Beefitarian wrote:Is this forum going to just allow such slanderous accusations toward a benevolent Government such as the one in China to go by with no defensive response?
Not sure if you are being ironic there or not. If you are being ironic then I shall reply:
If you were being serious I shall reply: Tibet, Tiananmen, Falun Gong (whom I'm told you can see at the 'Bodies' exhibit in Winnipeg right now.)
Good eye, I was going for "ironic" cheers. *lifts a glass of baby formula tainted with malamine to celebrate*
Moncton Flight College negotiations continue
Published Thursday February 17th, 2011
Officials hope to transform non-profit school into for-profit business that will be more competitive
An official with receiver Ernst & Young said yesterday he is confident that a solution to the Moncton Flight College's financial troubles will be reached by tomorrow.
"Our objective is to have something by Friday afternoon," said Matt Harris. "It's a complicated transformation but it has to happen."
The flight college, which traces its roots back to 1929, was placed in receivership on Monday by the Royal Bank of Canada over an unpaid loan. Negotiations have been under way all week toward a merger of the college and CANLink Aviation, a Canadian company that is already a partner with the college. A merger would likely mean that the college would be transformed from a non-profit entity into a for-profit company that could better compete in the business of international pilot training.
Flight training operations have been suspended as the negotiations continue between the college, CANLink and the receiver.
Marie-Josée Groulx, a spokeswoman for Business New Brunswick, said the province does not have a direct role in the negotiations.
"However, CANlink is already a client of BNB, and will continue to be. As for the province's future financial involvement, it is too early to say," she said.
The province has provided financial assistance to the college in the past, including a $1.5-million loan last year that is still outstanding.
The flight college, located near the Greater Moncton International Airport, has grown in recent years with a new training centre with modern flight simulators and dormitories for the students. The college has a fleet of more than 50 aircraft, about 100 employees and has ongoing contracts with airlines to train pilots from China and other countries. It also has a Fredericton campus which is operated by CANLink Aviation.
Mike Tilley, president of CANLink Aviation, said the intention is to transform the non-profit flight college into a for-profit business that will be more competitive and carry on its long tradition of training pilots from around the world. Operations at the Fredericton campus have not been impacted by the situation.
The college has gained an international reputation and is seen as an important part of the city's business and cultural landscape.
"It is an important economic component for the city and I'm hoping the new partner will be able to carry on its operations in the future," said Dieppe Mayor Jean LeBlanc.
"It is a long-standing company. It is sad to see them in financial difficulty but I'm optimistic that they will be able to carry on," said Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc.
Both mayors said the modern facilities and the fact that they train pilots from around the world adds to the business and cultural fabric of the city. George LeBlanc said that officials from the Intelligent Communities Forum visited the flight college and were very impressed.
The Moncton Flight College traces its roots back to the formation of the Moncton Flying Club in 1929. The early club members were instrumental in building New Brunswick's first airport and setting up mail and cargo flights around the Maritimes. During the Second World War, Moncton became one of the Canadian sites for the British Commonwealth Air Training Program. After the war, the flying club continued to train pilots.
KAG wrote:I find it funny that people get bent out of shape about 1.5 million of "taxpayer money" but say nothing about Harper spending 1 billion of those same tax dollars on what could have been done with a video conference call.
Good luck mfc I hope it works out for you folks.
The 1.5 million is only the tip of the iceberg and lets just stay focused on MFC's situation . Playing cheap politics is only opening up this forum to possible flaming and hurt feelings.
Sure its only 1.5 million dollars but with all of the other FTU's out there that are finically stable and have been doing so for years its pretty much a slap in the face. There is absolutely no reason for dishing out this money as there is already a surplus of pilots and FTU's.
Somebody I know up that way said the YQM Flight School has a BE90 on lease as it is a requirement to give the Chinese student population exposure to that type of airplane(20-25 hrs). Must have cost a bundle for the school to absorb, lease I assume as well as the maint required, also they had quite a setup for G/S training and some type of BE200 sim. All well and good of course but the $$$$ has to be rolling in to support that and it was known the Chinese student enrollment dropped off as compared to other years...........
Mike D sold out to the commies and then when the going got tough he bailed. He should of just stayed at TC back in the day. When I went to MFC he walked around with his chest puffed out bragging about how MFC was the only descent FTU in Canada and MFC grads will go direct entry to jazz, pe air etc etc. He was a big bull shi^^er. He also knew damn well students in the Diploma program were showing up drunk and didn't care b/c the school needed their daddy's money more than doing the right thing.
Now the Atlantic provinces will not have a major FTU and if they do the rest of the country will bitch that its being propped up by tax dollars.
In a 2008 interview, Tilley said the Chinese appreciate the setting Canada offers to train pilots because of its established infrastructure.
Proportionally, China has few airports and they're all far more busy, and the clean, clear air offers better training for first-time pilots.
Not to the point where they would pay their bill but... I guess that's another thing that's good for them, when they welch on the fees it's less expensive.
Don McClure must be spinning in his grave. I met the man in 2001. He was all about training, had some stories and was still very sharp.
Those in charge of the college when I went there were all about bragging and bs. They claimed to be non profit but I know otherwise. They told kids anything to get them to sign up for that place.
What has happened to MFC is a shame. I really hope this new CEO can turn things around.
Boy the sky must be quiet over Moncton these days.
The problem with MFC is it has all kinds of management; I mean there are supervisors, assistant supervisors, managers, assistant managers, directors, assistant directors, vp's, ceo's, upper management, lower management, all kinds of management! They have a Director of Janitorial Services from crying out loud!
You walk into any other flight school across this country you may have an owner, a dispatcher or two, a few engineers, and your instructors, thats it!
I bet students are trying to frantically empty their flying accounts. I've always said its a horrible idea to pay thousands of dollars in advance. When the accounts start being emptied what little capital the school may have will disappear. Then come the law suites.... Good luck re-staring the operation & getting any sort of financial backing once that starts to happen.
Troubleshot wrote:http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/ ... rship.htmlIn English
Wow, all those foreign students and Chinese government money streaming in and they still aren't payin the bills.
I guess we should have seen it coming, the CEO split and TC shut them down for a week last year...they are a stand-up operation, maybe just to big to fast.
Good luck to all involved.
I work here, TC didn't shut anything down... at least not in the past 3 years that I've been around.
Look, I don't want to kick you while your down cause believe me I've been there. That being said I believe last year MFC stopped operation for a week or so due to TC concerns, on the outside it may have looked voluntary but I know for a fact it wasn't. It was more of a "you do it, or we'll do it" senario.
Anyway man, I am sorry you guys are on shakey ground right now....sucks. I'd say someone in the community will step up and right the ship.
good luck.
I was instructing there from 08 until recently, dispatched prior to that. There was no shutdown of ops last year. There was a voluntary shutdown of ops about 3ish years ago, but nothing since then (until now).
Down north, precisely the problem.
Up until Al Pendergast took over as CEO, there was some major issues with some of the management personnel. Primarily in the finance department. There were a few key people there that really made a hash of things. Unfortunately, it will probably look bad on those working there now, but they are the ones who've been trying to dig MFC out of its financial hole for the last 6 months to a year. I don't envy their job. It's pretty hard to recover the money owed to you by someone who graduated several years ago...
So was a deal worked out with Canlink or is the fleet still grounded?
I don't quite understand why or how the school allowed students to fly, graduate and have licenses signed off with large sums of money owing on account.
