VLM Airlines news 2017

[tangolima]

Hello,

FYI Denim & SkyGreenland are bankrupt (declared 10JAN2017) so those are not ''part'' of it anymore.

Greetings,

[Inquirer]

Isn't it taking way to long to still be hoping for a relaunch?
Customer base is gone, planes are gone, partners are gone: what's still there to make use of, other than a name which isn't really well known outside Antwerp anyway?

[Shengenzone]

http://www.hln.be/regio/nieuws-uit-sint ... -a3056365/

The delay might be "communautair" ...
3 months SHS has waited and still no reply nor questions from FOD mobiliteit/ SPF mobilité to obtain their AOC.

[PttU]

http://www.hln.be/regio/nieuws-uit-sint ... -a3056365/

The delay might be "communautair" ...
3 months SHS has waited and still no reply nor questions from FOD mobiliteit/ SPF mobilité to obtain their AOC.

But on the other hand:

Slovenian registration of VLM Airlines:

http://bizi.si/VLM-AIRLINES-D-D/

They say they can't do anything but wait, but on the other hand there's a "Slovenian VLM". What's holding them from using that "Slovenian VLM" to start operations? Or do they also need a Belgian AOC to fly from ANR/OST as a Slovenian company?

[jan_olieslagers]

The delay might be "communautair"

Hm, why seek politics in this? My term would be "administrative" - those who want to see politics at work could take that for a euphemism
We must admit: our nice civil servants do not get such a request to handle very often, it is not surprising they are taking their time

[sn26567]

The delay might be "communautair" ...

... or it may just be the quality of the dossier!

[jan_olieslagers]

Made in China!

[crew1990]

Made in China!

This is VLM not CLM, made in China...? Not only...

[lumumba]

The delay might be "communautair" ...

... or it may just be the quality of the dossier!

HLN can not use this argument without any proof so it's looks it's again a north south war what a poor country....

[Inquirer]

But why would it be communitarian? Because there's a V in their name? I doubt it has much to do with that.
The application file itself may indeed look a bit too weak, something many have pointed out here before too.
Besides, that other start up aiming at China, Air Belgium (this one probably has the right name then, according to the theory) doesn't seem like being approved overnight either, or do I miss something?

[crew1990]

I think it has nothing to be with communitarism, but we have 2 start up coming in the same time, VLM with a flemish identity and Air Belgium having the head quarter in wallonia and French speaking management.

There will be a fight with those 2 airlines anyway

[korvo]

Déjà-vu: Birdy/VG-airlines
I wouldn't be surprised.

[Boavida]

I think it has nothing to be with communitarism, but we have 2 start up coming in the same time, VLM with a flemish identity and Air Belgium having the head quarter in wallonia and French speaking management.

There will be a fight with those 2 airlines anyway

At this point, things look better for Air Belgium... I wonder which airline will be the survivor in the end...

I don't want to believe that 'communitarism'/politics have anything to do with it, but looking at the past I cannot exclude it. Remember how the combination Sabena-KLM was blocked by French-speaking politics (and even the royals)... Result: KLM is alive and kicking, Sabena is no more... I hope they learned their lesson.

[saratoga]

Does the slovenian thing perhaps have to do with the fact they want to register their aircraft with a S5-registration??

I dont see VLM taking off. Very pessimistic here.

[Passenger]

http://www.hln.be/regio/nieuws-uit-sin ... -a3056365/

The fact that it's an article in Het Laatste Nieuws seems to be enough, for some, to conclude that it's not true / not possible. Whilst actually the article is based upon quotes from two people who know very good how things in Belgian aviation work: Yves Panneels (ex Sabena ex Virgin Express) and Marcel Buelens (Egis). The third person mentionned in the article, the spokesman for the Belgian Department of Transport, remains polite but didn't want to answer the question: "FOD Mobiliteit is karig met commentaar', the journo writes.

The spokesman from Mobility says that the SHS file may be incomplete. "But they don't tell us what is wrong or what is missing", Yves Panneels replies. Think he's right.

The last paragraph of the article, the journalist writes that the delay may be politically motivated. By delaying the approval for operations from a Flemish airport, the responsible minister François Bellot (MR) makes it easier for Air Belgium, planning the same kind of business out of a Walloon airport.

HLN:

"We stellen ons inderdaad vragen over de redenen van de vertraging", zegt Yves Panneels, woordvoerder voor SHS Aviation. "Het businessplan werd al lang goedgekeurd. Het hele dossier is opgemaakt door mensen met een lange staat van dienst in de Belgische luchtvaart. Het gaat hier om heel wat jobs. Er staan nu 15 mensen op onze loonlijst. We zijn klaar om personeel aan te werven, tot een ploeg van een 50-tal in een opstartfase. Maar dan moeten we wel eerst die vliegvergunning krijgen. Je zet geen volk voor je plezier op je loonrol."

