Canjet going under (again)?

[AvJet]

Transat A.T. is losing money and the Executive bonuses were not paid for the second year in a row.
Graham was quoted as saying that bringing the narrow body flying in house would save
$ 20 million a year of the $ 50 million target savings.
The proposal is probably to do the flying and maintenance at CanJet labour rates in house and thereby save the CanJet admin charge and margin in the contract. Makes sense.
The IAM took a concrete proposal to its members a couple of weeks ago but there has been no word yet on the vote results. I have not heard or read of the status of the negotiations with the pilots or flight attendants.
There doesn't seem to be much wiggle room for CanJet - as Rudder says the expiring 5 years deal was reported to be low ball.
Perhaps the end result will be a compromise: some in house - some CanJet to give CanJet
some time to wind down. Or perhaps something more radical like the acquisition of CanJet
which is a low cost operator - giving Rowe an elegant way out of a business he doesn't much like - though as a 'canny man' he will likely prefer cash to Transat stock.

[YHZGOOSE]

Transat A.T. is losing money and the Executive bonuses were not paid for the second year in a row.
Graham was quoted as saying that bringing the narrow body flying in house would save
$ 20 million a year of the $ 50 million target savings.
The proposal is probably to do the flying and maintenance at CanJet labour rates in house and thereby save the CanJet admin charge and margin in the contract. Makes sense.
The IAM took a concrete proposal to its members a couple of weeks ago but there has been no word yet on the vote results. I have not heard or read of the status of the negotiations with the pilots or flight attendants.
There doesn't seem to be much wiggle room for CanJet - as Rudder says the expiring 5 years deal was reported to be low ball.
Perhaps the end result will be a compromise: some in house - some CanJet to give CanJet
some time to wind down. Or perhaps something more radical like the acquisition of CanJet
which is a low cost operator - giving Rowe an elegant way out of a business he doesn't much like - though as a 'canny man' he will likely prefer cash to Transat stock.

Graham was NOT quoted as saying that bringing the narrow body flying in house would save 20 million a year of the 50 million target savings.

This is what he said :

The move is part of the airline’s plan to cut operation costs by $20 million, Graham told the employees

Using phrases such as

giving Rowe an elegant way out will of a business he doesn't like, and giving CanJet time to wind down

will get you a job writing for the Montreal Gazette.

You better do some research on what Rowe has been up to because if he doesn't like the business then why did he just acquire Imageair this week?

No one knows exactly what Transat has decided on and if bringing 737's in house can be done cheaper than CanJet. Although I do agree with Rudder that significant effort was spent in presenting the possibility to the employees.

If Transat wants to get a good starting position in the SWG and Rouge race are they going to spend more money on a new program?

You might all eat your words if they decide the only way to stay in the race is to extend their agreement and fleet with CanJet. And I might lose my job if they don't. So lets' wait and see what happens before sending out the party invitations.

[mbav8r]

You might all eat your words if they decide the only way to stay in the race is to extend their agreement and fleet with CanJet. And I might lose my job if they don't. So lets' wait and see what happens before sending out the party invitations.

It's very hard to feel sympathy for someone who makes comments like below! I guess you wouldn't feel the same if Canjet were to reduce the full time crew to the same ratio to foreign, as Sunwing's. I guess only if it meant, YOU lost your job, otherwise, it's all good.

SWG's business plan has been brilliant. Perhaps it's time for the other Canadian charters to follow the same or a similar accumen.

[YHZGOOSE]

You might all eat your words if they decide the only way to stay in the race is to extend their agreement and fleet with CanJet. And I might lose my job if they don't. So lets' wait and see what happens before sending out the party invitations.

It's very hard to feel sympathy for someone who makes comments like below! I guess you wouldn't feel the same if Canjet were to reduce the full time crew to the same ratio to foreign, as Sunwing's. I guess only if it meant, YOU lost your job, otherwise, it's all good.

SWG's business plan has been brilliant. Perhaps it's time for the other Canadian charters to follow the same or a similar accumen.

I don't need your sympathy just because I said their business plan was brilliant. I never said a majority of foreign pilots was. There is more to their aggressive expansion than foreign pilots. They took chances with some good strategy moves like such as providing lift in and out of destinations such as Ft. McMurray.

[AsheetMaDraws]

I'm sure some have seen this in the job ads section, for those Canjetters
that feel it may be time to move on.

