Update
Good morning all, and may I say a Happy Christmas & a prosperous New Year to all our readers.
Our short series of flights for the Post Office went off as planned. The CAA have completed their review of the TRTO application and we expect written approval shortly. The CAA Flight Ops performed an audit and that went OK apart from the normal moans about crew & paperwork!
There have been many comments posed about the lack of flying, so perhaps a few words on the commercial front may be in order. Unlike passenger flying, where it is down to the airline to select the route, advertise it and then start flying, the vast majority of cargo operations are on behalf of specific customers, such as the Post Office, Courier Companies or Freight Agents. When a contract is signed, it is normally for a specified period, with specific break clauses. Thus we have to wait until the contracts are up for renewal before we get a chance to bid for the work, unless, for example, another operator goes out of business.
Ad-hoc work is very variable, with a lot being motor manufacturer based which is going to take a big hit as most motor plants seem to be going on short time working.
That said, in the current business environment, a lot of customers are reviewing their air networks to ensure that they meet their requirements. This may mean that customers are looking to downsize from a larger aircraft to something a bit smaller, or they may decide that a specific route needs a separate operation. Conversely this may mean that routes are combined and need to use a larger aircraft. We are in constant communication with potential customers and running quotations for all sorts of operations. However, while it is still unclear how deep/long this period of recession is going to be, customers are waiting to see what happens. Luckily we are in a position where we can wait out this delay without it costing the earth.
As a final point, there have been some derogatory postings, about our progress (or perceived lack of). We feel this is a little unfair, as we have tried to keep the broader aviation community apprised of our progress (where are the similar threads from West Atlantic, HD Air etc?), while respecting commercial sensitivity. While we will endeavour to keep this thread going in the spirit in which it was started, the people who need to know do not rely on this for their information.
Rgds JAN OPS 1