Glasgow Prestwick - General Thread

[SJM]

Although I would suspect that a sizeable proportion of PIK's passengers are from the Glasgow area, it seems strange to me that, if Ryanair were planning to move to GLA and cease operating from PIK, why have they, this month, opened a new maintenance hangar at PIK, doubling the size of their maintenance facility there? To move their base to GLA, but have their maintenance facility at PIK would be a bit of an operational nightmare surely?

 

[red dug]

Airport has a new website very good looking and pure dead brilliant has vanished which is even better

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Very striking effect.

I like the departures/arrivals boards showing 'cancelled' in English and Spanish.

 

[Aviador]

Very striking effect.

I like the departures/arrivals boards showing 'cancelled' in English and Spanish.

I love the idea but they need to learn Spanish first!

Cancelled in Spanish is Anulado I'm pretty sure Cancelado is Portuguese

The website looks good though I have to say!

 

[radar]

pure dead brilliant has vanished which is even better

Is it still plastered across the terminal?

For an airport, an international business if ever there was one, choosing such a parochial and baffling slogan defies belief.

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Prestwick picks up flights

Airport handles 30 redirected planes in one day

Glasgow Prestwick airport has underlined its status as an all weather airport as it managed to stay open during Mondays snow chaos handling 30 diverted flights.

The news came as Prestwicks owners Infratil Airports announced that passenger numbers jumped 17 per cent during October as more airlines are deciding to use the Ayrshire facility for holiday flights to the sun.

Prestwick which has an excellent weather record accepted diverted flights from places such as Dubai, Paris, Bologna, Bristol and Stornoway as both Glasgow and Edinburg airports were forced to close.

Airlines which touched down at Prestwick included Emirates, Easyjet, Ryanair and BMI.

Iain Cochrane, chief executive, said: "In very difficult circumstances, our staff, both airside and in the terminal, did a magnificent job in handling the flights and looking after the passengers.

"Many staff came in specially to help out, even though they were not rostered to be here, and many stayed on after they were due to finish their shifts. They were fantastic."

Infratil said 177,280 people passed through the terminal in October compared with 152,163 in the same month in 2009 as Scots flocked to sunshine destinations.

Prestwick is a major hub for Irish no-frills airline Ryanair, which flies to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Faro in Portugal and Alicante, Malaga and Barcelona in Spain.
Graeme Sweenie, chief commercial officer at Infratil, said: " We had a very strong summer at Prestwick. We picked up capacity from the collapse of Globespan."

Source[/textarea]

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Prestwick has largest summer schedule ever

Prestwick Airport has celebrated the launch of its largest-ever summer schedule. The airport's Chief Executive, Iain Cochrane, said: ‘This is the largest number of sunshine destinations we have ever offered holidaymakers since Prestwick was established in 1934.'

‘From Faro to Fuerteventura, and from Malta to Malaga, Scots now have the widest choice of holiday routes at the lowest prices. The extended schedule is a massive vote of confidence in Prestwick.’

Sourse[/textarea]

 

[Aviador]

Another one to add to the list perhaps do you think 'LocalYokel'? It sounds like the resident spin doctor is at work here. Prestwick has had a shocking 12-18 months and I doubt whether this is a true statement that it is the largest number of sunshine destinations ever offered.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I don't know which routes PIK used to have when it carried considerably more passengers than it does at the moment.

It certainly does sound like the airport spin beloved of so many CEOs but we will have to see how this impacts on the figures this summer to see if the airport is really turning the corner.

My gut instinct is that this is a selective part of the overall picture.

 

[SJM]

This is indeed 'spin'. Although the number of so-called 'sunshine' routes has increased, Prestwick's overall number of Ryanair destinations is now 23, having at one stage been 29. They have lost many of the city break' destinations to Edinburgh over the last few years. This is why Prestwick is hit so hard over the winter months, when Ryanair slash many of the sunshine routes in the winter timetable and reduce frequency on others.

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Prestwick Airport top on Facebook

Prestwick Airport has jumped to become one of the top UK airports in terms of its Facebook popularity. The airport used an online competition to boost its internet presence. The competition saw people tagging themselves in pictures taken by airport employees at several popular areas and events in the city and gathering ‘likes’ to determine the most popular.

Spokesperson Nicola Clark said the airport wanted to exploit the potential of Facebook to highlight the routes and benefits of using the airport ‘in a fun way’. She said: ‘We visited Glasgow city centre, various shopping centres, holiday shows and Ayr County Fair, where we pictured over 300 people holding one of our destination boards they had chosen. The pictures were then uploaded onto Facebook, people found their photo, tagged themselves in the picture and got all their friends to ‘like’ the picture.’

Glaswegians Garry Molloy and Frazer MacRobert claimed their prize of an all-expenses-paid Ibiza holiday with an value of £2,000 after gathering 700 likes.

