Demise of Northern Dene

bush pilot · Post by **bush pilot** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 10:44 am

Northern Dene Airway's and all it's asset's have now been taken over by Transwest. My sympathy goes out to all the employee's at Dene and hope that Transwest can find a place to put each one of them. It was a hard fought loss, however luck or shall I say a lack of luck played a large role in Norcan/Northern Dene's demise. Good luck to all!

Nightshiftzombie · Post by **Nightshiftzombie** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 3:33 pm

So how many types of A/C does that add to the mix at Transwest? As I recall they already are operating about 20 different types.

BeaconInbound · Post by **BeaconInbound** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 6:46 pm

All they are going to get are a bunch of dilapitated PA31's. What sickens me is no provision has been made for the employees in terms of possible employment. All they were told is to send a resume to Father D. and he would forward it on to TW. All the planes are heading south tonight and no provision has been made for any remaining staff to get out of there. On the surface it appears they aren't giving anyone a chance to gather their belongings and hop on a flight. These people worked very hard and kept them afloat. Is it really necessary to screw them one more time? Couldn't they have offered a means out? If the Websters bother to read any of these posts, you should be ashamed of yourselves for how you've handled this and what you are doing to those people who gave so much of themselves to make your money.

Nark · Post by **Nark** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 11:14 pm

The Websters sicken me.
I wish a speedy recovery in finding employment to those pilots, and rampies still left there.
I'd love to know where all the money that NDA earned went to? As they did earn a bit during my tenure there.

Tackleberry.
Semper Fidelis.

KAG · Post by **KAG** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 12:25 am

Jesus anotherone folds....this is not a good start to the year.
I hope those effected find work soon.

Cheers.

neverfail · Post by **neverfail** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:15 am

This is great and bad. NDA had what appeared to be the worlds worst fleet, and I'm happy to see that those planes are no longer in the sky. The unprofessional manner of the crew also leaves certain things that wont be missed. WWA guys come into YKC with nice shirts and ties while they would stroll in with gizz stained cover-alls. WTF?

However these were not all the employees and I wish most of them luck.

BTW DW did this to himself. Leave maintenance to the side and the industry will leave you to the side.

Jet Dog · Post by **Jet Dog** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:25 am

did a short stint there a few yrs ago, saw the writting on the wall then, I was then surprised when they started the metro run, now not so surprised

. However, most of the pilots there were a good group, same with mgmt, minus the W bros.

Big_Daddy_B · Post by **Big_Daddy_B** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 4:33 pm

Hey neverfail. What the hell is your problem. For once I want to log onto this site and read a thread where someone hasn't posted a comment that was targeted at guys from another company. Esspecially one that has just gone under. All the guys from NDA are great guys and besides TWA and Curtasy don't always look like they are in Armani suits when they are at the mines. It is called working up north! So why don't you keep your anger towards other to yourself. Or maybe try getting laid once in a while it eases the mind.

The Slug · Post by **The Slug** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 4:48 pm

Hey Big Daddy B,
I'm guessing that Neverfail is just trolling - he can't possibly mean those things, and it just smells of someone looking to rile others up. All the companies in Sask are staffed by a vast majority of good people.
I knew things weren't good for NDA when the supply of firewood at YSF started to dwindle. All the best to you NDA folks as you try to move on from this DW-induced collapse.

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 5:29 pm

neverfail wrote:WWA guys come into YKC with nice shirts and ties while they would stroll in with gizz stained cover-alls. WTF?

I shit on your nice shirts and ties.

neverfail · Post by **neverfail** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 5:40 pm

Daddy B,
Sorry it took me so long to write back I was just getting laid

Big_Daddy_B wrote: It is called working up north!

What I think that you should start doing is stop making excuses for goegraphical location, and start a proffessional career. Start with a company shirt and a pair of pants.

FL30 · Post by **FL30** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:10 pm

Neverfail,.......(neverfail to be a shithead)

It is kinda hard to roll fuel barrells out of Navajo's, and into trucks with a fuckin tie on! We'd end up at the mine with dirty, and I guess in your case Jizz stained shirts at the mine anyways. I could see a guy like you have a Jizz stained shirt, cuz you sound like the type that would suck cock all day, and never wipe down. From the sounds of it,.. everyone is quite disapointed that NDA was sold, to TWA, and wished that it never happened. The mine guys enjoyed the services and the friendships between the pilots, and it made the ride to the mines comfortable, and enjoyable. That's my two bits,.. so far

neverfail · Post by **neverfail** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:35 pm

That was the problem with NDA you probably shouldn't be rolling oil barrrels out of the plane one minute and then carrying PAX the next. If you have time to put the seats in then you sure as shit have time to pull off the coveralls

As far as the mine guys "enjoying" the service I don't know how much they enjoyed flying around in the airplanes that were the joke of all northern Canada.

As far as everyone being disapointed???

Any company that has pilots that do/did flybys of trucks and hit them with the gear, leaving the wheel in the truck, we should not be disapointed they are gone. Celebrate it. PA31's are a dime a dozen, clean up and go get a new job on one. No big deal.

bush pilot · Post by **bush pilot** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:29 pm

That was the problem with NDA you probably shouldn't be rolling oil barrrels out of the plane one minute and then carrying PAX the next

Even though we fly ho's it is still a bush operation, therefore we will do freight hauls/fuel hauls etc.

