Skyward

[Flying Newf]

Today was the day! Did they fly or are they going under? Hope for the employees' sake that they are up and running!

[shitdisturber]

They didn't, stick a fork in em, they're done.

[mooseport]

shitdisturber is about right
Not sure if you just have a mental problem or a really bad sense of humor either way what the point?
Seems you have none

While it may seem a little grim for our skyward friends- don't count them out just yet. My money is on a slimmer version- Frank dosen't give up anything that easy- his shortcommings in safety management maybe exposed but don't count out his furocious buisness apetite.

So seems they aren't going today- and seems some staff will be permenantly laid off (in a slim version)- give it a little more time yet I say-theres hope for some of them.

PS kudos to the CP- sounds like hes been working hard with his pilots to keep them in the loop and giving them all the support he can. Bit of a bright star in all the dark maybe

[Jr.wrench]

you say that they did not fly, my birdy tells me that the big contract charter is still running. who's pilots and aircraft?? and is any of this crap written in this place have any truth?? i know that you are going to say that i am one to talk with my "little birdy" comemnts and stuff, but really, isn't it all speculation?? waiting for the CBC press release.

[Schlem]

Frank dosen't give up anything that easy- his shortcommings in safety management maybe exposed but don't count out his furocious buisness apetite.

No shit!

Tried to get into international medevac work... crashed and burned.

Tried to steal the medevac work from Keewatin Air, who pioneered it, in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut... failed.

Trying to grab business from Calm Air with B1900's south and Perimeter into Island Lake and places in the area.

Tried to steal the medevac...er patient transfer work in NW Ontario... succeeded.

Tried to steal the charter work to Sanikiluaq from Keewatin Air, who originated this service.. failed miserabley.

Fighting off Perimeter for northern Manitoba medevacs.

Now fighting to fly period... I wonder what's next!

[capt.]

ok, transport did the inspection and parked a couple of aircraft.
so what the heck is this all about, did tc ground em, or is it that they just don't have the work that they are parking voluntarily?
Sounds weird use to hear them on the radio all the time

[Northern Flyer]

Go to their web site and read their public notice.

[shitdisturber]

shitdisturber is about right
Not sure if you just have a mental problem or a really bad sense of humor either way what the point?
Seems you have none

What's my point? I thought it was relatively clear but I guess to some it wasn't clear enough They had an announced date to restart; it's come and gone with nothing but a notice saying in effect, "we can't do it at this time we'll let you know." Since there's no longer an attempt at a new date it should be pretty obvious it's not going to happen.

Before someone starts babbling that I've got an axe to grind with Skyward and I must be from Perimeter or something ridiculous like that, save your breath. I don't have an axe to grind, don't work in Mb; just pass through once in a while. I hope those at Skyward find other work, but reading between the lines of Skyward's communique tells me the company isn't long for this world.

[Dr evil]

Skyward had its Oc and AMO pulled (i mean literally pulled off the walls and out of the frames) on Jan 31 @ 1830. This makes 16 days with no revenue. Since Jan 31 they've come out with 2 or 3 different start up dates and so far nothing. I work at Skyward and until now I have been fairly optimistic, my optimism wanes now.
I don't see how an airline of skywards size can go much longer with no cash coming in. Staff morale ( at this point upper management) and the will to keep fighting must also have its limits aswelll.

Yeah hats off to the CP he has taken care to keep all his pilots informed.

[TROWL]

Dr. Evil, sorry to hear this happened to you. Best of luck. Have a few beers, I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya

[Corporate Pilot]

I don't see how an airline of skywards size can go much longer with no cash coming in. Staff morale ( at this point upper management) and the will to keep fighting must also have its limits aswell.

Bingo!

Staff morale actually has little to do with it. Staff comes and goes. Staff just want their paycheck - they are not finicky about where it comes from and they rarely "look back" as they head out the door. There will always be "staff".

The key issues are CASH and the OWNER's will to keep fighting.

16 days without cash flow is nothing that air operators across the country have not experienced (for many different reasons - weather, accidents, market conditions, TC audits, etc., etc.)!

