Alp-Line.com ceases trading.

A snowHead

Word has gone round the valley this week that AlpLine transfer company have ceased trading. As probably the largest operator locally, based in Les Gets this is a bit of a shock. Not found anything official yet, but it seems a few big vehicle repair bills in the last couple of years have hit them hard.
If it's true then that is a lot of seats for all the other companies to fill next season.

A snowHead

Alp-Line.com went into liquidation on June 13th. Combined debts over the last two years of -276,200 Euros. This information is all available on the public record at http://www.societe.com/societe/mont-blanc-multi-services-442046868.html

Following this news, for winter 2012/13 we are currently adding capacity for both private and shared transfers on our www.morzexpress.com serving Let Gets, Morzine, Avoriaz and also our www.chamexpress.com services to the Chamonix Valley and our other resorts in Italy and Switzerland to take up some of the lost capacity. I am sure other operators may be doing likewise.

Always pay for your airport transfer in advance, by credit card, as you are then covered, and will be reimbursed by your card issuer, in the event that your transfer provider goes bust.

Advice to skiers is to book (with whichever operator you choose) as soon as possible for next winter as demand for airport transfers is certain to exceed supply. Especially in respect of some of the lesser served resorts that Alp-Line went to.

Cheers.

Andrew
Chamexpress

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

DallyPaul, interesting. There have been so many more transfer companies set up since Alp-Line started haven't there that I am not really surprised.

Slight thread drift in that we went to Prodains yesterday to see progress on the new lift - well the base is being built, but then saw the existing telecabine out of action too, cable broke apparently, so that cuts off access to Avoriaz from Prodains this summer. We tried to drive into Avoriaz yesterday but all cars appear to be being stopped unless you have some sort of good reason to go any further.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Sad indeed whenever a company goes south. We used them quite a bit in the past as they were fellow "Paddies", but they (TBF possibly one of their staff) on one occasion asked for and received a PFO price from a friend of mine with two children to get them to the airport! Price and time of departure had been agreed well in advance, but on the day another figure was demanded! Not the end of the world for my friend but nobody enjoys being taken advantage of! No complaints, they just did not get another chance! In hindsight perhaps I should have said something but the deed left a bad taste in the mouth!

Pamski, Hope the new lift will be up and running by next year! Any more info on it??

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

How did they rack up a quarter-million Euros of debt from running a few vehicles?

You'll need to Register first of course.

Whitegold, running 50 + vans?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

If they were running so many vehicles, then 276k debt should not have been a dealbreaker.

They coulda just sold a few to pay the debts.

This is not passing the smell test.

After all it is free

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

FWIW,
There was significant van damage in 2008-2009 (of the 65 vans returned about 10 were undamaged). Alp-Line brought in a former police driving trainer, who runs courses in Alpine driving, to improve driver standards. Damage was reduced in 2009-10, but still high. Another former police driving instructor was brought in 2010.

AFAIK only 1 van was written off this year. I saw about 30 of the other returned vehicles one had substantial rear damage, one a damaged radiator, but of the others that I saw, it was just the usual small scratches and dings.

The writing on the wall...
This winter the company had several vans for which there were no drivers (normally parked up in Les Gets), and so were laid up idle, and since van-sharing between drivers was stopped in 2010, while some vans were utilized 50 hours per week, many were not.

IMHO the van utilization was only about 16% of total availability.

When you lease 40 odd vans, and 84% of the time they are parked up, this is going to put some strain on resources.

It was noticeable that the number of corporate clients had dropped year on year (Family Ski Company, Spring Conference etc...). Some of the change in corporate client base could have been a strategic decision, in choosing who to work with, but by no means all of it.

Fewer Drivers - from 60 and change in 2008 to 28 in 2012.

The are a few obvious causes for these symptoms, some of which have been mentioned on this forum (economic downturn etc..), the principal one being the increase in competition from other transfer companies in each of the main geographic areas.

Bens Bus, Cool Bus, Easy Transfer in Tarantaise, Go Massif in Flaine, Magic in Chatel, GAT, ChamExpress in Cham, PowderCabs, Skiidy Gonzales, SkiLifts, RollingRoad, MorzExpress, Morzine Shuttle, AlpyBus, Ski Transfers, Mountain Bus Company, Bill and Ted's Most Excellent Transfer company etc.. (apologies to any I have omitted, these are the ones I recall seeing the most.)