Don't know what the signing bonus is but has to be worth looking into.


POSITION: Pilots (Type Rated)
DEPARTMENT: Flight Operations
LOCATION: Toronto, ON and Montreal, QC
REPORTING TO: Chief Pilot
POSTING DATE: March , 2013
POSTING CLOSE: March 12, 2013

Sunwing Airlines is expanding and we are looking for individuals that want to work for a dynamic organization that offers great working conditions and stable employment.

Successful candidates may qualify for a signing bonus.

During the course of duty, Pilots are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with company policies and government regulations.

Responsibilities:
• Ensuring that safety is the primary objective by adhering to the Sunwing safety policy and utilizing the appropriate safety reporting program in order to identify and communicate all known hazards and risks to the organization.
• Ensuring continual improvement through the periodic review of documented processes
• Assisting in flight planning and any other preparations for flight as required by Company Policy
• Conducting flight duties and responsibilities as outlined the Flight Operations Manual
• Monitoring all aspects of flight and noting and safety concerns to the company
• Participating in the execution of cockpit procedures, emergency procedures, checklist procedures and instrument approach procedures in accordance with the procedures and drills in the Aircraft Flight Manual and /or Company approved procedures.
• During ground operations, supervising the loading of the aircraft, fuelling, and the preparation of the load sheet as required
• Maintaining a current medical
• Maintaining the ability to work in Canada
• Maintaining a current passport
• Other flight operations related duties as assigned.

Qualifications:
• Must have Canadian Airline Transport Pilot License and valid Aviation Medical
• Must be current and rated B737NG with Transport Canada License
• Must be a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada
• 3,000 hours total time
• Positive Attitude
• No Accidents / Incidents / Violations in last 3 years

If you are interested in applying please forward your resume and cover letter to hr@sunwing.ca with the job title in the subject line. We would like to thank all that apply however only those who meet the qualifications will be contacted.

At Sunwing we want to fly higher when it comes to employment equity. We, therefore, encourage applications from Aboriginal peoples, women, members of a visible minority and persons with a disability.

[Max_Diff]

Heard SWG is offering a $15,000 signing bonus for type rated guys. Shouldn't have trouble getting guys from CanJet to come over. Plus I'm told SWG's new agreement pays way more than CanJet - but thats not hard to do.

[ea306]

Our old agreement paid more.... The new one is even better.

[confuzed]

Our old agreement paid more.... The new one is even better.

Could you expand on that a little? What exactly IS the new pay scale out of genuine curiosity? Feel free to PM if you don't want to post it here.

[ea306]

PM sent.

Anyone else cares to know... PM me also.
Cheers,

ea306

[AvJet]

Any news on the position taken by the Pilots and Mechanics?


Air Transat flight attendants accept the measures requested by the company


MONTREAL, March 10, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - The union representing Air Transat flight attendants announced that its members have agreed to the company's proposed cost reduction plan. In a secret electronic vote, 66% of the flight attendants accepted measures worth approximately $9 million a year. At 72%, turnout was particularly high.

The key element of the plan stipulates that the number of attendants on the A330 will be reduced from 11 to 10. The savings thus realized will help enable Air Transat to develop a narrow-body fleet of Boeing 737s, which the union believes will allow the company to retain more jobs in the long run.

"In recent months, we have studied the different scenarios very closely. The flight attendants took part in a number of information sessions," noted Peter Buzzell, president of the Air Transat Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

"Air Transat's position in the industry has been somewhat precarious for some time. For the union members, this means making hard choices. We have accepted a sacrifice that gives the company an opportunity to grow and maintain jobs in the long term. Our concern for such a balance influenced our decision," said the union leader.

Air Transat flight attendants are emergency specialists whose primary role is to ensure passenger safety. Approximately 1750 in total, they are divided into three local unions corresponding to their three bases: CUPE 4041 (Montreal-YUL), CUPE 4047 (Toronto-YYZ) and CUPE 4078 (Vancouver-YVR). The Air Transat Component oversees these three local unions.

CUPE is Canada's largest airline union. In addition to its Air Transat members, CUPE represents nearly 10,000 flight attendants at carriers including Air Canada, Sunwing, CanJet, Calm Air, Canadian North, First Air and Cathay Pacific, as well as ground agents at Porter Airlines in Ottawa.