Marcel Buelens, de directeur van de Antwerpse en Oostendse luchthaven, had verwacht dat de vliegvergunning er nu wel zou zijn. "Nu vrijdag zit ik trouwens samen met de mensen van SHS Aviation. Dan praten we over de plannen voor beide luchthavens." Vanuit Oostende komen er mogelijk vluchten op China.

Bij de FOD Mobiliteit is woordvoerder Sven Heyndrickx karig met commentaar. "Ik kan over die aanvraag voor een vergunning niets zeggen. De administratie moet bepaalde procedures volgen. De tijd die het kost om een certificaat af te leveren, hangt in het algemeen af van de kwaliteit van een dossier. Stel dat er stukken ontbreken of er zaken moeten worden uitgeklaard, dan kan zoiets langer aanslepen. Er wordt niet over één nacht ijs gegaan. Het faillissement van VLM vorig jaar? Dat kan een element zijn dat meespeelt." Bij SHS Aviation is te horen dat ze gerust willen antwoorden op verdere vragen van de FOD Mobiliteit. Maar zo'n lijstje is er niet.

Het zou volgens goed ingelichte bronnen kunnen dat de vertraging van dossiers in Antwerpen en Oostende politiek is geïnspireerd. Dat de minister van Mobiliteit François Bellot (MR) is, is ook geen voordeel. De economische belangen van de luchthavens van Luik en Charleroi zijn groot. Dan wil je al eens het vergrootglas bovenhalen om naar een vergunning te bekijken voor een Vlaamse luchthaven. Hoe dan ook gaat kostbare tijd verloren. Pas met een vliegvergunning kan SHS Antwerp Aviation werk maken van aanwervingen, opstarten van routes en ticketverkoop.

[Boeing767copilot]

Moves are underway to revive Belgian regional and charter operator VLM Airlines, which declared bankruptcy in June 2016.

A group of Dutch and Hong Kong-based Canadian investors has set up a corporate vehicle, SHS Aviation, in the Netherlands in an attempt to restore the airline.

VLM was based at Antwerp International Airport and operated around a dozen Fokker 50 turboprops. It was the subject of a management buyout from Irish airline CityJet in October 2014, a few months after the latter was, itself, bought out from the Air France-KLM Group.

SHS Aviation has set up two subsidiaries: SHS Antwerp Aviation, which is handling VLM, while SHS Aviation Slovenia has become the owner of Maribor Airport in the small central European nation.

Dutch investors hold 60% of the airline company. This is essential, as European Union (EU) rules state that an EU-based airline must have a majority shareholding from among EU nationals.

SHS Aviation spokesman Yves Panneels said VLM’s receivers had reached an agreement with SHS Aviation in September 2016 to take over what remained of VLM. It still retained seven F50s, six of which are airworthy. Four others in the fleet were the subject of a sale-and-leaseback agreement prior to the company’s collapse.

None of the former VLM management team is involved in the attempt to revive the airline, Panneels said. Around 20 people are working in the airline’s Antwerp offices on the project and an application for a new air operator’s certificate was handed to the Belgian civil aviation authorities two months ago. There has been no indication when this might be granted, he added.

The HQ for any revived airline will remain in Antwerp, but it is not yet known if the airline’s operational base will remain in the Belgian city. Nor was SHS Antwerp Aviation prepared at this point to give an indication of the type of services it would offer, or possible destinations, he said. It has not been decided if a new airline will use the VLM name.

Source: ATW online

[sn26567]

Vizion Air was probably tired of waiting for VLM to re-start operations. It signed an agreement with Polish airline SprintAir to operate a Saab 340 based in Bergamo and an ATR 72-600 based in ... Liège.

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/sprinta ... sprintair/

[carllegein]

Dear André, yes we are tired of waiting, and we really need to speed up our growth, but we are still big fans and believers of VLM. Cannot wait to see them taking off. Vizion Air will become the charter department of VLM and will have one dedicated charter unit.
The plan with Vizion Air is to have 5 aircraft around Europe this year to cover all adhoc charter needs. We could even ask VLM for two units!

[Flanker2]

There is one red flag here.
60% Dutch shareholding is in breach of the standards for bilateral agreements for non-EU routes.

The yellow flag is 50 staff members to start-up, only 15 on the current payroll. You can't run a single A320 aircraft full-time with 50 staff members.

Why waste resources on "opportunities" in Slovenia instead of focussing on what is at hand?

My experience is that Chinese and Dutch investors have one thing in common. They have ambition, until it's time to fork out the big money.

From a political point of view, it makes more sense to support a Belgian initiative. It's not V vs. W, but Belgium against Holland.
From an afministrative point of view, it makes more sense to prioritize on an airline with strong foundations.

[lumumba]