Air Transat sets stage for important announcements

[bmc]

You know teacher, that's the hardest part of it all. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of them. Honestly with no exageration.

[oldman]

So back to the original topic!

The way that I understand it, Air Transat is owned by Transat Group and operates under a contract to provide the wide bodied lift. Canjet operates under a similar contract with Transat Group, to provide the narrow bodied lift. No connection to Air Transat.
So Canjet has acguired a lot of experienced crews from Skyservice and Zoom plus some very experienced crews of their own. They also are operating under somewhat less mature employee contracts. What if their counter proposal to Transat Group were to include the wide bodied flying. I can see the pencils being pushed in down town Halifax right now! And of course they can always get crews from offshore!!!
This would provide Transat Tours a better playing field against AC Rouge and Sunwing, wouldn't you think?
And the race to the bottom continues!!!

[ahramin]

Air Transat is guaranteed 60% of the seats sold by TTC. I think a high percentage of that has to be widebody. TTC has no plans to get rid of Air Transat.

[oldman]

I did not know that, I guess that answers that.

[OceanGal]

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[Squid]

I think canjet is just getting too expensive... The usual airline cycle.
I heard a rumor that transat tried to buy canjet not too long ago, but uncle Kenny, made it too expensive...

Say hello to enerjet, or flair. I wouldn't put it past mr Morgan to "help" out. Maybe that's why he was in NYC raising a few bucks.... Or maybe just to do some more lcc trans cons....Time will tell.

[oldman]

Apparently not so, Canjet already beat out Enerjet and Flair's proposals. It's now up to Air Transat to come up with a better offer! We shall see!

[YHZGOOSE]

The current state of our pilot group now includes 3 other bases now in the 3 most expensive cities in the country and the contract that our MEC is presently negotiating should reflect that.
That is of course if we have jobs to negotiate for after our Transat contract runs out May 2014.
So what then? What if we can't get jobs at TS, AC or WJ? What if we are forced to take jobs at Sky Regional to keep from defaulting on our mortgages. Are you going to crap on me then? Be thankful for the fact that you were lucky enough to land a job at TS, AC and WJ but don't ever think that you are better than us because of it.
You never know in this industry, tomorrow you could be the bottom man on the rope.

TNCM OUT

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[TNCM]

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[OceanGal]

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[YHZGOOSE]

[YHZGOOSE]

Wow, why don't you tell us what you really think about your fellow Maritimers.
Although your post seems to be some what directed towards me I don't actually belong to the YHZ group. Sadly I have to agree with you on a few of your points but I don't think anyone knows for sure the outcome of the TS contract. Until We receive our last pay check anything is possible and the forecasted liquidation of Canjets fleet is just speculation.
Mind you I probably wouldn't turn down any half decent job offer right now.
But since this is the internet and we can speculate and say pretty much what ever we want to each other without consequence.... I wonder how 150 unemployed Canadian NG rated pilots would effect Sunwings ability to bring over contract pilots next season?

TNCM sorry if I came across at you. It wasn't aimed at you, I guess I went in one direction with the '' you's and thems''. So I'll start again and say that a lot of the issues stem from YHZ. Enough said. Too bad that a few have affected so many. But, it's not over till the fat lady sings. Cheers bud.

[Sky-Jet]

As painful as it is to hear, there is a lot of truth in Goose's posting.

I have to say it is a very sad state of affairs at Canjet and morale is in the pits right now. Management is also being very quiet which is not helping matters any. From being in the business for some time, I can say that Canjet appears to be a hybrid airline with an identity crisis; stuck in between a low-cost Westjet mantra & full-service airline. It is eating them from the inside out.

They really had a golden opportunity to make something of themselves with the Transat contract landing on their lap, and they royally messed it up. Personally I think they are too set in their ways, unwilling to change and evolve to survive and ultimately became victims of themselves over and over again. They do operate extremely inefficiently (as Goose has touched upon) with too much overhead for a single-fleet narrow body operation. The 757 program would have been a huge lifesaver for Canjet and opened the door to possibilities such as the Thomas Cook contract that is set to expire this year. Instead, there was too much infighting within the pilot (and even FA) group and the deal was kaiboshed...leaving them solely dependant on Transat for survival. Previous business models (ie Skyservice) show that sole tour-operator dependance is no way to run an airline, and will eventually fail.

IMP really has no incentive to see Canjet grow or succeed. The Transat contract fell on their lap because Transat really had no choice after the disaster they encountered with WestJet. Even so, there were major problems with CJ in the beginning and TS was ready to end the contract half way through but was not in a financial position to buy themselves out of yet another nightmare 737 contract after WJ. Although, credit must be given where it is due, and Canjet really did up their game to meet Transat's standards, it's a shame that it appears to have all been in vain and they are about to disappear once more.

