Monarch airlines collapse

[Frosty149]

So Monarch have gone into administration stranding 110,000 passengers abroad and canceling around 300,000 bookings.
Time to check on your holiday/business flights planned? Hope nobody here is affected, but with those numbers?

 

[LostKiwi]

At least Ryanair might get a few pilots to cover their foul up....

 

[Frosty149]

https://monarch.caa.co.uk/

Good point LK^^

But who'd want to work for them....

 

[Frosty149]

Maybe time to start a pilot and flight crew agency?

(I thought of it first!)

 

[A.J.]

A bit like the Chandeliers in Only Fools and Horses, we are waiting for one to drop and the other one goes down

 

[keefysher]

Preferred Monarch to Bl00dy Awful (BA), at least Monarch got you and your baggage together.

Another victim of the race to the bottom, won't be the last.

Watched the administrator from KPMG (who will get paid handsomely, first) try to put a brave face on. It's appropriate to tell people in person that they have no job, no outstanding pay, no redundancy, sweet fa; but come in today so we can tell you in case you weren't awake at 04:00 when we sent you a ta ta text / email / watts app / face ache message.

But they'll be alright according to Grayling the Transport Sec as the other race to the bottom airlines all fighting for over subscribed routes to Spain will take you on, jobs aplenty.

 

[Frosty149]

Indications of a short haul bubble bursting maybe?

 

[ZZZZ]

Indications of a short haul bubble bursting maybe?

I did wonder, once or twice, how sustainable the business model was ...

 

[LostKiwi]

I suspect the fall in the £ vs the € won't have helped matters. Overseas holidays are quite a bit more expensive this year compared to last and I suspect more people have stayed in the UK as a result.

 

[LostKiwi]

Maybe time to start a pilot and flight crew agency?

(I thought of it first!)

Zero hours contracts....?

 

[ajlsl600]

i stop flying ,for work purposes in about six months, cant wait.... 40 yrs of hearing ,we hope you enjoyed yr flight ,i cant remember doing that since i was about 5 yr old. i will try to tour of much of europe as i can without going near a commercial aircraft ...

 

[Frosty149]

Zero hours contracts....?

If that's what suits all parties...

As a freelancer I have to make those choices, if the circumstances work for me, it's a no-brainer.

 

[Craiglxviii]

I suspect the fall in the £ vs the € won't have helped matters. Overseas holidays are quite a bit more expensive this year compared to last and I suspect more people have stayed in the UK as a result.

It's £/$ in this case...fuel costs (single biggest operating expense) have increased 20%.

 

[LostKiwi]

It's £/$ in this case...fuel costs (single biggest operating expense) have increased 20%.

Probably a mix of both then

 

[Craiglxviii]

Probably a mix of both then

Yup, costs go up and revenue down. Which is indicative of a very tight unadaptable business plan.

 

[ajlsl600]

did the fares go down when fuel was at an all time low a while back.... my ferry costs did not. i now pay one way what i sometimes payed to go both ways only a few yrs ago. i understand market forces. i just use it less now .simples

 

[davemercedes]

Interesting point - there's an article on the Beeb that goes into a lot of the reasons they failed. I think it's quite a shame because I thought as a passenger on a few occasions that they seemed to be one of the better charter companies.

On the Brexit front one or two people keep saying that export companies are doing "great" to which I have three responses
1) it's because we're all subsidising them with whatever we buy 2) it ain't quite true - the real figures from the ONS show we missed that boat while Germany increased exports more than we did, although one or two companies may have done well and 3) it seems that it's only by their prices dropping that they became competitive so they can't be very competitive otherwise.

And that's borne out by the analysis - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41466722 : -

Cause:
- Falling revenues and rising costs, says Blair Nimmo of the airline's administrator, KPMG.
- Many of the big costs of running Monarch, such as fuel and handling charges, are denominated in dollars.
- But the £ has fallen about 10% against the $ since the Brexit vote, meaning the airline is having to pay more to buy its fuel.
- At the same time, Monarch's sales have fallen due to increased competition.
- "Prices have been depressed for some time," says Mr Nimmo.
- "To give an example of that, the company flew 14% more passengers last year, but for £100m less revenue."

Is a short-term benefit for export worth that business and others failing and 2100 jobs going?

 

[coxyhog]

Air Berlin( Germany's second largest airline)went bust in August,only kept afloat due to a loan from the German government.
Don't think you can blame that on Brexit.

 

[Frosty149]

My experiences with Monarch are limited to long haul, I found them at best mediocre, but they were cheaper than most.
I always thought the airlines, like shipping companies operated a fuel and currency bunkering system to try to level out fuel and currency disparities so far as possible?
I realise that ultimately costs affect ticket prices and sales, but all the operators are in the same market? In heavy competition the weakest will fail. Of course that's of no compensation to the those employees, who have my sympathy.

 

[davemercedes]

Air Berlin were already in trouble a year ago. They blamed the crash on Etihad pulling money out.

They put a massive restructuring plan in place last Autumn - rented 38 aircraft with crew to Lufthansa and slashed 1,200 jobs - one in seven of its workforce. But during the restructuring, it was hit by a series of flight cancellations and severe delays, leading to a flood of complaints.

The last bit sounds horrible familiar!