ALDERNEY

[rog747]

Originally Posted by adfly

Any logic in Aurigny picking up 1/2 ATR42 for to operate from an extended Alderney runway? The short field 'S' models would probably quite reliably carry a full load in most conditions, and they can work on slimmer Guernsey routes as well, not to mention the obvious commonality with the '72 fleet.

Yes the new ATR42 600S may just be OK for Alderney's 880m runway as is - ATR say that economical loads of 42 pax on 200nm missions can be flown to and off 800m.
The ATR72 needs around 1100m T/O and over 900m LDG.

Sadly no good for St Mary's ISC which is just short of 700m long - even too short for a small Dash 8-100 with restricted payload.
Only the Twotter reigns still - the Dash -7 would be now ideal but that ship sailed years ago.

[kcockayne]

Originally Posted by five zero by ortac

Good comments. The real questions are;

Is a longer runway needed - Yes
Will fleet consolidation improve Aurigny's finances - Yes
Will the business case add up - probably not when you take into account higher airport operating costs and buying in Medivac
Would this improve Alderney's economy - No
Will this provide higher flight frequencys - No
Does this reduce fares - No
Is there the money to do this - No

Also your 55 pax payload is for a perfect day, dry runway and wind straight down it. An average winter day is 37. A bad day = no flight.
However, to future proof the airport, yes it should be extended.

five zero sums it all up, in my opinion.
On the subject of reducing costs for hospital patients; back in August The States Of Jersey paid £196 for a one way trip from Southampton to Jersey for me. I have no idea what they paid Gama to get me there (brilliant service, I have to say). So, let us hope that the island governments can negotiate some sort of rebate on these flights !

[Aero Mad]

Originally Posted by rog747

Yes the new ATR42 600S may just be OK for Alderney's 880m runway as is - ATR say that economical loads of 42 pax on 200nm missions can be flown to and off 800m.
The ATR72 needs around 1100m T/O and over 900m LDG.

Cost of the extension over rebuilding estimated at only £12-15m more; even if it's £25m, the extra cost of acquiring one or two 42-600s, and having an additional type in the fleet, is likely to cancel this out. There would also be less resilience to the service if it were to depend on another type.

Originally Posted by five zero by ortac

Would this improve Alderney's economy - No

If you're providing 20,000 extra seats, as you would with a couple of GCI returns and one SOU return per day as a minimum level of service (with extra capacity available in summer, important for Alderney's intensely seasonal market), and can do so at the same or lower CASM and fares, given the bottlenecks which the limits to the current service place on Alderney's economy, I don't think it's possible to say with any certainty that this wouldn't improve the situation.

Whether it is affordable for the Bailiwick is a more difficult question. What we do know from the last ten years is that Alderney in managed decline is - and would for a very long time be - a very expensive policy choice indeed.

[bmaviscount]

Wouldn't some brand new islanders be a better option with improved frequency on both the GCI SOU and even JER routes

[Wycombe]

Alderney should be a ideal environment for the new Cessna Skycourier
Just certificated in the US.

[jmdavies86]

Originally Posted by bmaviscount

Wouldn't some brand new islanders be a better option with improved frequency on both the GCI SOU and even JER routes

I believe that's what Air Alderney are hoping to achieve, albeit they're not using brand new BN Islanders.

[Malthouse]

Originally Posted by Wycombe

Alderney should be a ideal environment for the new Cessna Skycourier
Just certificated in the US.

Looks nice!

[Aero Mad]

Alderney held to ransom by runway repairs - The Times