Brisbane-based JetGo hits financial turbulence

WE hope the old joke that to make a million bucks from an airline you start with $10 million doesn’t apply to Brisbane regional carrier JetGo.

JetGo managing director Paul Bredereck. Picture: Tara Croser.

JET NO GO?

WE hope the old joke that to make a million bucks from an airline you start with $10 million doesn’t apply to Brisbane regional carrier JETGO. Chief executive Jason Ryder sent an email to staff last week warning them the carrier was facing increasingly tough financial times. JETGO runs scheduled flights to Townsville, Rockhampton, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga and other regional centres.

But it has been experiencing a crash crunch due to unexpected maintenance costs and a key Japanese private equity firm not proceeding with a planned investment. JETGO appointed corporate advisers The Investment Collective to run the ruler over the business with a view to presenting a proposal to a group of new investors.

Illustration of Jason Ryder by Brett Lethbridge.

JETGO managing director airlines Paul Bredereck tells your diarist that times are challenging but there is a plan to move forward. He says the company has cut its Brisbane-Tamworth route, saving about $70,000 a month, while there are now reduced services on other routes including to the Gold Coast. JETGO, which operates a fleet of five Embraer regional airliners, employs about 105 people and last year flew about 100,000 passengers.

Bredereck says the carrier’s point-to-point service is popular with parents wanting to send their unattended children to visit their grandparents in regional centres because there is no need to change planes in Sydney and other major centres. JETGO also has been popular with regional folk wanting to attend medical appointments in Brisbane.

The carrier was founded in 2011 by Ryder and Aaron Mulder, both experienced pilots. City Beat spies tell us the carrier provides a pretty nice service at a reasonable cost so let’s hope the needed cash is forthcoming. Running an airline can be a brutal business.

FACE TIME

YOUR diarist will be delving into the world of social media on Wednesday night, hosting a Facebook Live event as part of Queensland Small Business Week. The event, organised by BDO and CCIQ, will also feature Tow chief executive and young entrepreneur Dominic Holland, BDO partner Brendan Balasekeran and Sarah Mak, from local film studio TheStoryBoxes. Small business is a tough gig so some of the topics of discussion will be funding options, mentoring, profit improvement, governance and exit strategies.

The event starts at 8pm and readers are welcome to join the discussion at bdo.com.au/smallbizweek.

BEAN AND GONE

CREDITORS of failed coffee roasting company 1582 Coffee are unlikely to see any of the estimated $1.2 million owed to them. You might recall 1582, part of the now collapsed Franchise Retail Brands (FRB) empire, was established back in November 2016 with a loan of about $1.1 million from FRB for coffee roasting and packaging machines.

The machines were installed at FRB’s head office in Banyo but were never operating at full capacity as it did not have enough clients.

Ultimately, the company was unable to continue operating after it lost a major customer. FRB also operated the now-defunct New York Slice pizza chain and Hombre Mexican Cantina. Liquidator Jirsch Sutherland is preparing a report for ASIC on the circumstances of the company’s collapse.

TOP CLASS WORK

KUDOS to Gold Coast based shop fitting company Projects Queensland, which is gaining a reputation for award-winning top-end projects. The company picked up two top gongs at the recent Australian Shop & Office Fitting Industry Association (ASOFIA) awards for its fit-out of luxury good retailer Gucci at Pacific Fair Shopping Centre and the Moncler store at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne. Founded by Brad Dunne in 1989, Projects Queensland specialises in luxury store and other high-end fit-outs such as the Abedian School of Architecture at Bond University. It also has been contracted to fit out the Ferrari Gold Coast Showroom now under construction.