Owl not the only one flying on a wing nd a prayer at the moment!

Flybe’s planes at risk of being impounded as wait for rescue package goes on

It appears Owl is not the only one flying on a wing and a prayer at the moment.

Embattled Flybe is facing a nervous wait over its potential £100m taxpayer loan amid reports that air traffic controllers could impound the regional airline’s planes.

According to mortgage records, many of Flybe’s planes are owned by other firms such as NordLB and Nordic Aviation Capital, who lease them to Flybe to use.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that the firms are monitoring the situation closely. Firms which lease planes to aircrafts are usually allowed to monitor debts owed to air traffic controllers in order to protect their interests.

Debts to air traffic controllers, which could add up to millions of pounds according to one source, must be paid within 30 days.

Last week it was reported that Flybe had been in talks with baggage handlers and other suppliers to postpone the payment of its debts until its rescue package is approved.
The struggling airline has also asked airports to be patient regarding unpaid landing fees.

Last month Flybe staved off collapse after shareholders and the government struck a controversial deal that will review the regional airline’s air passenger duty contributions.

Posted by

East Devon Watch

Posted on

2 Feb 2020

Posted under

Misc

Is something stirring in the undergrowth?

Dear Owl,

Thank you for giving me your blessing. You know how much your 1,000 + followers admired your posts, the research effort that lay behind them and your perspicacity. You are truly irreplaceable but somehow we have to try, your followers can’t endure going cold Turkey any longer.

I will be following your flight path around East Devon, picking over the entrails of what I find and I know that you can always whisper in my ear.

My first post a story about two weeks old but it heralds seismic changes in EDDC and New Owl wants to make sure everyone is up to speed.

https://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/joe-whibley-quits-independent-group-1-6476010

Joe Whibley has become the second Exmouth councillor to leave the controlling group and will now represent the town ward as a non-affiliated independent.

He made the announcement at a meeting of Exmouth Town Council on Monday, January 20.

Following Cllr Paul Millar’s decision to stand down last year, this leaves the independent group with 18 district councillors, one fewer than the Conservative Party.

He said the decision to not give a £2.1 million loan to Seaton Area Health Matters for the purchase of the hospital prompted his departure.

EDDC leader Ben Ingham told the Journal he was ‘puzzled’ by his decision.

Cllr Whibley said: “When elected I stood on a platform of change – an alternative to the status quo.

“I have seen little evidence that this desire is shared by the Independent Group and, to be true to myself and those who put their trust in me, have decided that I can no longer associate myself with them.

“The decision made to effectively vote against saving Seaton Hospital was the final straw.

“I wish all of the Independent Group the very best, and I hope they prove me wrong – the electorate voted for imaginative thinking and a council that would look out for everyone, whatever their situation.”

New Owl was as surprised and disappointed as Old Owl when Ben Ingham took his group of Independents into coalition with the Conservatives after the election last May, then pursued Conservative policies. As Cllr Joe Whibley has said, the electors who voted Independent didn’t vote for the status quo, they voted for change. So it’s not surprising that the wheels of Ben Ingham’s coalition have fallen off after only eight months.

New Owl imagines Ben Ingham is desperately running around trying to make new alliances. Too early to make any predictions but we can all have our hopes. This is likely to remain a dynamic situation for a while.

This leaves EDDC with the following composition:
19 Conservatives
18 Independent group (Ben Ingham followers)
11 Independent East Devon Alliance
8 Lib Dems
2 Greens
2 Independents (other)