Aces Belly Up?

[Craig]

BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombian airline ACES grounded all flights Wednesday amid crippling debt, the nation's civil aviation agency said, and shareholders were considering dissolving the company

[jim c]

... in response to Aces Belly Up?, posted by Craig on Aug 20, 2003

Guess just paid for a round trip ticket to Cartagena yesterday. JIM C

[jim c]

... in response to Re: Aces Belly Up?, posted by jim c on Aug 21, 2003

no problem avianca will honor aces tickets. four days till Cartagena. jim c

[DOMINGUIN]

... in response to Re: Re: Aces Belly Up?, posted by jim c on Aug 22, 2003


Jimc:

Where are you staying in Cartagena? As of now, I'm planning to visit Cartagena for a week in early October and I'm looking for nice places.  I was at the Almirante the first time, want someplace different this time. Thanks for nay info. Dominguin

[Michael B]

... in response to Re: Re: Aces Belly Up?, posted by jim c on Aug 22, 2003

I'm too tired to give a complete accurate translation of this article, but the jist of this story is: Summa (the holding company that ownes Avianca, SAM and ACES, which in turn owned by the National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers, 'Juan Valdez', if you please--in case you haven't been watching, it cost more or less 98 cents a pound to grow coffee (even at starvation wages for the campesinos), but the world commodity price is about 48 cents a pound---so how come the supermarkets are still charging us $2.49 for an 11 oz can???) is awaiting authorization from the (Colombian) government to lay off 3000 employees. ACES lost 14+ million dollers in July, in March Avianca filed for bankruptcy, none of them can meet their current payroll. Don't think I'd buy a  ticket on any of them right now, but I can really feel the pain (no, I'm not Bill Clinton, I realy mean it) of the layed off employees and the coffee growers who are losing in 1 or 2 years what it took them 50+ years to earn. Here it is in Spanish if you want to read it:

Alianza Summa espera autorización para despedir a 3.000 empleados

Bogotá, 21 ago (EFE).- Alianza Summa, integrada por las aerolíneas colombianas Avianca, SAM y ACES, esta última en proceso de liquidación desde ayer, espera autorización del Gobierno para despedir a 3.000 empleados.

La petición, según el ministro de Protección Social, Diego Palacio, fue presentada hace cerca de dos meses por la alianza.

Summa argumentó para ello la crisis mundial que afecta a la aviación por el alza en los principales costos de operación, la baja en los ingresos y como parte del proceso de reestructuración que lleva a cabo para salvar las compañías de la alianza.

Ayer, los dos principales accionistas de Aerovías Centrales de Colombia (ACES), el consorcio Valores Bavaria, de propiedad mayoritaria del empresario Julio Mario Santo Domingo, y el Fondo Nacional del Café (FNC), un ente para-fiscal administrado por Federación Nacional de Cafeteros, decidieron la liquidación de esa aerolínea.

La decisión del despido de los 3.000 empleados, según señalan hoy medios locales, será tomada por el ministro Palacio en el curso del próximo mes, luego de que se evalúen los argumentos y la situación de las compañías.

La liquidación de ACES estará a cargo de la Superintendencia de Puertos y Transportes, un organismo dependiente del ministerio de Transportes, que deberá designar una junta y un gerente liquidador, que tendrán el control total de los activos y los pasivos de la aerolínea.

La ley colombiana establece un orden de pagos a acreedores por parte de las empresas en liquidación, que privilegia a los trabajadores, luego al fisco y finalmente a los proveedores.

ACES acumulaba pérdidas a julio pasado por 42.000 millones de pesos, unos 14,58 millones de dólares.

Las rutas operadas hasta ayer por ACES y los viajeros de las mismas serán servidos por Avianca y SAM (Sociedad Aeronáutica de Medellín), salvo la que va de la capital colombiana a Fort Lauderdale (EEUU), en el estado de Florida, que quedó temporalmente suspendida y se atenderá a través de Miami.

Avianca se encuentra desde el pasado 21 de marzo amparada por la ley de bancarrotas de EEUU, a la que se acogió a través de su filial en ese país Avianca Inc. EFE

 

[mudd]

... in response to Re: Aces Belly Up?, posted by jim c on Aug 21, 2003

well, lets hope that they paid their mechanics :-)

[cancunhound]

... in response to Aces Belly Up?, posted by Craig on Aug 20, 2003

I've heard Avianca is the safer bet in the group right now.  I think I'd pay extra for an American carrier into Colombia to currently avoid hastles, then use AeroRepublica or other lines outside of Summa for national travel (for hastle free travel anyways).

