It was me who was accused of "putting a negative spin on flight numbers" . It is simple the flights numbers this Winter are not great, there are no new destinations and no sign of significant growth. The place has stalled. In comparison to pre infratil days (and even just after) the passenger levels are abysmyl. I wasnt being negative just truthfull. GLA is slowly aquiring market share on routes that PIK and FR should dominate.

However, in terms of takeover discussions there are a number of options being discussed at the present time and it does look like there are options on the table. Dependent on how Infratil react. Some of these options are quite exciting.

I am actually involved in this so its not hearsay. Infact there were meetings held today in London on the issue.

Me too. It might be something along the lines of the councils owning the airport and then tendering the running and management of the terminal (or perhaps the entire airport) to a third party. Similar to the arrangement that Regional & City Airports Management (RCAM) have at airports such as Blackpool, City of Derry and Exeter (Home - Regional & City Airports Management). There's a bit more background to the City of Derry situation here MSA | Derry Airport

(I cite RCAM purely as an example of a possible relationship and I'm not suggesting that this is necessarily what the councils are going for nor that RCAM would necessarily be involved).

The Daily Record story (Prestwick Airport set for £6m boost from from public purse - Daily Record ) refers to a meeting on Tuesday 27th August of South Ayrshire Council's leadership panel. That meeting's papers are here (https://ww20.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/e...nda27Aug13.pdf ). There's nothing obvious relating to the above story, but the papers relating to it may well have been confidential. I note that there's an item relating to an application to the 'West of Scotland Loan Fund Ltd' and wondered if that might be the relevant paper (it seems to be confidential). The fund's website states that the maximum loan they advance is only £50,000, so perhaps it's not that (or the councils are using various sources to assemble the £2 million each quoted in the article).

Thanks for the update 'Sunsetrep' and I hope that the discussions reach a successful conclusion.

Coming from a background of five passenger flights some winters and later watching the last Transat TriStar leave in 1991 not knowing if we'd ever see passenger traffic again I am going to disagree with "abysmal". PIK intruded into GLA's markets not vice versa. Passenger numbers are what you're getting post bubble when people tried PIK once for their jaunt to the sun and Ryanair made use of better inbound tourism at EDI. Like it or not, PIK is in a mature market, no one will pitch up and battle Ryanair for slender reward and no one will look beyond the Ryanair market with facilities as they currently are.

There is no commercial imperative or ability to improve matters which is partly why they can't sell it. I would say making the best of what they have is all they can do. Demolishing the whole 1960s transatlantic gateway terminal and replacing with a new build loco fit facility has to be the medium term goal, ideally before it falls down in a winter gale. Of course only the taxpayer would ever pony up the money for that and that's not allowed anymore.

Totally agree with you S1E. The pickings are now so thin, so privatised, and so biased towards the already-successful that PIK is, like so many others, in a very bad place. The reality is that PIK's years of success were, again like so many others, the years when government dictated by one means or another where flights went, and the money followed those decisions. But that was also an era when it was acknowledged that a civilised society required key infrastructure that ought therefore to be in public hands.
NS

Balfour Beattie have won the contract to build the new Search And Rescue bases. The one at Prestwick will be a new build. Does anyone know whereabouts on the airfield it will be situated?

Grass area between foxtrot and Charlie north side

That'll be a nightmare for the construction crew, working airside at a commercial airport. :uhoh:

Airside passes, background checks, tools of the trade passes, vehicle escorts ... it'll add time and cost to the build compared with some of the other locations.

It's not in the sterile zone, no need for that sort of level, it may even be fenced off as well.

Well I've worked airside many times at PIK but not in the last year; I hope you are right. If they could agree a fenced of working area then that would work, but it's perimeter will still have to be patrolled.

I hope they (PIK) can to facilitate this working well but my overall experience of airside access around the UK is that there will be someone in an intermediate management position who is trying to justify their existance and will throw obstacles rather than solutions at the problem.

If you can get buy in from the very top then you'll get co-operation if not you'll be saddled with problems.

Comments based on my humble experience of 25 years on UK ramps

It is possible to build a hangar at Prestwick. The Polar hangar was built. The 2 Ryanair hangars were built. People were even allowed on the runway over the past two weeks doing resurfacing work. They even allow grass cutters on the airfield. Somehow, I think people will be allowed to build the Bristow hangar.

I'm not for one minute suggesting they wouldn't be allowed to build, I am simply making the observation that working airside at a commercial airport is not without it's problems.

Airshow to Return?
 

I remember going to the last one in '92. It was a great day out and was the forming of my interest in aviation.
Maybe with the ending of the Leuchars Air Show, Prestwick can establish itself once again as Scotland's premiere air show...

Ryanair drops Paris and Faro flights from airport | Herald Scotland

Back to my post then - NO Growth for PIK this winter and infact reductions - with Glasgow and the locos there now easily taking capacity and market share.

I wish I could say a lot more about other things but I cant. :ugh:may say it all!

As usual with PIK the news is always up and down! Interesting about Faro as this appears to have been a winner this year and I actually flew out and back in mid June to almost full flights. Is there a dispute going on between FR and FAO at present?

Anyway passenger numbers and freight up in September v 2012.


Glasgow Prestwick Airport?s September Passenger Numbers Up 7% | Glasgow Prestwick Airport

I wouldn't get too upset, it's a surprise BVA lasted this long now that FR are clearly doing city routes from EDI and traditional Weegie sun routes from PIK.
I will be concerned if next summer sees a capacity drop over this year, but winter sun from Scotland has never been all that lucrative.
Against what though? The short haul sun routes FR are now focusing on were historically GLA's bread and butter. FR capacity isn't moving to GLA, it's getting parked for the winter with the gift of 100% of market share to the other guy to lose money as he so wishes. OK a little exaggeration but you see my point.

That's the problem with the volatile business model, in this instance (if true) there may be a problem 'down the line' but it's PIK that suffers.

From a PIK's perspective better to have FR than nothing at all but would be better if they could secure routes with a less volatile operator.

Faro is only being dropped for a short period over the winter. There is not much demand as the weather in the Algarve over the winter is not brilliant.

I dont actually see your point - airlines do not run routes at a loss, especially the Loco. Market share of the shorthaul sun flights is being picked up by LS and EZY for a number of reasons.

Lets not have our heads in the sand here, under the current development and management the airport is back to a terminal decline. FAO is actually a popular winter destination and has held its load factors until now.

With the loss of this capacity even for a short time this winter (5months) then you effectively wipe out any growth.

PIK was always massively seasonal, the years Ryanair flew city routes may come to be seen as an aberation. Also remember even EZY have barely set the heather on fire out of GLA as the market still has a fondness for the old ways.