This comes from FlyI employees on other IBBs. Link to one thread
I feel bad for the employees, though hopefully most knew it was coming.
I feel bad for the employees, though hopefully most knew it was coming.
FlyI employees get furlough notices
- Thread starter whlinder
- Start date
Seems like the notices might vary by market. Some have a January 9th date on them. Any idea how this is possible? Doesn't seem like a systemwide shutdown can be done this way.
And why are they still selling seats in late Jan.06 if this is a systemwide shutdown?
Well, they've got to come up with the money for the executives final bonusses somehow, don't they?
B/c without the cash inflow from those sales, they would have to shut the doors sooner (i.e. right now), I would assume. Yes...it would appear that they are just trying to keep the cash registers churning for a few more days. I don't think that Skeen has been big on wise decisions or ethics all along so why change now?
Good luck to all that are employed by or directly affected by FLYI. I hope that those last paychecks come through for you all. I will miss seeing those blue spots out in LAS. Take care and God Bless!
Kev3188
Veteran
I'll second that.
So much for this quote:
Basically, the sun will come up tomorrow. It will be “business as usual†at Independence Air.
From today's Washington Post
Flyi Tells Workers It Could Close Jan. 7
Airline Has Been Hunting for Investor
By Keith L. Alexander and Bill Brubaker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, December 29, 2005; Page D01
Flyi Inc, the parent company of Independence Air, will cease operating Jan. 7 if it is unable to find a major investor or buyer, the airline said in a letter received by its employees this week.
In the letter to its unionized workers, including pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, the Dulles-based airline said that without "significant external investment," it would stop flying in 10 days and lay off workers at all of its locations from Jan. 7 to Jan. 21.
Flyi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. At that time, the financially struggling carrier said it was searching for a major investor, and absent that would sell off its assets.
Independence Air facing end
From staff, wire reports
Thursday December 29, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Flyi Inc, the parent company of Independence Air, will cease operating Jan. 7 if it is unable to find a major investor or buyer, the airline said in a letter received by its employees this week.
In the letter to its unionized workers, including pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, the Dulles, Va.-based airline said that without "significant external investment," it would stop flying in 10 days, and lay off workers at all of its locations between Jan. 7 and Jan. 21.
Flyi filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 7. At that time, the financially struggling carrier said it was searching for a major investor, and absent that would sell off its assets.
The airline mailed the letter to comply with labor agreements requiring it to serve notice of intent to furlough its workers. The carrier employs 2,800 people.
Despite the letter, Independence spokesman Rick DeLisi said the airline's fate was far from sealed and that the carrier still had a "number of ongoing discussions" and was still "exploring" a number of options.
"No definitive decision has been made," he said. DeLisi declined to comment further.
Independence Air is the first low-fare carrier to serve West Virginia. The airline serves Charleston's Yeager Airport with three round-trip flights daily to Washington Dulles.
Since it began serving Yeager Airport in July 2004, Independence Air has saved Charleston travelers about $25 million, Yeager Airport Director Rick Atkinson said last month.
Atkinson said today he believes there's still hope the airline will find a buyer or investor, although "It's not the best of situations and I'm not overly optimistic that it is going to work out for them."
If Independence Air ceases operations, "it will have a significant impact on air travel in West Virginia," Atkinson said. "The market has responded very well to a low-fare carrier. It stimulated traffic substantially, especially to Washington, D.C."
Atkinson said that if Independence Air ceases operations, he hopes this region's travelers will still be able to enjoy everyday low fares as US Airways continues to restructure as a low-cost airline and Delta emerges from bankruptcy with a simpler fare system.
US Airways and Delta both serve Yeager Airport through affiliated carriers.
Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper said today he hopes the airline does not quit flying "but it appears that's where it is headed."
"Interestingly enough, they actually turned a profit, as I understand it, in November and December," Carper said. Even so, "it looks dismal."
Carper has said something must be done. He said he has been in contact with the governor's office and the state's congressional delegation.
When you look around the country, bringing a low-cost carrier in here was remarkable, especially after 9/11. Low-cost carriers depress costs across the board. The amount of money saved here is incredible. It's in the millions. It would be foolish not to try to bring in another low-cost carrier. That will take time.
"We'll be calling on other carriers not to inflate prices just because they can," he said.