Aviation has a habit of sucking up cash faster than you could ever imagine. Income or no income, flying or no flying, the airport authority wants its rent, the banks want their interest, the insurance companies want their premiums, the aircraft and equipment leasing companies want their payments. You can't keep phones hooked up on promises. Utilities like heat and light are merciless.

So while the owners/management are doing their little dance for Transport, they must also keep their creditors at bay. If they can't do that, and just one creditor get nervous and pulls a pin, the entire exercise becomes moot. Domino effect takes over and an avalanche will follow and bury them.

That is the critical part. Do the owners have the balls, the stamina, the credit AND the faith to keep shovelling personal resources into the fire?

That is the breaking point to watch out for!

[No more BS]

Everybody seems to forget that there is STILL income from the Shell FBO fuel sales(and other charges)...

Cheers

[Doc]

That was kind of my feelings from the start of this thing. If an airline goes bankrupt, they can, and often do, run under "receivership". So, in a case like this, could a company run under "supervision" by Transport Canada.....like the "bankrupt", the "supervised" could continue to operate and maintain a cash flow until whatever happens, happens. Maybe a little outside the scope of aviation in Canada? Perhaps.

[therubberjungle]

I'm truly pleased to share this forum with so many experts...

From the sounds of things, many of you have started and maintained successful aviation companies...yeah, right! I call BS!

Most, but not all of you, are talking out of your asses. I have started an aviation company (flying school and charter) that's still running after nine years, so I'm pretty sure I have a reasonable handle on things; unlike some of the uninformed opinions and conjecture I see posted re Skyward. If you haven't actually done it (started, owned, and/or ran a flying outfit), then how valid is your opinion? Answer honestly.

How many of you work or have worked for the company? How many of you are privy to Frank B's business plan? From the sounds of things many of you talk policy with him on a daily basis!

Don't confuse opinion with fact... way too much of that around here.

What kind of company is Skyward? Pretty good when I worked there four years ago, but hey: things change and I can only assume that things are status quo. Can anyone who presently works there comment on this?

As for the mud-slinging: I guess it's true that in aviation we eat our own. Skyward is enduring this session with transport and, from what I'm told by credible sources, will emerge with any-and-all concerns addressed to resume business as usual.

Keep in mind that there are companies in operation, right now, which are far more likely than Skyward to auger a plane into the ground. Look at their safety record: how many fatal crashes have they had? None.

Let's keep things above the belt.

Cheers

[Glen Quagmire]

Rubber Jungle, your post from the throne wasn't quite as impressive as you might have hoped. Here is why

You discredit what everyone has posted based on the fact that no one has owned/run their own airline. That statement alone would mean no analyst, expert, critic etc knows anything, the Wall Street advisor is "talking out of his ass" because he has never run a publicly traded company. See what I mean ?

You state no one has any facts, just opinions, yet you say it in the form of an opinion, or is that a fact? See the double standard

You claim that Skyward was a good company without citing why it is a good company, that seems like an opinion to me. although I thought you were running your flight school/charter company for the past 9 years, couldn't have been very successful if you were working at Skyward as well, I realize that that is an unfactual opinion and I apologize

This quote is interesting "Skyward is enduring this session with transport and, from what I'm told by credible sources, will emerge with any-and-all concerns addressed to resume business as usual". Perhaps all concerns will be addressed but it will hardly be business as usual. That is a very naive statement considering the airline is approaching 3 weeks of no revenue and a customer relations nightmare. The cancelled start up date, coupled with the now ambiguous return to service date is a sign of a company in a state of confusion, I am sure they don't honestly know if and when they will be back and in what capacity.

Finally you suggest that there are many more companies that are likely to crash than Skyward, then you state the fact (which was stated in the memo from skyward to customers and nursing stations) that they have never had a fatal accident. I am sure you were trying to make Skyward look good or at least on par with most carriers but in that you failed miserably. The first statement is easily seen as ridiculous, the equivalent of consoling yourself for not being the worst. Then the no fatal accident claim, which is true, but doesn't address the key issue, are they safe? Crashing but not killing anyone isn't something to be prouf of.

Here are a few facts about the company which may shed some light on their circumstances.

They did lose their OC, and Medevac licence and AMO. DOM resigned. Four of their six AME's in YTH have quit and are at Calm Air. Bandits may never fly again,

Have already sold one of their 1900's

Manitoba Goverment will not fly with them.