IMP have proven in history, that when the going gets tough, they are quite happy to liquidate & shut down Canjet as they are preparing to do YET AGAIN. It is really sad because I have been with them for quite some time and can tell you that they are some of the most dedicated and hard-working people in the business. They take a licking and keep on ticking. It's just too bad that their company has no vision or desire to grow & prosper. (One F/O who was actually from YHZ suggested that it's not a real airline, but just a tax write-off for the Rowe family getting grants/kick-backs from Nova Scotia, and I think I agree. Just get ur hrs in & go). I repeatedly ask what their 5-10 year business outlook is at every meeting and have yet to recieve a proper answer that isn't clouded with corporate verbage.

Canjet should have diversified it's business by reinvesting in itself (perhaps started Canjet Vacations), or even more actively pursued adhoc & wet-leasing opportunities but...woulda shoulda coulda...I think they are happy taking the path of least resistance and selling out. It appears CJ blindly burned through Transat's cash expecting it would be around forever and now they are not renewing...(Big SURPRISE there!) So much potential that is wasted at Canjet but I tell ya...some damn good people are going to be looking for work and the companies that will get Canjetters in their ranks are going to be very lucky!

Just my two euro's on the matter

[monkey]

One would think that if Transat was going to get its own fleet of 737's they would hire most of the CanJet guys and not let them walk over to Sunwing/WestJet.

Still I have a hard time believing that Transat is going to stop the outsourcing, it must be cheaper than bringing it in house. Once its in house they can't play the groups against each other.

[TNCM]

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[Sky-Jet]

One would think that if Transat was going to get its own fleet of 737's they would hire most of the CanJet guys and not let them walk over to Sunwing/WestJet.

You are kidding right!?

SWG is very happy subbing work to foreigners..so much so that their entire summer 2013 is subbed to Corsair. They dont give a damn about who is in the UI line or serving lattes at Starbucks & what they are qualified to fly. They would sub their entire operation if they legally could! They are a cancer to the industry & decimating our profession. They may be "sitting pretty" right now, but their day too will come! They were days away from bankruptcy before Skyservice beat them to it & gave them the breathing room they desperately needed. Typical shelf-life of a (good) Canadian charter outfit is 10-15 years and they are already there.

[YHZGOOSE]

Isn't it amazing that as soon as this post was placed that
Gilles hasn't said a word. I guess he's waiting to see how this will affect the
pilots of Transat, oops, I mean all Canadian pilots.

You mean Gilles isn't on one of his exotic layovers? I'm with you on this AsheetMaDraws!

[Takeoff OK]

Isn't it amazing that as soon as this post was placed that
Gilles hasn't said a word. I guess he's waiting to see how this will affect the
pilots of Transat, oops, I mean all Canadian pilots.

You mean Gilles isn't on one of his exotic layovers? I'm with you on this AsheetMaDraws!

What exactly would you like Gilles to post here?

... I have a hard time believing that Transat is going to stop the outsourcing ... Once its in house they can't play the groups against each other.

That is very much what I'm thinking.

[OceanGal]

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[oldman]

57's were nixed by Transat Group' as too old and unreliable. Canjet had some picked out.

[Sky-Jet]

57's were nixed by Transat Group' as too old and unreliable. Canjet had some picked out.

So we were told but in actuality YHZ couldn't get their shit together to meet the deadlines set out by TS for securing aircraft and getting TC approvals. To make a long story short, we snoozed and we lost. Dont believe everything you read on company letter-head old man.

[ea306]

When you say that SWG have subbed out their entire program to Corsair...What would you have SWG do SKY-JET?

SunWing the airline is just a component of the overall business....much like a rail car. It's certainly not the engine. That would be the Tour Operator. Each facet of the business could be likened to rail car... And each component can be added or removed or exchanged to suit the needs of the tour operator.

Procuring some Widebody aircraft for the summer would be fun for pilots...but the costs for the tour operator would result in not being profitable. So say what you want... If SWG can be profiting by selling seats on another carrier, then so be it.

[YHZGOOSE]

YHZGOOSE


Nope.


That's not correct regarding the '57s. You don't know what your talking about.

YHZ base.......come on....you seriously think that has anything to do with this situation??

This whole situation is about the survival of Air Transat. Period.

The small minded mentality at YHZ base from the top brass to both front end and back end crews has caused the company to suffer financially. Wanting to hold on to the cushy little gig, refusing to move with the times becuase it would take a piece of their pie has left CJ holding nothing. Squandering money to placate a small group isn't good business sense and it's got CJ in the situation they are in now.

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[OceanGal]

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[oldman]

Well said OCEANGAL!