Some more plane photos from Switzerland

[TobyV]

I've flown on the F27 (I think both lengths, certainly the -500) with Air UK in the late 80s and mid 90s and the Fokker 100, many times between the UK and Switzerland with Helvetic, although they will be retired next year I think. Never got to go on the F70 and so far not on the F50, but hopefully I will change that this year. I had intended to go with the previous incarnation of VLM from Friedrichshafen, but they went bust.

[Motormouse]

Beautiful! The head-on view of the biz jet looks like it cut itself shaving.

Brian

Bombardier Global Express, fully loaded @$60,000,000 from the factory,
one of my type ratings...(as is Fokker 27)

Ttfn

Pete

[FlyTexas]

Beautiful! The head-on view of the biz jet looks like it cut itself shaving.

Brian

Bombardier Global Express, fully loaded @$60,000,000 from the factory,
one of my type ratings...(as is Fokker 27)

Ttfn

Pete

Very nice!

Brian

[TobyV]

A few more, some from June and others from this month:

[FlyTexas]

Beautiful photos, Toby. Thanks very much for sharing them.

Brian

[Airspeed]

Some good ones in there, Toby! Thanks

[TobyV]

The Fokker 50 is my favourite aircraft. I dispatched VLM Fokker 50s at London City for 3 years and really miss the airline as it was back then.
The aircraft is highly capable, more so than the ATR and despite having flown on one numerous times (including several jumpseat flights), I've booked to go to Antwerp on one in October.

Can't wait

I was booked too on 28th September, ZRH to ANR with a return on October the 1st. Just got the email tonight, checked the website and VLM went into administration today That's the end of that I guess. Didn't get to go on the F50 with Air UK, won't be getting to go on it with VLM either.

https://pr.flyvlm.com/shs-antwerp-aviat ... iquidation

[DaveG]

Great pictures Toby.
Sacrilege to put that Easyjet logo on the RJ/146 though.

[FlyTexas]

Very sorry to hear about your VLM experience, Toby.

Brian

[Charlie Bravo]

I was on holiday in Majorca when I read online that the VLM ANR-BHX route was being stopped as of August 10th.
I called them and they allowed me to change to LCY at no extra charge. I looked at my shifts and picked some random dates in August, those being the 27th and returning on the 29th.

Two days later (the 31st) they were put into liquidation.

I felt gutted. I'd worked with VLM day in, day out for 3 years when they were the biggest player at LCY. I made many friends who flew for them, many of whom I'm still in touch with.
They also gave us great service this week. I'd even messaged them asking if they sell Fokker 50 models onboard as my daughter who is mad about planes would no doubt like one.
They replied saying no but to give them my flight details and they'd sort something.
I went to the VLM customer service desk in ANR and was handed a VLM bag with sweets, keyrings and various other VLM bits inside.

A nice touch and one of the things that bought a tear to my eye when I read they'd been put into liquidation.

I did see a post on Facebook last night (in Dutch) that the liquidators have apparently got interested parties in picking the operation back up.
Fingers crossed!


On a side note, it angers me that a certain Irish airline can treat staff and passengers like absolute dirt and make a huge success of it whilst airlines like VLM who genuinely provide a good service, struggle with the loss of jobs.
What has the airline industry become?