They do not pay bills or run long overdue on most payments. Souces:

-Standard Aero does not touch their engines, or if they do it is cash up front only
-Canadian Propeller does not touch their props
-Cal's Cab in The Pas will not transport their flight nurses
-Perimeter will only do work on their Garrett's on a cash up front basis

And the list goes on. Quote from a Skyward executive when Canadian Propeller flew to Thompson to try and collect some money from outstanding accounts "I have built my business on the backs of people like you". Now I am not sure what was said to make that statement come out but that is a fairly clear admission that Skyward tries to widen it's margins by not paying bills, not a healthy business practice.

Most issues they are having surround areas of "cutting corners" to improve the bottom line, that being improper paperwork for imported parts, improper training practices etc. All things that originate from the top i.e. managerial problems

In no way am I being critical of the guys and girls who work there, I know many. The reason this is frustrating is that those people are now left to wonder if they still have jobs, due to some dubious "cost-cutting" techniques by upper management

[CClub]

They do not pay bills or run long overdue on most payments

No big surprise. Every company I've ever worked for, non-aviation included, it has been the classic game of seeing how long you can go without paying, but still get people to pay you as fast as they can.

Doesn't seem right, or very honest, but that's how a lot of businesses are run.

[Wally3Wheels]

Not sure how long these 1900's have been for sale, but C-FSKT (UE-11), C-FSKO (UE-9) and C-FSKQ (UE-361) all registered to Skyward are on the market at buyaplane.com.

http://aviationclassifieds.com/index2.php?a=5&b=191

[Dockjock]

Wow those are some early serial numbers.

[JBI]

...

[Disco Stu]

How will getting rid of the 1900s affect their hydro contract? That is pretty big news. No 1900s, heard the other day that the bandits are done as well. Now just the caravans, conquests, king airs and piston junk?

Probably be a few people out of work with 4 1900s and 3 bandits being toast.

[J.P.WISER]

[quote]
They did lose their OC, and Medevac licence and AMO. DOM resigned. Four of their six AME's in YTH have quit and are at Calm Air. Bandits may never fly again,

One has to wander who's gonna be left to come back to work if there loosing people like this, T.C. must have a number of requiered engineers to aircraft operated. It wouldn't be to easy to get new engineers to come to a company that may not have any future. They may have more problems(ie staff, pilots and engineers) if they get thru all their other problems. They must have had more than six engineers or mabey that was one of the T.C. findings.

[TROWL]

I had always expected that it would be the Canadian Human Rights Commission who would ultimatly shut the company down.

[snag]

I can't help but notice that only 3 of the 4 1900's are being sold. These aircraft were a cash sink for the company. You just could not load up enough pop and chips in that small cargo bin I guess. Could 1900 #4 be part of the new "leaner" Skyward, being the dedicated YWG-YTH aircraft, where the civilized folks have limited baggage?

S.

[Corporate Pilot]

I can't help but notice that only 3 of the 4 1900's are being sold.

Glen Quagmire says above that one of the 1900s has ALREADY been sold ... that leaves the three listed.

How many and which tail numbers are still on the ramp?

If the Embraers and 1900s are gone, they haven't much left:

• C-GTLF Beech 100
  C-FSKO Beech 1900D Click for For Sale Ad
  C-FSKT Beech 1900D Click for For Sale Ad
  C-GSKY Beech 1900D
  C-GSKQ Beech 1900D Click for For Sale Ad
  C-FLTS Beech A100
  C-FSKA Beech A100
  C-GLHP Cessna 414
  C-FSKG Cessna 441
  C-FSKC Cessna 441
  C-GSKH Cessna 441
  C-GGRB Cessna 207A
  C-FSKX Cessna 208B
  C-FSKF Cessna 208B
  C-FSKS Cessna 208B
  C-GSJP Cessna 310R
  C-GSRL Cessna 402B
  C-GINR Cessna 402C
  C-FGMO Cessna 421C
  C-GYWQ Cessna U206G
  C-GSKD Embraer EMB-110P1
  C-FSKJ Embraer EMB-110P1
  C-FSKR Embraer EMB-110P1
  C-FSKL Embraer EMB-110P1

[Kosiw]

How many pilots got pinks slips??