies will mergeHarbour Air vice-president promises business as usual after takeover of West Coast Air

Walter Cordery, The Daily News: Wednesday, March 31, 2010

People who travel on West Coast Air will not notice any differences once the company is acquired by Harbour Air Seaplanes at the end of April.
Rick Baxter, president of West Coast Air, said the time was right to join Harbour Air.
"We are in the middle of a transaction that is actually scheduled to close on April 30," Baxter said on Tuesday.
Rick Baxter's parents, Tom and Linda Baxter of Nanaimo, founded Baxter Aviation in 1985.
West Coast Air purchased Baxter Avation in 2007 and Rick Baxter said the economic downturn was a prime consideration. "It's in the best interest of everybody to consolidate the operation of our businesses," Baxter said.
"There are still a number of details that have to be negotiated but I'm positive this is the right move for both companies."
West Coast Air runs 14 flights between Nanaimo and Vancouver. Harbour Air will now have access to West Coast's six terminals, including the Nanaimo terminal.
Both Harbour Air and West Coast Air offer scheduled service between Nanaimo and Vancouver as well as the Gulf Islands and coastal charter flights. They also transport freight.
Harbour Air is not planning to make changes to West Coast's operations, according to Randy Wright, a senior vice-president at Harbour Air.
"It's an acquisition not a takeover," said Wright.
Baxter will stay on as president of West Coast Air.
"The good news as far as we are concerned is that Harbour Air recognizes the West Coast Air brand is worth holding onto and our customers should not notice any difference. They will be seeing the same faces serving them on the airline in the future that they see now," he said.
Wright said purchasing West Coast Air was a strategic move to shore up Harbour Air's bottom line.
Due to the slow economy, poor tourism numbers and a provincial government cutback on travel, the two airlines considered the takeover, he said. Both airlines were seeing reduced passenger loads.
In the coastal airline business there are areas like accounting and marketing that can easily be shared by the two companies.
"It's a high-cost business with fuel, wages and maintenance costing a lot of money and I think both sides will see a lot of savings," said Wright.

DECLINING TRAFFIC

Passenger traffic at Nanaimo's seaplane terminal has dropped 11.59% in the past three years.
In the first 10 months of 2007, 143,821 passengers used the services of the seaplane companies at the terminal.
For the same period in 2008, there were 136,744.
And in 2009, 120, 899 went through the terminal.

Source: Port of Nanaimo


© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

[ALF]

I highly doubt they'll keep many of the WCA/ex baxter beavers...

I don't blame them if they ditch those beavers...but you would be amazed what some paint can do.
I guess the other challenge will be getting those twotters with the 6-20's "Carbon Nuetral".
GOOD LUCK with that.

[seniorpumpkin]

Actually WCA has partnered with the Pacific Carbon Trust, they have been carbon neutral for months now. I am actually pretty impressed with how environmental WCA is, they have gone beyond recycling paper and are even composting now.

[ALF]

Glad to see they were spending their limited funds on something important
Keeping up with the Jonses.

[D-Iced]

Without question, CXH - ZNA are done for the Beav. The HA Turbos have not only maintained full(ish) capacity doing this route, but also absorbed a lot of WCA's business on the route over the last couple of years. ZNA - YVR, diff story I'd say, room for lower capacity runs maybe. CXH - YQQ? Sounds like a perfect setup for the Turbo which is faster/safer, given better loads (which might be totally possible with even slightly better advertising, especially in downtown Courtney/Comox). Victoria - Vancouver will likely employ the Twin still for many reasons. Sunshine coast still needs beavs on the job to avoid low occupancy on those routes. Time will tell . . .

[barefootpilot]

Don't think you will see any of the beavers as part of the deal. Half of them are owned by Viking and are just on lease, WCA has managed to make the baxter ones revolving parts store and as for the ones that are flying I believe that Tom had a couple in other family members names. Not to mention that HA has quality Beavers sitting around. As for continuing to operate under the WCA name, thats just political BS so as to not send total shock wave, Besides who wants the WCA name and they also said the same thing when they bought Baxter. Didn't last to long there

[Capt_Vern]

I'll chime in.... the idea that labour rules go out the window is completely false. Regardless of circumstance or ownership there is an obligation to follow the standards of the Canada Labour code to the letter. SHOULD, the new owner decide they want to layoff everyone from WCA they can do so without cause by providing the entitled severance is paid. At anytime under Federal Labour laws you can terminate an employee without cause provided they are given severance appropriate to their years of service. The only time you can circumvent this is IF you are terminating with cause which can be difficult because the onus is on the employer to prove cause and progressive discipline. Regardless it makes no business sense to lay anyone off right now when they should all be gearing up for the seasonal hiring for summer. Come October....well, good chance you'll see lots of layoff notices and that is completely at the companies discretion.

Union? The WCA Union is a joke. It was driven largely by an ex AC pilot who lasted there a season, and the Ditch Diggers wanted nothing to do with him when it came time for Collective Bargaining. False expectations were planted with all the young and dumb seasonal F/O's desperate for a minimum wage job to build their hours who voted yes and were all long gone before a contract was ever negotiated. The Diggers get a cut from everyone's pay check to ensure they stay as fat as ever with very little benefit coming to the F/O's still making minimum wage. Agreed that a first year law student could've negotiated a better deal. The timing is interesting considering this crap contract is up at the end of the month. To get rid of the Union there must be a motion filed to the Canadian Labour Relations Board for decertification which can only be done in the last three months of the Collective Agreement (which is now), or once the Contract expires and a new Contract has not been negotiated, in May. To make a filing it must be proven the majority is in favour of decertification, which may lead to a vote. Alternatively the company could stall negotiating and delay a new Collective Agreement by one year to default a decertification.
Accuse management of what you will but spend a day on the dock asking the WCA pilots if they like, or even want a Collective Agreement and you won't need more than one hand to count those in favour. Most of the dopes that certified the Union are long gone and have left everyone else holding the bag save one notable exception close to retirement.
As far as a Non-Unionized company buying the Unionized, the Contract is not absolute it is an agreement between the Labour Union and the registered legal company WCA not HA. Should HA decide to change the name of WCA to WCA Holdings it opens avenues for them to boot the Union without having to decertify. Without being sneaky they're best to just open it up to a re-certification vote which would include all the HA pilots and most likely not pass.

Tom in his day was meticulous about maintenance on his equipment, it was the best anywhere so ditch the Baxter Beavers? Maybe, probably, they're one of the few things of value WCA actually has, although mortgaged to the tits so how much would they actually get for them would be pocket change after paying off the associated debt. Why sell them if you can redeploy to open up new routes that might make some coin and send the competitors running for the hills. Although that kind of hardball has never really been Greg's style he's nice enough to let everyone have a share of the pie. Time will tell if the Twins stay in Vancouver or get shipped off to fly in Malta, Prince Rupert, or somewhere else HA may have up their sleeve.

One thing is for sure the WCA brand will remain at least for the short term. Integrating two companies takes time and can't be accomplished overnight.