[Traveller]

... in response to Aces Belly Up?, posted by Craig on Aug 20, 2003

Actually, ACES has been out of business, more or less, for awhile now. If you have seen some of the Avianca aircraft lately, they say ACES on the side with Avianca up on the tail. Also, some of the ACES aircraft were used for Cali Air. Once again, they say ACES on the side and they have the Cali Air Butterfly on the Tail.
I suppose those were business saving moves to keep the business going. Guess it didn't work.

[zack]

... in response to Re: Aces Belly Up?, posted by Traveller on Aug 20, 2003

You said that ACES has been out of business, more or less, for a while lately. I recently flew on Avianca and me, being new to this airline, asked an employee at Miami International Airport where to check in. She said "check in at the counters beneath the "ACES" signs.

Pardon my ignorance about this subject, but ACES and Avianca are separate airlines, right? I just want to know before I book any more flights on Avianca.

Zack

[Craig]

... in response to Re: Re: Aces Belly Up?, posted by zack on Aug 20, 2003


ACES, which stands for Aerolineas Centrales de Colombia, was once the country's main domestic carrier, with some international routes. It is reportedly $30 million in debt.

The airline's main shareholder, the National Federation of Coffeegrowers of Colombia, is weathering economic troubles of its own amid a global coffee glut, and is poorly positioned to withstand the losses.

ACES has flights to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Santo Domingo and Lima in addition to its domestic network. The company had 200 pilots and 2,000 other employees in June, but has been laying off workers since then.

Last year, ACES joined with another money-losing Colombian carrier, Avianca and its subsidiary SAM, to form Alianza Summa, but the merger failed to turn the business around.

Avianca's U.S. affiliate filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States on March 21. The carrier blamed its financial troubles on rising fuel costs, higher insurance rates following the Sept. 11 attacks, the weakness of the Colombian peso and the start of the Iraq (news

[cancunhound]

... in response to Re: Re: Aces Belly Up?, posted by zack on Aug 20, 2003

They're kind of all one in the same now(Avianca, Aces, SAM).  Summa has recently flip-flopped daily on it's flights lately, ititially cancelling some Cartagena routes that have been reinstated due to govt. pressure, for example - it's a mess right now with Summa, that's for certain - and creating a mess for travellers and agents.  I hadn't heard about the Aces grounding 'till now but it doesn't surprise me.  Bottom line, don't count on your Avianca either now but they've been running some good specials throughout this chaos that are very tempting.  Just make sure you're not on a tight schedule!

[Pete E]

... in response to Summa, posted by cancunhound on Aug 20, 2003

I met a guy in the airport in Bogota that had been stuck there 3 days even though he had confirmed tickets on an Avianca flight.I myself was not let on a flight I had a ticket for but fortuately got on the next one with only a 3 hour delay.I decided right there to avoid both Avianca and transfers though Bogota if at all possible.

Pete

[zack]

... in response to Avianca, posted by Pete E on Aug 21, 2003

Thanks Pete. I was literally days away from scheduling an Avianca flight.

I don't tell people at work that I go to Colombia because I'm tired of all the judgemental attitudes. Being stranded in Colombia would be a nightmare- I can only imagine trying to explain to my colleagues why I can't return to work for a while.

Zack

[Pete E]

... in response to Re: Avianca, posted by zack on Aug 21, 2003

Since Aces is gone the choices are more limited.If you can get a direct flight from the US to your destination without going through Bogota(unless you are going to Bogota) Avianca may be an OK choice considering what your other choices are.If your plane only stopped in Bogota and you didn't have to get off you could be OK also.But in my case I had to get my luggage,go through customs,go to the Avianca counter to be told "you have no reservation".It was the fourth leg of a confirmed trip.I had my ticket for the flight in hand.Not very impressive.
I fly American now,not because I like them much but because we get from San Francisco to Cali in one day and have had little trouble other than bad food or no food.
I spent an  hour and a half in line getting on in Cali.We got up at 4.00 AM and hoped to have breakfast after we checked in.No time.Then NO food service,Cali to Miami,it was supposed to have food service,I guess it was somehow inconvenient for them.We got to Miami on a Saturday morning.
Going through customs and immigration we barely made our SF flight,no chance to eat.We finally got fed on that flight at 3.00 PM.AA.The city bus of airlines.

Pete

[cancunhound]

... in response to Re: Re: Avianca, posted by Pete E on Aug 23, 2003

(I don't recommend the following it's just what I do:)
Sound's crazy, but don't buy into the 2 hours before your flight when departing Cali - wait until that line at the AA counter shortens.  The security gate line afterwards can be a b%tch, but I've never had it take more than 30 minutes.  So I go 1 hour early, lines are cleared - and I could care a less about my AA gold status - that security gate is an equalizer.