If you have time to put the seats in then you sure as shit have time to pull off the coveralls

Did you know that if you end up ditching or crashing, the only thing you have is what you are wearing. So I say let the suave WWA and Courtesy guy's wear their nice leather jackets, ties, and dress shoes, I would love to see who would servive in -30 me or them. I would gladly wear my jizz stained thermal pants.

The unprofessional manner of the crew also leaves certain things that wont be missed

All the guy's I flew with were very professional, and as for myself, I would like to think that I have a high level of professionalism.

NDA had what appeared to be the worlds worst fleet, and I'm happy to see that those planes are no longer in the sky

So the paint schemes did not match. I never flew a plane with pax's that I thought was not airworthy.

And last but not least neverfail

you are a complete ass!

BeaconInbound · Post by **BeaconInbound** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:58 pm

Well said, bush...I'd take thermals over a tie any day in this environment. Sure, we'd all like to wear the pretty clothes, but it's just not practical.

neverfail:

As I've said in another thread, trash the company all you want, but it's no different than any other company to a 200 hour pilot. So, the paint didn't match and the pilots dressed for the work environment. Your criticism is misplaced. Do you think you could step off the '47 flightdeck you must obviously be sitting your royal ass on long enough to appreciate what we have to do to get ahead in this industry? Don't you remember your humble beginnings?

The really sad part about the NDA closure is that nobody really got to say goodbye to each other. The announcement was made Sunday and the planes were heading South later on that day. Imagine waking up one day and your entire family is gone.

Criticize the business practises, but don't criticize the pilots..they worked their asses off to get ahead. And, even some worked their asses off and never saw the inside of a plane.

. . · Post by **. .** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 11:47 pm

Anyone who's done 45 gal drums or real northern freight knows it's not a shirt and tie affair. Sometimes there's barely time to reconfigure the plane let alone rip home to change into a shirt and tie before the next flight. Though the carharts may not be the most professional looking they sure are functional. Perhaps a flightsuit would have been a workable middle ground.

neverfail · Post by **neverfail** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:38 am

the only thing you have is what you are wearing.

Good for you, at least have some uniformity, how about carrying on something warm, you don't see people wearing survival kits on their laps in the plane that often. This is not a pilot problem, this is a management problem, they should never have let their company image screwed over by poor looking airplanes and poorly dressed pilots.

All the guy's I flew with were very professional, and as for myself, I would like to think that I have a high level of professionalism.

Professionalism is not just what you do but the image you project.

It's not like we need to worry about this anymore anyway!

The Slug · Post by **The Slug** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:45 am

Hey Bushpilot,
I think you're right that survivability is important, but projecting a professional image goes a long way. Survival sense and professionalism are not mutually exclusive. Northern Sask. is not the only hostile environment for flying, and yet airline pilots, government pilots, etc. manage to look like pros and dress for the weather.
Just my two cents.

Slug

BeaconInbound · Post by **BeaconInbound** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:32 pm

I think we all agree that it's better to look professional than like a slob, but let me clarify something. When you work at NDA as a pilot, you aren't just flying. Many times I've seen the guys get off the plane or even before a flight have to load and unload the sched, stoke the infamous boiler, or do some dirty task that just ruins clothing. You are working all the time doing everything. It's not like other companies where you can just walk from the terminal to the plane and back again..sans dirt and grease. Looking professional is important, but being professional it the most important of all.

neverfail · Post by **neverfail** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:55 pm

why did they not succed then?

If pilots were dispathcers, rampies, maintenace, lumberjacks, refuelers and furnace stokers.

That is 7 for the price of one, actually in this case 7 for the price of what half of what a pilot should make. Why didn't they succeed? Probably because the W were making cash hand over fist of peoples backs. Its good they are gone. Hopefully never to be seen again.

BeaconInbound · Post by **BeaconInbound** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 8:25 am

I agree with your statement about the company making money. However, it is unclear whether Norcan's insurance woes carried over to NDA or not. NDA was a money maker. Especially since they saved a shitload on salaries.

As I've said in previous posts and in other threads, I'm not at all happy to see so many people lose their jobs and be left to figure out how they are getting all their belongings and themselves out of the North. DW did not make any provisions for employment or travel. He just left them stranded. Luckily, most people hopped on a 'ho when they were heading out, but there are still a few stuck in the North. I understand that TWA has generously offered to ship their belongings free of charge, but this offer was made by TWA itself after hearing that people were stuck. I'm not sure if they offered travel for the employees.

Sulako · Post by **Sulako** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:03 am

If there are still people stuck in the north because of the company's sudden shutdown, I would hope Transwest could see their way to donating a few standbye tickets to those folks if the situation was explained directly to an upper management person. And by 'explained' I mean polite grovelling, but it's better than spending a thousand bucks to get to Saskatoon.

//NDA class of 97/98

BeaconInbound · Post by **BeaconInbound** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 7:40 am

Well, it has come to my attention that Transwest has kindly agreed to allow NDAers to traval non-rev out of the North along with all their stuff. Pretty nice of 'em, wha?

margaritaville · Post by **margaritaville** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 4:46 pm

First of all, my regards to those that lost their jobs.
Neverfail, I don't get it?? Do you know how these guys live? I'm sure that ironing the Polo shirt and Dockers is a priority when it's -30 ish. Better put bars on to go haul water or chop wood. Come on...most of the clientel signed their names with an 'X'...I don't think attire is an issue.

M