CUPE is the largest union in Canada with 627,000 members working in health, education, municipalities, libraries, universities, social services, public utilities, urban and air transport, emergency services and communications.

SOURCE: Canadian Union of Public Employees (FTQ)
For further information:

Peter Buzzell, president of the Air Transat Component, mobile: 514 293-5124
or
Sébastien Goulet, CUPE Communications, mobile: 438 882-3756

[TopperHarley]

We haven't voted yet, not sure when it will be. Not sure about the mechanics either.

[AvJet]

The mechanics held a ballot in YYZ and YUL three weeks ago - don't know whether it was an authorisation vote or a vote on a concrete proposal like the F/As - and never heard the result.

[hogster330]

FAs have voted in Favour of concessions in support of Air Transat operating a Narrow Body Fleet!!

[confusedalot]

all of the elements are confirmed. transat goes with the in house narrowbodies, canjet pulls back and does adhoc work with a few planes.

soon to be unemployed canjet personnel start jumping ship, pilots go to the sunwing tui group clan among other places. because sunwing now has no choice but to avoid foreign contract pilots. and sunwing keeps growing.

canjet has one year to go to fulfill the transat contract. with less pilots, they have to hire...........foreign contract pilots to fulfill the remaining year of the contract.........just to keep the lift going. or maybe not, if foreigners are no longer allowed.

how many people do you know will go to work knowing that they will be out of work in a year? a few, but not many.

now what?

[Wheels]

all of the elements are confirmed. transat goes with the in house narrowbodies, canjet pulls back and does adhoc work with a few planes.

soon to be unemployed canjet personnel start jumping ship, pilots go to the sunwing tui group clan among other places. because sunwing now has no choice but to avoid foreign contract pilots. and sunwing keeps growing.

canjet has one year to go to fulfill the transat contract. with less pilots, they have to hire...........foreign contract pilots to fulfill the remaining year of the contract.........just to keep the lift going. or maybe not, if foreigners are no longer allowed.

how many people do you know will go to work knowing that they will be out of work in a year? a few, but not many.

now what?

Nothing has been confirmed yet.

[YHZGOOSE]

all of the elements are confirmed. transat goes with the in house narrowbodies, canjet pulls back and does adhoc work with a few planes.

Not so fast.

Where's the publication that says all the elements have been confirmed?

There's a trick ending to this story. You will see soon enough.

[fivemoreminutes]

YHZGOOSE... Oh don't spoil the ending quite yet... Insert suspense music here!

[60N30W]

all of the elements are confirmed. transat goes with the in house narrowbodies, canjet pulls back and does adhoc work with a few planes.

Not so fast.

Where's the publication that says all the elements have been confirmed?

There's a trick ending to this story. You will see soon enough.

YHZGOOSE,

Care to elaborate a little more about this trick ending?

No one but a few select employees ( upper managers) who have offices on the third floor at TSC know what is going on for sure. Everyone else is just guessing.

Regards,

[YHZGOOSE]

all of the elements are confirmed. transat goes with the in house narrowbodies, canjet pulls back and does adhoc work with a few planes.

Not so fast.

Where's the publication that says all the elements have been confirmed?

There's a trick ending to this story. You will see soon enough.

YHZGOOSE,

Care to elaborate a little more about this trick ending?

No one but a few select employees ( upper managers) who have offices on the third floor at TSC know what is going on for sure. Everyone else is just guessing.

Regards,

You hit the nail on the head with your comment above, and I was being a tad sarcastic citing trick ending. Nothing has been confirmed. We can all vote with our perspective unions but ultimately the powers that be in upper management get the final say. No point hitting the panic button or even believing any of the heresay because it's all speculation to date. No one knows. We will see soon enough.
Regards

[TopperHarley]

I heard through a friend that CJ is trying to "re-negotiate" their final offer to AT; however, at the TS pilot meeting, management told us that the offer from CJ was the final offer and that the company would not try to pit one group against the other in order to get the cheapest deal. It was going to be CJ's "final offer" or done at AT if all groups agreed to concessions.

[AvJet]

Any further info out there ?