Independence Air pilot Patrick Devney, who has worked for Flyi and its predecessor, Atlantic Coast Airlines, since the company was formed in the late 1980s, received his furlough letter by regular mail on Tuesday.
"I lost my mother on Dec. 11, so I had been dealing with that," said Devney, who lives in Jefferson, Md. "I was anticipating this letter, but it's still kind of stressful."
Devney, who said he earns a minimum of $9,000 a month as an Airbus captain, is making plans for another job. But it may not be in the airline industry.
"The problem is I'm 47 years old and I have 13 years left to fly legally, before mandatory retirement," he said. "But when an airline goes bye-bye your seniority usually doesn't transfer with it. We have guys who are 58 years old and will have to take a 60- to 70-percent pay cut if they want to start all over at another airline."
Meanwhile, the airline continued to accept advance bookings from travelers for as far out as April.
Michael Boyd, an analyst at the Denver-based consulting firm the Boyd Group, said it was unlikely Independence would find a buyer that would be willing to keep the airline afloat. Instead, Boyd said it was more likely that any potential investors would purchase some of the airline's assets.
"There is no future when you send a letter like this out to your employees. This is basically a cadaver they're trying to breathe life into," Boyd said. Boyd said travelers should use caution in purchasing tickets on the carrier -- at least until the airline announces its plans.
However if Independence folds, travelers holding tickets could redeem them on competing airlines for a fee of $50 each way through next Nov. 30. That provision was part of a statute created by Congress to protect consumers following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Flyi has received at least two bids for its assets -- one from its former longtime partner, UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, the other from Mesa Air Group Inc., a Phoenix-based regional carrier that tried to acquire Flyi two years ago.
From 1989 to 2004 Flyi -- then known as Atlantic Coast Airlines Holding Co. -- operated as a feeder carrier for United, the nation's second largest airline.
Flyi has been tangling with United since the larger carrier filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2002, then sought to renegotiate its deal with Atlantic Coast. The two companies didn't come to terms, and Flyi reinvented itself as a low-cost carrier in June 2004.
In a claim filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago, where United's case is being heard, Flyi is seeking $1.28 billion from UAL -- profits Flyi says it lost because UAL terminated its contract.
Bankruptcy court judge Eugene Wedoff recently reduced the maximum amount Flyi could claim to $500 million. On Tuesday, Flyi appealed Wedoff's ruling.
From staff, wire reports
Thursday December 29, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Flyi Inc, the parent company of Independence Air, will cease operating Jan. 7 if it is unable to find a major investor or buyer, the airline said in a letter received by its employees this week.
In the letter to its unionized workers, including pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, the Dulles, Va.-based airline said that without "significant external investment," it would stop flying in 10 days, and lay off workers at all of its locations between Jan. 7 and Jan. 21.
Flyi filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 7. At that time, the financially struggling carrier said it was searching for a major investor, and absent that would sell off its assets.
The airline mailed the letter to comply with labor agreements requiring it to serve notice of intent to furlough its workers. The carrier employs 2,800 people.
Despite the letter, Independence spokesman Rick DeLisi said the airline's fate was far from sealed and that the carrier still had a "number of ongoing discussions" and was still "exploring" a number of options.
"No definitive decision has been made," he said. DeLisi declined to comment further.
Independence Air is the first low-fare carrier to serve West Virginia. The airline serves Charleston's Yeager Airport with three round-trip flights daily to Washington Dulles.
Since it began serving Yeager Airport in July 2004, Independence Air has saved Charleston travelers about $25 million, Yeager Airport Director Rick Atkinson said last month.
Atkinson said today he believes there's still hope the airline will find a buyer or investor, although "It's not the best of situations and I'm not overly optimistic that it is going to work out for them."
If Independence Air ceases operations, "it will have a significant impact on air travel in West Virginia," Atkinson said. "The market has responded very well to a low-fare carrier. It stimulated traffic substantially, especially to Washington, D.C."
Atkinson said that if Independence Air ceases operations, he hopes this region's travelers will still be able to enjoy everyday low fares as US Airways continues to restructure as a low-cost airline and Delta emerges from bankruptcy with a simpler fare system.
US Airways and Delta both serve Yeager Airport through affiliated carriers.
Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper said today he hopes the airline does not quit flying "but it appears that's where it is headed."
"Interestingly enough, they actually turned a profit, as I understand it, in November and December," Carper said. Even so, "it looks dismal."
