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By: - 30th September 2001 at 07:18 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
New update
Last update : sunday morning 8:14 am
Sabena pilots are still on strike. Sabena leased four airliners with cabine and cockpit crew to make sure that some flights will not be cancelled. Yesterday at least 1/3 and probably 1/2 of all flights were cancelled, and even more retarded.
On the other hand, the pilots are getting more support from the cabine-crew, since we all know that the famous "Business-plan" is there to safe Swissair, not Sabena.
I don't know how much longer Sabena can hold this strike on, it costs them € 10,7 million for each day. If this goes on, sabena will be the first airlinecompany that goes banckrupt since the WTC-disaster. Analysts say that this could be before the end of next week.
Geforce - "Teamwork is essential. It gives the enemy other people to shoot at."
By: - 30th September 2001 at 11:22 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: New update
I suppose it happens like in IB. Most personnel are used to think as they they did when airlines where monopolies and thought that goverments were going to solve all problems. If someone working for an airline, doesn´t love it, and doesn´t care risking it, deserve being fired immediately. Unfortunately I am affraid Sabena will disappear and a new Sabena will be born, and this wouldn´t be so bad at the end, because only the right people will be hired. A good example is Jet Blue....no one was fired and the personnel have agreed working for free¡ until the situation gets more stable and passengers come back to planes. Good example indeed. In many European Airlines (now private) is still too much statal thinking, trade unions tight control and selfish thinking.
By: - 1st October 2001 at 09:39 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: New update
Most of Sabena's flights into Manchester have been cancelled, with only one operating on Saturday. I thought their problems were more or less sorted. I had two fantastic flights with this super airline in September, and I would be gutted if they ceased operations. I was planning to fly long haul with them sometime in the future as well.
By: - 1st October 2001 at 17:20 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: New update
GeForce,
Sabena would not be the first airline to go bust after the WTC disaster-Gill Airways from NCL have already gone bust after the tragedy.
Regards Scott
By: - 1st October 2001 at 18:22 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: Sabena : end of days
Update, Monday 1st october
Swissair has asked the Swiss government for banckrupty protection. This means SR is not able to pay the € 250 million for Sabena this month. Without this money, Sabena will not survive the end of next month.
Corti (president SR group) said that his first concers are to save Swissair, not Sabena. 2/3 of the Swissair fleet will be integrated in Crossair, the only devision of SR which still makes profit. I still wait to see the reaction of the Belgian government, if they are going to sue Sr again, it might be possible that we will never see the money.
Geforce - "Teamwork is essential. It gives the enemy other people to shoot at."
By: - 1st October 2001 at 18:29 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: New update
Sabena will only focus on continental routes in the future, comet. Sabena already stopped flying to DC and Japan, for good, because those routes are never fully booked, and they are losing millions of dollars with hose long hauls.
Geforce - "Teamwork is essential. It gives the enemy other people to shoot at."
By: - 1st October 2001 at 20:55 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: Sabena : end of days
there has been talk on radio in Basel of Basel City Council buying Crossair out of the SAir Group, as under the proposed merger of Swissair and Crossair (with the individual brands being kept) to Swiss Air Lines, the Focus would be on Zurich, and both Basel and Geneva would be neglected.
SAir are the ones that put this proposition forward, but no one seems to like it.
By: - 2nd October 2001 at 11:59 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: Sabena : end of days
got this from Yahoo.
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swissair Group said several of its planes had been impounded at European airports the day after two top Swiss banks salvaged the brand and most of the airline business from the troubled group but left its mountain of debt behind.
"It's not true that we're not flying anymore. We have problems with a few flights," a company spokesman said on Tuesday.
The group confirmed two of its planes had been impounded in London. "We have other planes that have been blocked in other countries in Europe," another spokesman said. He declined to say how many planes were affected, but said there were "several".
The spokesman declined to comment on Swissair's flight plans for the rest of the day. "At the moment we still have no decision about our operations" for the rest of Tuesday, he said.