Alp-Line's strength in being able to provide transfers in every major ski area served by Geneva, had now become a weakness, in having to defend market share against 40 odd rivals across 60 something resorts.

The competition has brought downward pressure on the public price point against a backdrop of ever rising overheads and increased customer expectation, to the point that on some routes, margins are incredibly tight or even non-existant.

Alp-Line seemed to struggle with the lowering of the price point to the extent that on the three occasions that I asked for mates-rates, (twice for a seat on a shuttle, and once for 14 people from GVA-Avoriaz -Return) the rate I got was still more expensive than the standard rack rate of the competition (I only checked Skiidy Gonzales and Powdercabs, but both were cheaper).

Not only did this struggle with the price point lead to a reduction in shuttle business, but the increased choice for corporate clients, brought about the inevitable loss of business associated with that choice / price function.

Over the last 2 years Alp-Line, to their credit did foster a strategic alliance with EasyJet, offering transfers that could be booked inflight, and this year with a van sponsorship deal.

There has also been an increase in the amount of unofficial competition.
Whereas previously, chalet companies would have contracted out some of their transfers, now the vast majority do them with their own vehicles.

I'm sure that 99% chalet companies have their own transfer licenses for each vehicle, and the vehicles are registered and insured for the purpose of transferring their guests to the airport, and they have paid the CHF400 for the macaroon, but I do know of a few chalets who use their vehicles for 'private' work, and who's vehicles do not necessarily comply with some, all or any of the above, or are otherwise deemed unsuitable by the authorities for undertaking this type of work.

Furthermore, there are instances over the last 2 seasons (on busy weekends) of a well known transfer operator sub-contracting out some their excess work to a chalet operator who falls into this category (I am not suggesting that the transfer operator knew this at the time, or even that the chalet operator was not acting in good faith, but the chalet operator no longer carries out this sub-contractor role since an intervention by the Gendarmes whilst carrying their own clients).

Whilst superficially it seems that this competition will bring a better deal for the end-user in terms of price, the potential consequences of this race to the bottom will lead to the transfer operators not making any money, corners needing to be cut, and potentially the level of service received by the clients being worse and not better.

Only time will tell.

Speaking as somebody who set up and ran a business employing staff on the French system, and who took a hit of around €160k over 4 years, I know how difficult it is to do things by the book, and do the right thing by your staff and customers too.

I would like to wish the owners well, and good luck in the future with their new projects, and hope all the staff are able find alternative employment for the coming winter.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Pamski, You can normally only drive into Avoriaz if you are a resident or have some legitimate business there. At the moment with all the work going on I can understand them trying to keep the general public on foot.

There is a navette service running from Super Morzine Telecabine top station to Avoriaz Accueil and back. So you can get into Avoriaz for the Aquariaz pools that way,
9th of July to the 24th of August are it's dates.
From SMTC 09.20 10.00 10.40 11.50 12.30 14.20 15.00 15.40 17.00
From Avoriaz 09.40 10.20 11.30 12.10 14.10 14.40 15.20 16.30

A snowHead

DallyPaul, Yes, completely understandable at the moment keeping vehicles down to a minimum. We have usually been able to drive in there in the past when fairly quiet without a problem.
Useful information about the navette service, thank you.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Morrissey, psst... Think he might have been joking a little bit...

You need to Login to know who's really who.

There's a saying in business: 'if you don't play by the rules, eventually you will die by them'. (personally I like to sleep at night). This is certainly true as per Morrisseys comment above.

I can immediately think of one transfer company that only has a licence to operate one vehicle, but operates 5 or 6 in the winter. An accommodation provider that doesn't have any sort of licence at all, yet runs minibuses to collect its clients from the airport. Oh. and one other transfer company that illegally breaks drivers hours legislation and pays staff 'on the black'. And that's without thinking too hard.