Carper has said something must be done. He said he has been in contact with the governor's office and the state's congressional delegation.
When you look around the country, bringing a low-cost carrier in here was remarkable, especially after 9/11. Low-cost carriers depress costs across the board. The amount of money saved here is incredible. It's in the millions. It would be foolish not to try to bring in another low-cost carrier. That will take time.
"We'll be calling on other carriers not to inflate prices just because they can," he said.
Independence Air pilot Patrick Devney, who has worked for Flyi and its predecessor, Atlantic Coast Airlines, since the company was formed in the late 1980s, received his furlough letter by regular mail on Tuesday.
"I lost my mother on Dec. 11, so I had been dealing with that," said Devney, who lives in Jefferson, Md. "I was anticipating this letter, but it's still kind of stressful."
Devney, who said he earns a minimum of $9,000 a month as an Airbus captain, is making plans for another job. But it may not be in the airline industry.
"The problem is I'm 47 years old and I have 13 years left to fly legally, before mandatory retirement," he said. "But when an airline goes bye-bye your seniority usually doesn't transfer with it. We have guys who are 58 years old and will have to take a 60- to 70-percent pay cut if they want to start all over at another airline."
Meanwhile, the airline continued to accept advance bookings from travelers for as far out as April.
Michael Boyd, an analyst at the Denver-based consulting firm the Boyd Group, said it was unlikely Independence would find a buyer that would be willing to keep the airline afloat. Instead, Boyd said it was more likely that any potential investors would purchase some of the airline's assets.
"There is no future when you send a letter like this out to your employees. This is basically a cadaver they're trying to breathe life into," Boyd said. Boyd said travelers should use caution in purchasing tickets on the carrier -- at least until the airline announces its plans.
However if Independence folds, travelers holding tickets could redeem them on competing airlines for a fee of $50 each way through next Nov. 30. That provision was part of a statute created by Congress to protect consumers following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Flyi has received at least two bids for its assets -- one from its former longtime partner, UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, the other from Mesa Air Group Inc., a Phoenix-based regional carrier that tried to acquire Flyi two years ago.
From 1989 to 2004 Flyi -- then known as Atlantic Coast Airlines Holding Co. -- operated as a feeder carrier for United, the nation's second largest airline.
Flyi has been tangling with United since the larger carrier filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2002, then sought to renegotiate its deal with Atlantic Coast. The two companies didn't come to terms, and Flyi reinvented itself as a low-cost carrier in June 2004.
In a claim filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago, where United's case is being heard, Flyi is seeking $1.28 billion from UAL -- profits Flyi says it lost because UAL terminated its contract.
Bankruptcy court judge Eugene Wedoff recently reduced the maximum amount Flyi could claim to $500 million. On Tuesday, Flyi appealed Wedoff's ruling.
Okay, this could be part of FLYI's problem, mind you a very small part, but if you are paying an Airbus pilot a minumum of $9000 a month, WOW! Jetblue and Southwest have been in business longer and they don't pay their newer pilots anywhere near that amount. $108,000 a year as starting salary for an Airbus pilot is a litlle excessive in my opinion. Like I said it is a very small, small, small part of the problem, but I can see how bigger issues could evolve. just my thoughts..............
Yeah...I just can't figure out why the HIGH cost, LOW fare concept hasn't taken off!!
Chalk Indy's woes up to pride...that of Kerry Skeen refusing to do what was right for his employees and investors. I hope he is taken to court for this one because he has robbed many people of their investments (shareholders) and much worse...their livlihoods (employees).
I hope that all you independence people go through this rough time, i hope that you and your families find jobs after this, some people say yeay ! our competitor/rival is closing down, but then that also means the loss of everyones livelihood and paycheck. I remember at this same exact time last year, US airways was facing shudown anyday, and every newspaper in the nation said to stick a fork into them, well look today, we are merged with AWA, and out of bankruptcy and we ar ordering 20 brand spanking new A350s
now what
and hope you guys go through
i wish the best for you and all your families
now what
and hope you guys go through
i wish the best for you and all your families
All the best to the rank and file workers at Independence.....many the New Year be positive. And as far as your Management (Skeen & Co.) hope they don't get lost hooking up with the Legion of B*st*rds that managed to drive US/UA/DL/NW into the ground at the expense of their workers all in the realm of EGO. They should fit in , their address H-E-L-L!
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