While the struggling group put a brave face on its dramatic fall from grace, legal clouds gathered over its future as more Swissair planes risked being impounded by angry creditors. Suppliers could be reluctant to deliver fuel, change tyres or unload planes without advance payment, experts said.
A spokesman for Exxon in Britain, which runs the fuel pool for Swissair planes in Zurich, declined to comment.
Banks UBS and Credit Suisse on Monday salvaged the bulk of Swissair's airline operations and will combine them with regional carrier Crossair after taking over Swissair Group's 70 percent stake in the smaller airline as part of a 1.4 billion Swiss franc (538 million pounds) rescue operation.
But the rest of Swissair Group was left to file for creditor protection, and thousands of jobs will be lost in the debt-laden and loss-making group's collapse following the September 11 airliner attacks in the United States that have caused a sharp drop in global air traffic.
Afraid for its planes, Swissair halted flights to Brussels on Tuesday out of fears of a repeat action by employees at Sabena, which earlier this year grounded one of the company's jets in an attempt to force Swissair to pay up as 49.5 percent shareholder in the Belgian airline for its own rescue plan.
Swissair Group Chairman Mario Corti told Belgium's Prime Minister on Monday that fresh cash due for Sabena would not be paid. That could spell the end for Sabena, which Swissair jointly owns with the Belgium government.
Brussels responded immediately, threatening legal action against Swissair and possibly UBS and Credit Suisse.
"Special attention will now go to legal action that will have to be undertaken against Swissair, Crossair, and possibly the banks, which are a part of this whole situation," Belgian Public Enterprises Minister Rik Daems told reporters.
Swissair Group also suspended payments to charter group LTU in Germany, and will not honour outstanding obligations to former partners Air Littoral and Air Liberte in France.
A SHRUNKEN FLAG-CARRIER
Helped by the banks's cash infusion, Basel-based Crossair is designed to become the nation's new, more nimble, flag carrier.
But thousands of Swissair employees, once proud to be working at the Alpine nation's most visible economic symbols around the world, could be laid off within days.
"It will be very quick," a spokesman said.
The application for creditor protection for parts of the group was to be submitted to a Swiss court later on Tuesday.
Swissair had been pushed close to the brink by a collapse in air travel in the wake of the September 11 attacks with hijacked aircraft in the United States. The group had already struggled with huge debts and record losses, incurred largely by a failed foreign expansion strategy over recent years.
Swissair Group had a record loss of 2.9 billion Swiss francs last year and its debts were last reported to stand at around 17 billion Swiss francs, against wafer-thin shareholders funds of a mere 555 million.
"New Crossair" Chief Executive Andre Dose said the combined fleet would be cut by 24 aircraft, or about a sixth, but the internationally strong Swissair brand would continue to exist and would likely be used on the group's remaining intercontinental routes.
The name would be used next to the brand of Crossair, founded in 1979 by ex-Swissair pilot Moritz Suter, now chairman of the board.
A spokeswoman for Kuoni, Switzerland's biggest travel group, said the company was at the moment keeping a neutral stance and said it was up to clients whether they wanted to fly Swissair.
Swissair and Crossair shares remained suspended through Tuesday. "We believe Swissair Group shares effectively look worthless," U.S. investment house Merrill Lynch said in a research note released on Tuesday.
Swissair Group's abrupt fall from the country's corporate elite is set to be felt throughout the small nation's economy.
Zurich's Unique airport, the country's busiest hub, said on Tuesday the troubles at Swissair are set to hurt its business in the short- and medium term but insisted that its existence should not be endangered.
By: - 2nd October 2001 at 15:34 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: Sabena : end of days
Swissair have temporarily suspended all flights.
By: - 2nd October 2001 at 18:37 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: Sabena : end of days
Sabena had to take over all flights to and from Zurich. Now that's partnership.
The Swiss government is giving money to help Swissair for fuel and stuff. Our gov would like to help Sabena in the same way, but since Belgium is a member of the EU, everything first has to go through the European parlement. By that time, Sabena will already be a chapter in our history schoolbooks.
