I would not like to see a fully loaded 773 boarding from Prestwick. Its cramped enough when just one 738 or A320 is boarding!

If I was flying that day, I would be delighted that Emirates went to the effort of flying their aircraft 30 miles north, rather than bussing passengers 30 miles south and considering the weather conditions. All things considered, I'm sure your grievance with Emirates regarding this puts you in the minority rather than the majority.

Hmmm generally feel it's OK with ONE B737-800, I think the Ryanair boarding method of queueing in the corridor isn't the best.

To be fair they used to board three wide bodies every Saturday lunchtime when I was a kid. Northwest Orient B747, Wardair B747 and Air Canada TriStar / B747. Then Worldways would turn up.....

Happy days. I used to cry at DC8s because of the noise apparently. Anyway I digress....

PIK-Salzburg now showing on the Ryanair website. :)

^^^ On three dates in February only. But then again, in PIK terms that's still good news :}

The EK on sunday was off loaded and pax bussed to GLA

7 aircraft to be based over the summer, and a deal has been signed to handle the canadian air force movements. good news

Good news indeed, where is that info from?

I just had a look at the new airport website. Very nice, and not a 'Pure Dead Brilliant' in sight! Can I assume that ridiculous period in the airport's history is now over?

I have flown from PIK when only one 737-8 has been boarding - absolute breeze. I have also flown early morning during the summer when five 737-8s go out in succession - handled well despite the SLF. Boarding a 777 in a controlled fashion at PIK is no more if a hassle than boarding at GLA via an airbridge. Anyway more to the point, good news about the CAF and it would be good to get confirmation about the 7 based aircraft- are they all FRs - or is there a chance if a based IT aircraft?

the canadian airforce contract was held between greer and ocean sky. Now pik handling has the contract, on a 1 year deal. 7 based ryanair aircraft, possibly 8, rotating the terminators in and out the hangar, makes sense 2 fully utilise the hangar, if another freight company came in then pik would be on the up again, starting 2 stabilize now.

Again one has to ask where is the info from ? Depends who you listen to...7 based aircraft says one...fewer rotations says another....and now a suggestion of 8 aircraft ? What does that mean anyway ? One day last week I counted 12 aircraft all present at the same time....5 in hangars, some sitting outside.

As for the CAF contract, that doesn't mean any more aircraft. That just means the latest round of the ''handling wars'' see PIK Handling win a contract you say was shared between Green and Ocean Sky. Why does PIK want these contracts when Greer or OS are better placed to provide good service with staff not distracted by Ryanairs or 747Fs ? One display of bad service and you won't get a return Customer.

I personally have had a 146 arrive in PIK that I had arranged handling for on Apron G only to find it was hijacked to stand 7, and it had to be repositioned to G to let our staff have access, while the Captain and I stood at the bottom of the stairs watching PIK argue with another handler about who was handling it. I was not impressed.

Finally, we have lost Flybe this coming summer, and the Air France 747F flights will cease sooner or later because AF are progressively getting rid of all their freighters.

So lets not get too optimistic too soon.

Apparently jet fuel at Glasgow Prestwick is reaching a "criticly low level". So what happens here? Can flights land with enough fuel to make a return 4 hour flight? Or will aircraft take-off, land in England or Ireland to pick up more fuel and continue onto the destination from there? Or will flights simply be cancelled? Sorry for my ignorance on these circumstances.

I suspect the rumour about 7 or 8 based aircraft in the summer are correct, over the previous summers its been a similar story. The loads are always full and with the demise of globespan theres an even bigger market on the summer routes. It's looking more like a seasonal airport for RYR, vast amounts of flying in the summer, low key in the winter.

apparently either ocean sky or greer aviation will be gone by march. 1 2 stay, 1 2 go. Pik handling recruiting now 2 pick up the gap.

Last night they were only accepting limited diversions, due to fuel

Fuel shortage now dropped from the latest NOTAM so a delivery must have been made. Interesting to note that over 50 extra flights have been handled due to the weather elsewhere since 1 December.

All i can say if PIK handling are left to fill the gap god help us all watch the buisness nosedive :ugh:

thats a bit harsh, pik handling just as competent as the other 2, as i posted earlier, there recruiting at the moment and keeping all existing dispatchers. its just a small step in the right direction.

I agree with Honest Man, are one of them being forced out because PIK cant compete with them? Without Ocean Skyand Greer Prestwick would struggle BIG time!!!!

Sorry, but agree totally with the last 2 posts. What I`ve seen and heard of PIK handling leaves a lot to be desired, and I fear for future transit traffic, if one or tother have to leave.

It staggers me that PIK cannot understand that every extra deal Greer or Ocean Sky win, and every extra aircraft they bring in, is extra revenue for PIK for doing nothing other than providing a lead car. Historically PIK have not gone to the lenghts of the other two in going out to win business. Indeed they have lost it, eg Atlas and Evergreen B747Fs, the latter reputedly through such a stupid issue of providing inadequate crew meals. Reputation sees them slow to handle non-scheduled aircraft, and showing preference to Ryanair and 747Fs. How can PIK handle aircraft on the outer aprons as well as G or OS, when aircraft can park outside the G or OS offices, crew can walk to the G or OS facilities and coaches can drive to the aircraft ? Again my personal experience of the handling of a BAE146 underscores this. What facility can PIK offer that matches G or OS facilities, without the lounges, without security hastles and without preference shown to others ? PIK should stick to what they do, win back B747Fs and the Dreamlifter, and leave G and OS to do the rest much better than PIK. It's not just about handling aircraft, its about displaying enthusiastic interest in doing so, and ensuring repeat business.