If the price stands out as cheap, then the chances are the operator is cutting corners.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Chamexpress, but the problems lie in the fact that the consumer no longer cares...until something goes wrong! Everyone now is trained to agressively seek the best price and the internet has led to purchasing habits based on price rather than anything else. We research what we want then search again to get the best price. The second process meaning that often we are sold substandard products with corners being cut by suppliers to fulfil the price asperations of the onsumer. Okay, if buying a specific branded item then we assume we are geting the real deal. In fact we can see on ebay that fake goods are supplied no end. Often consumers can end up buying the previous years model too. Also (with retailers such as Dreams when selling beds) they change the name of the product so a like-for-like comparison is impossible. Yopu are correct Chamexpress, in that if it looks cheap then corners are being cut.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Our experience is that Alp-Line was a very reliable company with great customer service so it is a real shame that they won't be around for next winter and beyond. Best wishes to Mark and Alan.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Chamexpress wrote If the price stands out as cheap, then the chances are the operator is cutting corners.

It is frustrating for the legal companies amongst us when we do all the exams, have all of our paperwork in order, jump through all the hoops and then these illegal operators and chalet companies come along and do exactly as they please, completely outside of the law and are never reprimanded for it. We just hope and believe that one day they will get their comeuppance and it will be a warning to the others. In the meantime, our goal is to be one of the most competitively priced legal transfer operators in the Tarentaise Valley, which we do by keeping a tight grasp on our costs and using locally based mature drivers. We don’t cut corners yet we offer a reliable and professional service which is proven as our business has grown organically through recommendations from satisfied customers. We will be increasing our fleet again this year and are looking forward to increasing our market share as a result.

redrunmarcus, Yep, www.ski4funtransfers.co.uk is certainly building a well deserved following on here Very Happy

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Chamexpress,

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

From what I understand, Chalet Operators may transport their own guests to and the airport so long as they have a transfer license, a macaroon fro GVA airport, and the relevant insurance.
Transfer companies are required to have all of the above per vehicle, plus CPC Operators license, or internationally recognized equivalent.
The drivers hours must be logged
The drivers must be in possession of a valid drivers medical (yellow card, or white / red certificate with photo), and a recent certificate of aptitude from a medecin de travail ( every year if the job involves driving at night, otherwise every 2 years).
The drivers should be on the French system, as the service is delivered to the PUBLIC, in a PUBLIC place.
I am aware that it is possible to 'buy' seats on transfers operated by chalet companies, even if you are not a customer of that chalet, and have been told that this is fine so long as the chalet has a transfer license, and the chalet declare this revenue.
There is a forum in the Morzine / Vallee d'Aulps area dedicated specifically to filling empty seats / legs to improve the efficiency of the vehicle utilization for chalet companies.
I appreciate that it is much more carbon friendly to fill vehicles rather than running half empty, the client gets a cheap transfer, and the chalet makes some extra money.
Does anybody know at which point the Chalet Operator carrying out this type of activity starts crossing the boundary where the [much stricter] rules applying to transfer companies kick in?

snow reports

WindOfChange, ...and the vehicle must have a Tachograph if it has more than 8 seated. ifirc.

WindOfChange, ...and the vehicle must have a Tachograph if it has more than 8 seated. ifirc.

You know it makes sense.

EU Regulation 561/2006 covers the use of tachographs and deals with drivers hours, breaks and rest periods.
Most of the provisions of the Regulation came into force across the EU from 11 April 2007 while certain provisions came into effect from 1 May 2006.
The Regulation covers most vehicles built or adapted to carry more than nine people, including the driver, and used to carry passengers within the State and in other EU countries.
Buses with 10 or more seats are subject to the tachograph and drivers hours rules unless an exemption applies.
Even though most companies operate 9 seaters, so the tachograph regs do not apply in full, it is still a requirement to record drivers hours manually, to ensure that the drivers hours regulations (daily, weekly, fortnightly) are adhered to.
see below
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/drivers-hours-passenger-vehicles/report.pdf

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

it would seem a small chalet company well known to snowheads offering own transfers to two Tarentaise resorts may be about to hit the skids because of a lack of CPC licence. I cannot name them but if you are travelling to the Tarentaise it might be advisable to A) make sure your operator has a CPC licence and B) make sure you book using a decent credit card.

Help!!

Alp-Line.com ceases trading.

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste