Smartphone maker BlackBerry (née RIM) plans to close its corporate flight department as part of a comprehensive restructuring plan aimed at stemming losses that are set to total as much as $995 million during its second fiscal quarter, which ended last month. New chief executive Thorsten Heins has decided to sell a Bombardier Global Express that the Waterloo, Ontario-based company bought pre-owned as recently as July for an undisclosed price.
Earlier this year, BlackBerry opted to sell a pair of “medium range” Dassault Falcons–a 1994 Falcon 50 and 2000 Falcon 900EX owned by subsidiary 1432766 Ontario Inc., according to Canadian aircraft registration records–and instead use just one longer-range aircraft.
“In light of the company’s current business condition, the company has decided to sell that aircraft [the Global Express] along with the two legacy aircraft [the Falcons] and will no longer own any airplanes,” BlackBerry said in a statement released Sunday, two days after confirming plans to lay off approximately 4,500 employees (about 40 percent of its payroll).