Meanwhile, Transat has hired external advisers to help study whether to add narrow-body aircraft to its own fleet or continue to subcontract to Nova Scotia-based Canjet or another operator.
A decision is expected within weeks, a year before the deal with Canjet expires April 30, 2014.
Transat has won non-salary concessions from its employees if it decides to lease its own aircraft. Air Transat's more than 1,700 flight attendants recently agreed to some $9-million in non-wage concessions to help it meet increasing competition in the holiday travel industry.
A key element will see the number of attendants on A330 airliners reduced to 10 from 11. The concessions by the flight attendants, pilots and others are part of moved by Transat to trim $20 million in annual operating costs.
Eustache wouldn't say if he prefers to move the fleet in-house but denied that he was using concessions to extract a better deal from Canjet.
"I'm not using my employees to deal with Canjet or Canjet to deal with my employees," he added.
Transat expects its second quarter results will be better than last year, when its net loss totalled $13.2 million and it posted a $26.2 million operating loss.
Eustache said Transat will make money this year.
"If we aren't profitable, they will kick out the president with reason and replace him," he said. "For sure, we will be profitable this year unless there is a catalytic problem I can't foresee."



Transat vows to turn profit this year, concerned about Rouge plans for Europe


The Canadian Press /
March 14, 2013






MONTREAL - Transat's chief executive says he's focused on returning to profitability this year but is concerned about the long-term impact on its key European business from additional competition by Air Canada's new low-cost carrier.
"For me, a year from now is a long time. I'm more concerned to have a good winter and a good summer to put Transat back in the black," said Jean-Marc Eustache Thursday after the tour company's annual meeting.
Eustache said he's not too concerned about Air Canada's (TSX:AC.B) plans to shift 29 narrow body A319s to sun destinations by the end of 2014 because they already operate to the Caribbean and Mexico. But the country's largest airline plans to shift 13 Boeing 767 wide bodies to its new carrier, Air Canada Rouge, after taking delivery of Boeing 787s does present challenges.
"For the big aircraft, the 767, we are very concerned about that for sure because like the president (Calin Rovinescu) said, he's going to go after Air Transat," said Eustache. "He said that very clearly he was going after our market so for sure I'm concerned about that."
Still, Eustache said Transat (TSX:TRZ.B) has faced competition on the lucrative summer routes to Europe before, pointing to a series of carriers like Nationair, Canada 3000 and Royal that have folded.
He added that recent upgrades to Air Transat's planes and possible new routes will help it compete with Rouge.
Meanwhile, Transat has hired external advisers to help study whether to add narrow-body aircraft to its own fleet or continue to subcontract to Nova Scotia-based Canjet or another operator.
A decision is expected within weeks, a year before the deal with Canjet expires April 30, 2014.
Transat has won non-salary concessions from its employees if it decides to lease its own aircraft. Air Transat's more than 1,700 flight attendants recently agreed to some $9-million in non-wage concessions to help it meet increasing competition in the holiday travel industry.
A key element will see the number of attendants on A330 airliners reduced to 10 from 11. The concessions by the flight attendants, pilots and others are part of moved by Transat to trim $20 million in annual operating costs.
Eustache wouldn't say if he prefers to move the fleet in-house but denied that he was using concessions to extract a better deal from Canjet.
"I'm not using my employees to deal with Canjet or Canjet to deal with my employees," he added.
Transat expects its second quarter results will be better than last year, when its net loss totalled $13.2 million and it posted a $26.2 million operating loss.
Eustache said Transat will make money this year.
"If we aren't profitable, they will kick out the president with reason and replace him," he said. "For sure, we will be profitable this year unless there is a catalytic problem I can't foresee."
Earlier, Transat reported a big improvement in its first-quarter results but the vacation tour operator remained mired in red ink as its revenue declined on reduced capacity.
The Montreal-based operator of Air Transat said its net loss for the three months ended Jan. 31 was $15.1 million or 39 cents per share on a diluted basis.
That almost halved its net loss of $29.5 million or 77 cents per share in the same fiscal 2012 period.
Revenue slid to $805.7 million from $829.3 million, down $23.6 million or 2.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, the company reported an adjusted after-tax loss of $21.6 million or 56 cents per share in the quarter, compared with $29.9 million or 79 cents in 2012.
Analysts had expected an adjusted loss of 48 cents per share, excluding a positive impact from fuel hedging activities
Ben Vendittelli of Laurentian Bank Securities said Transat's improved performance is offset by the company's mixed outlook.
"Transat’s improvement was below expectations (and the) outlook remains muddled," he wrote in a report. "Transat’s improved year-over-year performance, though slightly below our expectations, was driven by good capacity management and higher pricing."
Transat has cut its capacity to sun destinations in the seasonally strong second quarter by 10 per cent, while load factors are lower and pricing is higher.
Transat A.T. is an integrated international tour operator that offers package holidays to more than 60 destinations in some 50 countries, but operates mainly in Canada and Europe as well as the Caribbean, Mexico and the Mediterranean.
On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Transat's shares lost 38 cents, or nearly six per cent, at $5.89 in Thursday afternoon trading.