Geforce - "Teamwork is essential. It gives the enemy other people to shoot at."
By: - 4th October 2001 at 08:46 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: Sabena : end of days
If Sabena do go, I will have to fly to Belgium with VLM from London City to Antwerp. I could never patronise the ferry or the train.
On our TV news it said yesterday that Sabena had already gone, then on text news it said they were seeking bankrupcy protection and were continuing to fly as normal. Certainly flights into the UK from Brussels and Antwerp are operating normally. I am keeping a regular eye on things with them as my future travel plans will be chaos if they go.
PS Are they still keeping the Brussels to Boston flight?
By: - 4th October 2001 at 18:28 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: Sabena : end of days
LAST EDITED ON 04-10-01 AT 06:30 PM (GMT)[p]City Bird - another Belgian airline - is already banckrupt. Though they asked for banckrupty protection in the beginning of the week, the judge announced it would be impossible to survive. CityBird said it would have had enough money ... at least to survive tomorrow.
Sabena is still waiting to see what the judge is going to say. Our gov. will hold any Swissair plane on the ground. That's why all SAir flights to Brussel have been cancelled.
The flight Brussels-Boston does not have a bright future ... too expensive, no profits at all. This will probably be the first flight to be stopped, together with the flights to Tokyo and DC.
Geforce - "Teamwork is essential. It gives the enemy other people to shoot at."
By: - 7th October 2001 at 11:52 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Update 7 september
According to the BCA (Belgian Cockpit association), the Belgian government knew damn well what was going on with Swissair. When Swissair struck off the Johannesburg flights of Sabena's long haul list (in favour of their own flights), The BeGov could have taken action, but they didn't want to participate in the daily routine of the Airline. BCA says it's obvious that the government wanted to get rid of Sabena, by giving more credits to SAir. "Guy Verhofstadt and Rik Daems (prime minister and minister of public enterprises) are also responsable for sabena's condition", said BCA spokesman Filip van Rossem earlier today on TV. They are two liberals, and they actually want to privatise most of the public enterprises. BCA has sued Sabena and the BeGov. Sabena has to pay the BCA about € 2500 a day for each document they try to keep secret.
The BCA wants to make a new Sabena, in which the pilots would become the main stockholder (BCA itself), like with United Airlines. They say it is the only way to save Sabena. Because even if Sabena will survive, SAir will always have those 49,5 % stocks, and BCA is afraid they will make the same faults again.
Geforce - "Teamwork is essential. It gives the enemy other people to shoot at."
By: - 7th October 2001 at 11:57 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Sabena gets protection
Sabena gets protection
October 5, 2001 Posted: 1127 GMT
LONDON (CNN) -- Belgium's struggling flag carrier Sabena won court protection from its creditors on Friday, giving it valuable time to restructure its business.
The carrier applied to the Brussels court for protection after its parent Swissair, which ran out of cash to keep its planes flying, broke a promise to inject some badly needed cash. Sabena has until November to put its house in order.
Sabena received 125 million from the Belgian government to keep flying, create a new airline and save as many of its 12,000 employees as possible. The government owns 50.5 percent of the airline, while Swissair owns the remainder.
The Swiss government on Wednesday gave Swissair enough money to operate until October 28. Swissair will then hand over about 70 percent of its airline operations to its low-cost carrier Crossair, which has been bought by Switzerland's two biggest banks.
European airlines, already suffering from slowing global economy, were hurt financially after the September 11 terror attacks, as travellers canceled plans to fly.
Many carriers have resorted to slashing jobs; Europe's biggest airline British Airways cut more than 7,000 posts, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines axed 2,500 and Swissair eliminated 4,250 jobs.
But the decision by the Belgian and Swiss governments to offer state aid to their airlines could fall foul of the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union. The EC is opposed to governments offering any form of funding to any industry, as it breaches competition rules.
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair on Thursday made an official complaint to the European Commission, which has asked for details from governments. Ryanair and its rival Easyjet say that the airlines should cut costs and lower ticket prices to drive up passenger numbers.
