Can Cyprus Airways survive?
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at 21:02 by JohnHarper.
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AnthonyDunnParticipantFrom Str8Talking’s Cyprus Mail article dated 11 April 2013:
[SYNIKA-SEK] were asking the government to support CY, their job positions and their provident funds. Communications Minister Tasos Mitsopoulos has said that the government made the “least painful choice under the circumstances that would keep the company going despite the dramatic financial circumstances”.
CY posted a €55.8 million loss in 2012, compared with a loss of €23.9 million in 2011, while the government urgently needs assistance from its international lenders to meet its financing needs….”
I’m just wondering how it’s escaped SYNIKA-SEK’s attention that this is the same Cyprus that’s just discovered the financial black hole it’s in is even bigger, darker and deeper than they had previously imagined and that they’ve got to find another €6Billion from internal Cypriot sources?
The SYNIKA-SEK union at Cyprus Airways has to be a serious contender for a 2013 death wish award.
13 Apr 2013
at 00:09
LuganoPirateParticipantIt’s a bit like SABENA whose overpaid pilots during a time of crisis went on strike. Look what happened to them.
LeTigre, not only has Dubai’s oil long run out, but their economy is now built on the back of millions of immigrants that fuel the economy. I believe the indigenous population is no more than 10% of the total.
13 Apr 2013
at 02:33
Str8TalkingParticipantAnother update:
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/new-11th-hour-meeting-broker-cyprus-airways-deal/20130412
This is also very similar to the Eurocypria story – the government decided to keep it flying only to shut down a few months after its last money injection!
Unfortunately, there is quite a lot of corruption on the board of directors who have also been pocketing money through leasing/selling aircraft, while the tax payer foots the bill for the damages! I hope the investigation into illegal aid highlights what has been happening! If good airlines like Malev can go down following the results of EU investigations on aid, then I don’t see why a carrier that has nothing to offer any more should be kept afloat.
There are only 3 routes from Larnaca not already served by other airlines (FCO, AMS, CDG) all codeshares with AZ, KL and AF respectively. It won’t take long to fill that very tiny gap once they’re gone!
13 Apr 2013
at 06:00
capetonianmParticipant“Perhaps someone should remind Emirates that when the oil runs dry, and there is a global downturn taking out the transfer pax, 90 A380s become quite hard to fill. A city with a population of a few million will not be enough. “
The above statement is completely incorrect. The amount of DXB originating traffic carried by EK is small compared to the volumes hubbing on long haul connections. DXB has no oil, but other ME destinations provide oil based traffic, but again, it’s not their core business.
EK has got itself a niche in the market by dint of a fortuitous geographic location, a modern fleet, a good reputation (in my view undeserved) and competitive fares.
13 Apr 2013
at 09:36
londonladParticipantLooks like a deal was reached but will it be enough?
http://famagusta-gazette.com/cyprus-airways-deal-done-layoffs-wages-slashed-p18953-69.htm
The Cyprus Mail has this comment to make…
“On Thursday, the biggest Cyprus Airway union Synika, rejected the government’s proposal for keeping the bankrupt airline afloat for a few extra months, announcing that the issues at stake were too important to be the subject of an ultimatum.
The Synika leadership wanted dialogue while an AKEL-controlled union said the government was blackmailing the workers and its rescue plan was unacceptable. It also wanted dialogue in order to bash out a better deal.
The unions had their dialogue requests satisfied and Friday night a deal was reached that was not very different from the one they had called unacceptable on Thursday.
Union bosses who secured their members’ conquests, over the decades, by resorting to blackmail and ultimatums should have known, better than anyone, that an ultimatum is a take it or leave it choice that precludes dialogue.
IT MAY sound mean, but it is difficult to feel a hint of sympathy for these overpaid, underworked, parasitic Cyprus Airways employees who have been sucking our blood for decades and want another gallon as compensation.
The main dispute with the government is over the redundancy compensation that should be paid to the 560 (later cut to 490) employees who would be laid off as part of the so-called rescue plan. Unions want compensations over and above what employees that are made redundant are entitled to by law.
It was not enough that staff plundering of the company had driven it to bankruptcy, its workers want to be paid a ‘bonus’ compensation to accept redundancy which is the main reason the ‘rescue plan’ that was prepared seven months ago was never implemented – greedy CY staff were holding out for higher compensation packages.
As finance minister, Vasos Shiarly, had offered them 20 per cent more than they were entitled to but his colleague at the labour ministry, the clueless, big-spending commie, Sotiroulla promised the CY bloodsuckers pay-offs 50 per cent higher than their legal entitlement. The village idiot’s cabinet approved her insane proposal just before leaving office, but had no time to send it to the legislature.
The deal agreed Friday will keep the airline going for a few more months, after which anything is possible.”14 Apr 2013
at 16:16
Str8TalkingParticipantWhat’s ridiculous is that, technically, the government has kept the airline going over the summer so as to not disrupt the peak tourist season! If they strike, they will probably help the government’s decision to shut them down sooner! The staff even made the ludicrous demand to have redundancy paid within 2 months, while the rest of the islanders who have been made redundant are having to wait a minimum of 18 months! After everything that is happening, both in Cyprus and across the globe, there is still no reality check!
17 Jun 2013
at 11:00
Henkel.TrockenParticipantIt’s sad but it really does look like the turkeys have voted for Christmas in Cyprus.
I would have thought that for an island economy an airline was essential in this age and the loss of it will damage Cyprus even more than it already is. Being dependent on links from overseas carriers will not help the island at all.
18 Jun 2013
at 09:11
Str8TalkingParticipantCyprus Airways only operates 3 scheduled routes that nobody else does and those only because the obvious carriers that would have competed are code sharing on the route (KLM on LCA-AMS, Alitalia on LCA-FCO and Air France on LCA-CDG). For the rest there is already plenty of competition. There are many airlines ready to fill any gaps, which are very small, most notably Aegean/Olympic! The biggest shame is that Cyprus is pretty much the crossroads for three continents and they never took advantage of it! Now with the Middle Eastern hubs at the size they are, there is no way they can make up for lost time and can only really manage a point to point system!
18 Jun 2013
at 09:26 -
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