Clive wrote: ↑Thu Aug 05, 2021 12:54 pm
[quote=hads post_id=4049 time=<a href="tel:1628152785">1628152785</a> user_id=150]
Your stance has been consistent for many years on this CB.
However, as long as tarmac and landing lights exist, the Irish dwarf will use it as a bargaining chip against Glasgow.
I want Glasgow to reach the levels it should be capable of. PIK is like fighting a Lion with a Rubber Chicken.
I’m hoping that the new owners will have a new business plan which ditches the costly terminal ops and boosts all of the unique aviation activities that PIK provides for Scotland.
[/quote]
The very fact is will there be any new owner given everything seems to have hit the buffers.
This, more than anything explains the utter Stone dead silence regards any sale of PIK.
Even more so is the statement regards the Accounts alluded to by Bearsden who is a qualified accountant with many decades experience in this field.
Seriously it looks like play park time once again. We have bought an airport whoopee. What do we do now?
Clive wrote: ↑Thu Aug 05, 2021 12:54 pm
[quote=hads post_id=4049 time=<a href="tel:1628152785">1628152785</a> user_id=150]
Your stance has been consistent for many years on this CB.
However, as long as tarmac and landing lights exist, the Irish dwarf will use it as a bargaining chip against Glasgow.
I want Glasgow to reach the levels it should be capable of. PIK is like fighting a Lion with a Rubber Chicken.
I’m hoping that the new owners will have a new business plan which ditches the costly terminal ops and boosts all of the unique aviation activities that PIK provides for Scotland.
The very fact is will there be any new owner given everything seems to have hit the buffers.
This, more than anything explains the utter Stone dead silence regards any sale of PIK.
Even more so is the statement regards the Accounts alluded to by Bearsden who is a qualified accountant with many decades experience in this field.
Seriously it looks like play park time once again. We have bought an airport whoopee. What do we do now?
[/quote]
Or maybe it just doesn’t happen to your timescale.
The sale process with a preferred bidder is ongoing as per Bearsden’s article.
Many years ago when BA stopped flying transatlantic from PIK, The BA engineering staff at PIK were offered relocation of jobs to other BA stations, the chief engineer (Station engineer) was transferred to become the Station engineer at EDI and he took a number of his staff at PIK with him to EDI. at about the same time BA could see that the growth of EDI was gradually catching up on GLA and predicted that EDI would outgrow GLA about 2000 to 2005 which happened, a number of engineering staff also transferred to EDI from GLA in the 1990’s. EDI has continued to expand and grow and GLA has continued to decline as predicted by BA route planners.
Maybe in the future it is GLA that will have calls to close and PIK to remain as the west coast airport. As predicted EDI will continue to grow, what will be left at GLA? Loganair, business jets and the flying club?
I was part of the team that grew BA Engineering at GLA to become the BA engineering base of choice to become the main narrow body major maintenance base for BA and always tried my best to enhance and grow the BA engineering facility at GLA.
I retired in 2004 and I am very sad to witness the decline at GLA.
ExAirways wrote: ↑Sat Aug 14, 2021 11:05 am
Many years ago when BA stopped flying transatlantic from PIK, The BA engineering staff at PIK were offered relocation of jobs to other BA stations, the chief engineer (Station engineer) was transferred to become the Station engineer at EDI and he took a number of his staff at PIK with him to EDI. at about the same time BA could see that the growth of EDI was gradually catching up on GLA and predicted that EDI would outgrow GLA about 2000 to 2005 which happened, a number of engineering staff also transferred to EDI from GLA in the 1990’s. EDI has continued to expand and grow and GLA has continued to decline as predicted by BA route planners.
Maybe in the future it is GLA that will have calls to close and PIK to remain as the west coast airport. As predicted EDI will continue to grow, what will be left at GLA? Loganair, business jets and the flying club?
I was part of the team that grew BA Engineering at GLA to become the BA engineering base of choice to become the main narrow body major maintenance base for BA and always tried my best to enhance and grow the BA engineering facility at GLA.
I retired in 2004 and I am very sad to witness the decline at GLA.
Of course by “decline at GLA” you probably mean relative to EDI?
GLA had grown to just shy of 10m until the sh!t hit the fan in recent times.
Clive wrote: ↑Sat Aug 14, 2021 1:01 pm
GLA had grown to just shy of 10m until the sh!t hit the fan in recent times.
Clive
I have to put your 10m into context . . . GLA reached 9.9m in calendar year 2017, by 2019 that had fallen to 8.8m during which period the overall total number of passengers between EDI, GLA & PIK had only increased by 0.2m (EDI +1.3m, GLA -1.0m, PIK -0.1m)
AGS are now left with some key medium to long term strategic decisions with PIK's passenger operations (of course nearly 100% Ryanair) being one of the variables outwith their control . . . I do think that if SG 'sell PIK on the cheap' then both GLA & EDI could claim that a 'state subsidy' is affecting competition (as of course it has done since PIK was nationalised)
Clive wrote: ↑Sat Aug 14, 2021 1:01 pm
GLA had grown to just shy of 10m until the sh!t hit the fan in recent times.
Clive
I have to put your 10m into context . . . GLA reached 9.9m in calendar year 2017, by 2019 that had fallen to 8.8m during which period the overall total number of passengers between EDI, GLA & PIK had only increased by 0.2m (EDI +1.3m, GLA -1.0m, PIK -0.1m)
Yes, that was when Ryanair closed their GLA base and piled even more into EDI. One million went from GLA to EDI in a trice. Until then things had been improving.
It will be interesting to see what the new owners can bring to the airfield - looking after the Norwegian B787s over last two years has probably been > 90% of Chevron's revenue (there was some easyJet work over winter 2019/20 pre COVID plus the occasional BAe146 but otherwise it would appear to have been mainly one off)
But freight is increasing (although some of the increase will be PPE driven from the Far East) and of course military movements (in particular 'heavy' movements such as C-17As, C-130s, KC-135s) have underpinned the airfield's recent financial performance (as of course has windfarm radar mitigation issues income!) - the key to the financial forecasts will be scenarios around future US & NATO involvement in Europe & Middle East
Prestwick's passenger traffic fell year on year in July to just over 42,000 annually (less than for example Kirkwall and Lands End) - the infrastructure costs to handle such a low volume are high (just look at the £20m plus subsidy to HIAL for mainly domestic only operations) but politically it will involve jobs albeit part time and/or split shift - there is no justification for the SG to give financial support for passenger operations at PIK (or indeed allow a cross subsidy from freight, military etc income) especially when it is to allow people to fly out of the country on holiday with three easily accessible alternatives nearby (EDI, GLA & NEW)
Interesting times but I wouldn't expect any significant announcements pre COP26