[YHZGOOSE]

How many airline executives from Air Transat does it take to screw in a light bulb? I don’t know – better hire external advisors and see what’s cost effective!

What external advisor is going to advise Air Transat to bring in a new aircraft type, crew, maintenance, manuals, and facilities when they are pushing the panic button over Rouge? Transat should be signing the CanJet contract with golden ink because CanJet is cheaper period. Over and out.

[rudder]

How many airline executives from Air Transat does it take to screw in a light bulb? I don’t know – better hire external advisors and see what’s cost effective!

What external advisor is going to advise Air Transat to bring in a new aircraft type, crew, maintenance, manuals, and facilities when they are pushing the panic button over Rouge? Transat should be signing the CanJet contract with golden ink because CanJet is cheaper period. Over and out.

Perhaps Groupe Transat are more interested in a different model. Or perhaps there is an operator willing to underbid CanJet if the work is put out to tender. In either case, the reality for CJ employees is that there are no long term employment guarantees when your employer's business is bidding on subcontracted ACMI work from a single source.

Regardless, insulting the IQ of the ultimate decision makers will not endear CJ to JME. And he certainly seems like someone who does take things personally.

[YHZGOOSE]

How many airline executives from Air Transat does it take to screw in a light bulb? I don’t know – better hire external advisors and see what’s cost effective!

What external advisor is going to advise Air Transat to bring in a new aircraft type, crew, maintenance, manuals, and facilities when they are pushing the panic button over Rouge? Transat should be signing the CanJet contract with golden ink because CanJet is cheaper period. Over and out.

Perhaps Groupe Transat are more interested in a different model. Or perhaps there is an operator willing to underbid CanJet if the work is put out to tender. In either case, the reality for CJ employees is that there are no long term employment guarantees when your employer's business is bidding on subcontracted ACMI work from a single source.

Regardless, insulting the IQ of the ultimate decision makers will not endear CJ to JME. And he certainly seems like someone who does take things personally.

Lectures on realities of CJ employees or wrist slapping about my opinions are not going to get a rise from me. I know what realities are bud, I've done the time, and no airline employee, no matter scheduled or charter is immune to job alterations.

Underbid CanJet? Ok think what you want, but in case you didn't get the memo, it's been affirmed no one did. If you think perhaps Transat are more interested in a different model, you might be right. Maybe they are interested in CanJet.

[rudder]

Underbid CanJet? Ok think what you want, but in case you didn't get the memo, it's been affirmed no one did. If you think perhaps Transat are more interested in a different model, you might be right. Maybe they are interested in CanJet.

You seem to be ignoring that there is a bigger picture for Groupe Transat. The narrowbody lift is just one piece of the puzzle and represents merely a fraction of the overall costs of their many businesses. If Groupe Transat can leverage the situation to achieve cost reductions across the board at airTransat, then it could potentially justify a marginally higher than CJ expense to operate the narrowbody lift using airTransat in exchange for a gross expense reduction that CJ alone is incapable of offering within its limited role.

Jazz did not lose the TC work because they were underbid, they lost the work because TC wanted a different model and WJ was capable of bringing much more to the table in terms of risk sharing. There may certainly be parallels here with Groupe Transat and airTransat not the least of which is that there is no imperative for airTransat to be profitable given the consolidated financials with the holding company from which they derive 100% of their revenue.

Like it or not, CJ is now just a spectator until Groupe Transat decides which way that it wants to go. Having said that, assuming responsibility for a seasonal narrowbody fleet may be more financial risk than Groupe Transat is willing to take. That is of course assuming that Groupe Transat is only looking at a seasonal operation. Perhaps Groupe Transat will look to the domestic market to create a year round use for some or all of the narrowbody fleet. And that may be the reason to retain external advisors. Or to figure out where to sub out the lift and flight crews in the off season.

In any case, the answer should be known soon unless CJ is willing to give Groupe Transat an extension on the renewal decision deadline.