Thu, Nov 10, 2011
UK Flight Training Organization Invites Unflattering
Comparison
A crisis which sounds a little like the Silver State Helicopters
case in the US is playing out in the UK. Cabair International
Aviation describes itself as "a global provider of professional
pilots to airlines worldwide for over forty years." The school
operates in multiple locations in the UK and also has a base in
Kissimmee, Florida, and Cabair has been a training partner with
Buckinghamshire New University for the last seven years, according
to Professor, Pro Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean Chris
Kemp.
On October 23, Cabair reportedly suspended training operations
as reports circulated of financial problems. The structure of the
company is not simple to discern, with 11 or more companies
registered in the UK which appear to be or have been related to the
enterprise over the last 20 years. Students and others have been
expressing concern on internet forums about how assets and
liabilities might be shuffled during any reorganization, and some
are calling for increased government regulation of the flight
training sector in the UK.
As happened in the Silver State case in the US, students paid
upfront for training some now fear will not be received. Where the
worst of the Silver State cases involved as much as $70,000 paid in
advance before the school folded, some Cabair students were
enrolled in courses costing as much as £79,500, equivalent to
over US$126,000 at current exchange rates. In the US, several
states reacted to the Silver State Helicopters collapse, which
happened literally hours after some students had made very large
deposits, by enacting tough new laws limiting the ability of flight
schools to accept payment in advance.
Kemp told the Bedfordshire News, “We have been in touch
with all the students on our air transport programs to advise them
of the situation. We are monitoring the situation and currently
expect that all of our Air Transport students will be able to
continue with their flight training as normal.”
Cabair has reportedly told students that its flight training
operation is expected to resume next week.
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