To underline that point, Europe's second-biggest discount airline Easyjet said on Friday passenger numbers in September rose 27 percent.
Geforce - "Teamwork is essential. It gives the enemy other people to shoot at."
By: - 6th November 2001 at 18:11 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
last flight of Sabena
Today was the last flight of sabena, carrying the letters SN. Tomorrow, the council of representives will ask for banckrupty ... and ofcourse will get it.
This is an economic disaster for Belgium, but also a social and political problem. 10 000 people will lose their jobs and even more will follow (catering etc).
Sabena grounded as staff walk out
November 6, 2001 Posted: 1704 GMT
Sabena passengers were advised against turning up for flights
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BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Flights of Belgian airline Sabena were suspended on Tuesday as staff walked out over fears of impending bankruptcy.
There was chaos at Brussels' Zaventem national airport as staff abandoned check-in desks, stranding hundreds of passengers.
The only known potential investor, British entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Express airline, said the last-ditch recovery plan for the Belgian flag carrier was unworkable.
Airport officials advised travellers not to come to Zaventem, where travellers queued in vain at deserted check-in desks for flights that would never take off.
"We call on Sabena passengers not to come to the airport. It won't do any good," Jan Van der Cruysse, spokesman for airport operator BIAC, said in a statement on TV and radio.
Employees in catering, cleaning, luggage and check-in started the wildcat actions as rumours grew that the company was closing, with scant hope that more than a fraction of the 12,000-strong staff would keep their jobs with any successor airline.
Amid heated scenes at the airport, Sabena -- which has debts of $2.1 billion -- was forced to cancel almost all flights in the afternoon though said they would resume later.
Arriving passengers faced long waits at baggage carousels as luggage handlers walked out.
The Sabena board was meeting with an announcement expected but there was a news blackout.
"The last flights of Sabena," headlined the daily La Libre Belgique.
The government -- 50.5 percent owners of one of Europe's oldest carriers -- was trying to work out a future with a viable Belgian-based carrier beyond the end of Sabena.
It sent extra police to the airport, wary of any attempt by disgruntled Sabena employees to sabotage operations or to seize planes.
The failure of Sabena -- nicknamed in the industry "Such A Bad Experience Never Again" -- would be a severe embarrassment to the Belgian government, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
"It's scandalous. No one knows what's going on," said Trui Weerts, 39, who said she had worked six years with Sabena at the check-in and reservations counters, according to Reuters.
Sabena and its co-parent Swissair, which owns 49.5 percent, were already in trouble before the September 11 hijacked jet attacks in the U.S. plunged the entire industry into crisis.
The unions met Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt on Tuesday on how to compensate the majority of the 12,000 workforce likely to lose their jobs.
"We are working very hard to take care of the social aspects. That is the main goal of the government," said Privatisation Minister Rik Daems.
Finance Minister Didier Reynders had to leave a meeting of his European Union colleagues to attend the meeting.
Bankruptcy would open the way for new investors to come in and build a slimmed-down version of the airline -- with much fewer staff -- centred primarily on European flights.
The airline and Belgian government have planned to transfer part of Sabena's assets to Delta Air Transport (DAT), one of Sabena's subsidiaries which would survive bankruptcy.
DAT currently employs 1,000 staff. It flew 37 percent of Sabena's European flights and carried 3.3 million passengers last year.
Sabena began transferring take-off and landing slots to DAT last week, a move which would increase DAT's staffing to 2,600.
Sabena also cut destinations -- 10 of its total of 85 this week -- to limit the risk of aircraft being impounded outside Belgium.
However, any revamped airline to emerge would need new investors -- now hard to find after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Virgin Express said on Tuesday it had been in talks with Sabena for months, yet it was unhappy with the plans for the creation of a successor airline.
"The plan would endanger the future of our personnel," said Virgin Express in a statement, but added that "talks are continuing."
On October 5, a Belgian court granted Sabena bankruptcy protection, giving management and the government until November 8 to come up with a rescue plan.