Source[/textarea]

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Infratil May Sell Glasgow Airport as Ryanair Cuts Flights

Infratil Ltd. may sell Glasgow Prestwick Airport following flight cuts by Ryanair Holdings Plc, the airfield’s largest operator of scheduled passenger services.

“Glasgow isn’t performing,” Marko Bogoievski, chief executive officer of Wellington, New Zealand-based Infratil, said in an Oct. 5 interview. “It’s a difficult asset to see in the portfolio in the long term.”[/textarea]

Full article at this link

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-1 ... ights.html

Infratil have large investments in a number of airports around the globe but its two UK airports (Prestwick and Manston) saw a £6 million combined operating loss in the year ended 31 March.

With either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports having to be sold on the instructions of the Competition Commission the airport scene in Scotland may look somewhat different in a few years than it does today.

The uncertainty on the future ownership of Edinburgh or Glasgow (especially) must make a prospective bidder for Prestwick very wary as they won't know the shape of the competition until GLA or EDI is disposed of.

A new owner for, say, GLA might have a completely different business outlook compared with BAA.

 

[Aviador]

If BAA decide to sell Glasgow International airport, the Scottish aviation scene could change out of all recognition. Any operator that purchases Glasgow International will want to take on the likes of BAA Edinburgh and Infratil's Glasgow Prestwick airport.

Unfortunately for both Glasgow Prestwick and Edinburgh airports, Glasgow is centrally located within the region and so offers the best longer term outlook of all the Scottish airports in my opinion.

If BAA decide to sell Edinburgh airport, BAA will have to raise the game at Glasgow International airport which will only put more pressure on Infratil's Glasgow Prestwick airport.

With the economy as it is, and with things expected to stay pretty gloomy for the foreseeable future, Glasgow Preswick might be better off concentrating on what it does best which is cargo. As a cargo facility, it is positioned well to serve both Scotland and Northern parts of England.

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]GE threaten to cut back at Prestwick Airport over union call

General Electric is threatening to abandon a £40 million plan to upgrade its plant at Prestwick Airport as it battles with nearly 600 staff to prevent them from setting up a formal union presence at the site, the Herald Scotland reports

Managers at GE Caledonian, which services and repairs around 200 aircraft engines in Ayrshire each year, have been expressing doubts to workers about whether the extension will go ahead, according to 'insiders' at the plant. If it does, it is expected to add at least 100 jobs to the site. However, staff have also been warned that the plant’s two biggest customers – United Parcel Service and Federal Express – are unhappy about the drive for unionisation and might reconsider their servicing arrangements.

Management are said to be strongly opposed to formal organisation at the plant despite the fact that GE Caledonian is the only major plant out of about half a dozen in the UK GE Aviation division where the union is not recognised. Amid concerns about changes to pension arrangements, the Herald reports that 60% of the circa 850 staff are members of the Unite union and 70% signed a petition in favour of union recognition. Unite last week submitted a formal application to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) for recognition, which is a formality when over half of a workforce are members unless the management can produce compelling evidence against.

Source[/textarea]

 

[Jordan-34092]

Founder of Prestwick Airport owner dies


Lloyd Morrison, the founder or Prestwick Airport owner Infratil and 'a major player on the international airports scene', has died after a long battle with leukaemia, Air Cargo reports.

Mr Morrison founded the Wellington-based international infrastructure investment company whose current airport interests include a 66 percent stake in Wellington Airport as well as full ownership of Prestwick and Manston Airport in Kent. The company also holds bus, energy, fuel, property and transport fare system investments.

Mr Morrison was also renowned for his community involvement, notably in music and sport.


Source

 

[red dug]

Its being reported Infratil has put Prestwick and Manston up for sale

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Its being reported Infratil has put Prestwick and Manston up for sale

Thanks red dug.

Any early press speculation as to potential purchasers?

 

[red dug]

Nothing so far

 

[Seasider]

I don't think that anyone will be rushing to buy an airport at this moment in time.

 

[Aviador]

[textarea]AIRPORT WARNING OVER WIND TURBINE

THE operators of Prestwick Airport have warned an Irvine company to speak to them before they go ahead with plans for a giant 500KW wind turbine.

Caledonian Paper are considering submitting a formal application to erect the turbine to provide power to their paper mill at Meadowhead.

The company want to invest the cash to help offset rising energy costs at the huge mill.
But the airport have said they have the site on their primary surveillance radar.

The huge turbine would be mounted on a 150 metre tower and could interfere with the airport approach radar.

Full Story: http://www.irvineherald.co.uk/ayrshire- ... -31623323/[/textarea]

We often see airports raise concerns over fears new wind turbines will interfere with radar equipment but does it really effect radar returns sufficiently to cause safety concerns? Surely equipment today can blank out radar returns that are permanently there? I understand 'ghost' radar returns are common place from numerous obstacles such as high sided vehicles on motorways through to flocks of birds.