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.

FMI: www.cabair.com