The filing followed the failure of co-owner Swissair, hit by its own cash crisis, to come through with a promised injection of $123 million in fresh capital.
Sabena was forced to seek the bankruptcy protection after reporting a loss of $122 million in the first half of 2001 -- $49.2 million more than the year before.
Over the past 25 years, the airline has lost more than $1.5 billion. It was known Sabena was fighting for survival with a board meeting and the publication of its business plan due this week.
Most analysts say that with $2.1 billion of debt which it is unable to service, the company had little option but to file for bankruptcy.
It would be the first European Union flagship airline to fail.
The European Commission had insisted that a one-month $113 million bridging loan the Belgian government gave Sabena in October must not be used for recapitalisation.
The EC said it was worried that a transfer of assets to DAT could amount to a hidden government subsidy.
"The rescue aid by its very nature is transitional aid," de Palacio said.
"The only thing it does is provide loans to enable the company to have the initial liquidity to overcome temporary difficulties with a view to submitting either a restructuring plan or a plan to wind up the company once and for all."
Winding up the company is what many rivals were hoping for.
Lufthansa, EasyJet and Ryanair were some of the groups critical of Sabena's aid, saying an unhealthy business should be allowed to fail.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary told CNN on Monday: "Commissioner de Palacio has done an outstanding job of finally telling these basket-case carriers in Europe, forget it, those days are over.
"Europe now belongs to those big carriers like BA, Lufthansa and Air France and the rapidly growing low fare carriers which are led by Ryanair."
Geforce - "Teamwork is essential. It gives the enemy other people to shoot at."
By: - 6th November 2001 at 19:59 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
It's the end...
LAST EDITED ON 06-11-01 AT 08:00 PM (GMT)[p]November 6, 2001 will be a black day for the belgian aviation...
One of the oldest airlines in the world ceased its activities. Our poor Sabena is banrupcy.
I also have to think to the poor workers, their families, and the subcontractors, because the 10000 employees aren't the only ones who will loose their jobs...
:'(
Frank
By: - 8th November 2001 at 10:07 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RE: It's the end...
Bloody typical that Lufthansa and Air France will survive, like everything else in the poxy EU, things are only allowed to continue if they suit the interests of the French and Germans. The dreadful no-frills airlines should crawl back into the second rate airports they operate from. DAT should have all the money it needs to succeed.
Posts: 3,671
By: Geforce - 28th September 2001 at 20:26
LAST EDITED ON 28-09-01 AT 08:28 PM (GMT)[p]The future for our belgian airlinecompany Sabena does not look so bright these days. In fact, the whole SR group risks of going banckrupt if they don't find new money ... and fast.
Sabena chairman Müller said that a strike of the sabena-personnel could literally kill the company. I also think a strike means the end for Sabena.
Still, The BCA (Belgian cockpit association) decided today not to fly and cancelled at least 1/3 of all Sabena flights (especially the ones in continenental Europe). There are about 500 pilots who are member of the BCA, but the majority of the groundcrew, cabinecrew and even other pilots, disagreed with BCA. The Belgian gov. tried to negotiate this morning with the BCA, but the outcome of this meeting was negative, the pilots will continue their strike today and tomorrow, risking the jobs of about 12.000 people. The catholic, socialist and liberal trade unions also disagreed with the BCA in their actions. In fact they called them "kamikaze-pilots", terrorists etc.
The BeGov is now talking with the EU in hope to get a permission to help Sabena financially, but as minister of transport Rik Daems said : the tax-payer does not like this idea, since both the Sabena management and trade unions will waste the money like they already did in the past.
First there was the blue sky-plan, than the business-plan. What will be next, the charity-plan?
Another - but smaller - airline-company, City Bird (also operates planes for Sabena) is also in deep #####! Still no outcome yet, but 'Thomas Cook' already announced it will not invest in City Bird (as they promised in July), because of the recession and the WTC-crisis in America. Same problems, though there's only the risk of losing 600 jobs.
Geforce - "Teamwork is essential. It gives the enemy other people to shoot at."