Article from BTNews 23 MAY 2016
VLM to restructure
A restructuring programme aimed at cutting losses this year and returning the company to profit in 2017 is being instituted by Belgian regional carrier VLM after it applied last week for bankruptcy protection.
Chief executive Hamish Davidson said the programme would aim to enable Antwerp-based VLM to move towards break-even this year and be “back in the black” by mid-2017.
The company is consolidating its existing route network and selling and leasing back its six owned Fokker 50s.
Davidson told Flightglobal magazine VLM’s losses were exacerbated by a “significant change in fortunes during the course of 2015” after it completed a management buyout from Germany's Intro Aviation in 2014.
It was then announced that “all ACMI operations were not going to be continued by Cityjet” a company still owned by Intro Aviation at the time.
Davidson said VLM at the time relied on ACMI operations for some 95% of its revenue streams and the airline was forced to rebalance its business and increase scheduled flying.
VLM has dropped loss-making routes including Birmingham-Waterford and used the freed capacity to establish a base in Friedrichshafen for domestic German routes previously operated by InterSky.
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