R2rho From Germany, joined Feb 2007, 2250 posts, RR: 1 Posted (3 years 5 months 3 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 4992 times:
Marsans Group has sold its agonizing airline to the Dutch businessman Arnold Leonora, owner of leasing company Air Transport Group, for a "symbolic" price. The airline will be owned 55% by a purpose-created Dutch holding company (to keep bilateral rights), and the rest by an "industrial partner".
Air Comet has debts of over 100 million euros, has not payed its employees for several months, and one of its flights was recently denied flight over Brazilian airspace due to not them not having payed the ATC fees.
This event marks the end of the adventures of Gonzalo Pascual and Gerardo Diaz Ferran (owners of the Marsans Group) in the airline industry, after having successfully achieved to bring down three airlines (JK, AR, and now A7). Should look great on their resumes.
Now the question is: will this Dutch group try to resurrect the airline (an ambitious and extremely difficult task with little guarantee of success), or will they just break it up and hand their airplanes over to Air Transport Group to lease them (the easiest way to go). A hawk called IB has been circling over the A7 A330s recently...
Burkhard From Germany, joined Nov 2006, 4249 posts, RR: 2 Reply 1, posted (3 years 5 months 3 weeks 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 4980 times:
Air Comet has some connections that really must make money. Their planes Madrid - Lima are always booked out - and if you cannot make profit with a fully booked A332 something is wrong with you. An independant operator Europe - South America is needed, or the legacies will increase prices.
MD11junkie From Argentina, joined May 2005, 3091 posts, RR: 60 Reply 2, posted (3 years 5 months 3 weeks 19 hours ago) and read 4625 times:
Quoting Burkhard (Reply 1): Air Comet has some connections that really must make money. Their planes Madrid - Lima are always booked out - and if you cannot make profit with a fully booked A332 something is wrong with you. An independant operator Europe - South America is needed, or the legacies will increase prices.
At 400-700 EUR fare rate in every sector they fly, it's the only thing they can do to keep up their crappy being. I doubt they can make a flight profitable with that.
I feel happy for the employees, not for the scum that has just, yet again, been let go of a problem without paying a dime of their own money.
Saludos,
There is no such thing as Boeing vs Airbus as the queen of the skies has three engines, winglets and the sweetest nose!
MD11junkie From Argentina, joined May 2005, 3091 posts, RR: 60 Reply 3, posted (3 years 5 months 3 weeks 19 hours ago) and read 4619 times:
Now, this is very interesting:
Workers deny that the company has communicated the transaction with Mr. Arnold Leonora has reached a successful ending.
Quote: Los trabajadores de Air Comet, que secundan este viernes la cuarta jornada de paros, negaron que la compañía se reuniera con los sindicatos para informarles de la venta de la aerolínea al grupo holandés Air Transport, propiedad del empresario Arnold Leonora, dedicado al alquiler, mantenimiento y venta de aviones.
LJ From Netherlands, joined Nov 1999, 4149 posts, RR: 1 Reply 5, posted (3 years 5 months 3 weeks 14 hours ago) and read 4307 times:
Quoting AirCanadaA330 (Reply 4): I wonder if the new owners will be able to turn a profit....or if Air Comet is doomed....
Maybe I not that well informed in the (Dutch) aviation industry anymore, but which airline has Mr. Leonora ran in the past? I think I know something about Dutch aviation and Dutch companies in general, but I´ve never heard about this guy, his companies nor anything he accomplished in the past.
MIgAiR54 From Spain, joined Jun 2007, 1279 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (3 years 5 months 3 weeks 11 hours ago) and read 4171 times:
I don´t know what are they going to do with A7, but I´m sure that they can´t do worse.
If they really have 100 millon debt, I think it´s more than difficult to survive.....
I really hope that they could turn the airline into something good, I have friends flying there, but the situation is very difficult.
Quoting Burkhard (Reply 1): An independant operator Europe - South America is needed, or the legacies will increase prices.
yes, it is, but we need a real airline with a real management......... these people above have the money and the contacts to do an airline, but I don´t know why they can´t do it work good..........where is the problem??? I don´t know.............
OP3000 From United States of America, joined Jun 2009, 1678 posts, RR: 2 Reply 7, posted (3 years 5 months 3 weeks 11 hours ago) and read 4152 times:
Quoting LJ (Reply 5): Maybe I not that well informed in the (Dutch) aviation industry anymore, but which airline has Mr. Leonora ran in the past? I think I know something about Dutch aviation and Dutch companies in general, but I´ve never heard about this guy, his companies nor anything he accomplished in the past.
He's not exactly SRB, but all those associated with Air Comet will gladly take any new owner over "G & G". But like the OP suggested - as a leasing company Air Transport Group has a viable exit strategy. If operating Air Comet is deemed unsustainable they will simply use the aircraft (which is probably what the valuation was based on) to lease out to other companies.
Ivo From Belgium, joined Sep 2000, 470 posts, RR: 1 Reply 10, posted (3 years 5 months 2 weeks 6 days ago) and read 3558 times:
The pilot union SEPLA and union UGT said that management have not confirmed any
take-over by Leonora (AGT)
According to Spanish newspaper "Expansion", Leonora will also take-over Astra from
Grupo Marsans. Astra is specialized in Aircraft leasing and owns the Air Comet
Airbus fleet.
Also in that deal : The Marsans order for 61 Airbus aircraft: 4 x A380, 10 x A350-900,
5 x A330-200, 12 x A319, 25 A320 and 5 A321.
He's not exactly SRB, but all those associated with Air Comet will gladly take any new owner over "G & G". But like the OP suggested - as a leasing company Air Transport Group has a viable exit strategy. If operating Air Comet is deemed unsustainable they will simply use the aircraft (which is probably what the valuation was based on) to lease out to other companies.
I already looked at their website, but it remains a mystery to me as to who he his, what his background is and how reliable he would be at running sucesfully an airline like Air Comet. The website contains no references of pas projects, and that for someone who says he works in aviation for the past 20 years. Any company who can fund 100mio should be more visible to the general public.. We have seen in the past (VG Airlines, Air Holland II § III) that there a lot of people out there who bring hope to people only to create more damage.
BTW ATG is not a Dutch company (nor is its parent), it´s incorporated in the US and the whole group has no link to The Netherlands
R2rho From Germany, joined Feb 2007, 2250 posts, RR: 1 Reply 12, posted (3 years 5 months 2 weeks 5 days 22 hours ago) and read 3450 times:
Quoting Burkhard (Reply 1): An independant operator Europe - South America is needed, or the legacies will increase prices.
Agree. But so far, the attempts at competing with IB have failed. Then again, Air Madrid was one of the worst examples of airline management ever; A7 was somewhat better but seems to be ending in a similar way... UX is the only serious airline competing, and runs a handful of routes that work well, but they are too small.
Quoting Ivo (Reply 10): Also in that deal : The Marsans order for 61 Airbus aircraft: 4 x A380, 10 x A350-900,
5 x A330-200, 12 x A319, 25 A320 and 5 A321.
What's the status on this deal anyway? Wasn't that being renegotiated after the nationalization of AR?
777klm From China, joined Apr 2005, 482 posts, RR: 1 Reply 13, posted (3 years 5 months 2 weeks 5 days 22 hours ago) and read 3398 times:
Quoting LJ (Reply 5):
Maybe I not that well informed in the (Dutch) aviation industry anymore, but which airline has Mr. Leonora ran in the past? I think I know something about Dutch aviation and Dutch companies in general, but I´ve never heard about this guy, his companies nor anything he accomplished in the past.
That's maybe because he is not from the Netherlands, but from the Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao)?
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