Buster the Bear
6th Jul 2004, 20:38
Airport and property group PlaneStation has blamed a lack of disposals and a number of one-offs for a loss in the year to end-March04 of £17m on turnover of £12.2m.
In March it brought in turnaround specialist Martin May as chief executive on a short-term contract. Today it announced that May would stay as CEO till March06.
PlaneStation, formerly Wiggins, has redefined its airport portfolio into core and non-core with priority now given to Kent International - Manston in the UK, Orlando-Melbourne in Florida and Black Forest Airport Lahr in Germany.
Manston will be the base for EU Jet, the Irish low-cost carrier which PlaneStation owns 30%. EuJet services start in September and are scheduled to bring 500K passengers through the airport in its first year of operation.
Today PlaneStation announced that it had entered into talks with Sony to use Manston 'as a showcase for leading edge technology which will include surveillance, facial detection systems, smartcards and e-business ticketing [to create] efficient passenger flows.'
It also added that the long-term development of the airport 'can best be carried out in conjunction with an operating investing partner whilst [it] remains majority shareholder'.
Its Florida airport already handles 400K domestic passengers. It is close to Disneyland but also the nearest airport to Port Canaveral, which next year will become the 'largest cruise port in the world.' PlaneStation said that Orlando-Melboourne 'is well placed to attract substantial volumes of new UK charter traffic from various destination points in the UK including Kent International'.
Its final core airport in the Black Forest has a full cargo licence while its passenger licence is effectively limited to 50-seater planes. Baltic Airport on the main Hamburg-Berlin autobahn is now non-core despite having 'one of the only two runways in Germany wide enough to handle the new Airbus A380.'
In March it brought in turnaround specialist Martin May as chief executive on a short-term contract. Today it announced that May would stay as CEO till March06.
PlaneStation, formerly Wiggins, has redefined its airport portfolio into core and non-core with priority now given to Kent International - Manston in the UK, Orlando-Melbourne in Florida and Black Forest Airport Lahr in Germany.
Manston will be the base for EU Jet, the Irish low-cost carrier which PlaneStation owns 30%. EuJet services start in September and are scheduled to bring 500K passengers through the airport in its first year of operation.
Today PlaneStation announced that it had entered into talks with Sony to use Manston 'as a showcase for leading edge technology which will include surveillance, facial detection systems, smartcards and e-business ticketing [to create] efficient passenger flows.'
It also added that the long-term development of the airport 'can best be carried out in conjunction with an operating investing partner whilst [it] remains majority shareholder'.
Its Florida airport already handles 400K domestic passengers. It is close to Disneyland but also the nearest airport to Port Canaveral, which next year will become the 'largest cruise port in the world.' PlaneStation said that Orlando-Melboourne 'is well placed to attract substantial volumes of new UK charter traffic from various destination points in the UK including Kent International'.
Its final core airport in the Black Forest has a full cargo licence while its passenger licence is effectively limited to 50-seater planes. Baltic Airport on the main Hamburg-Berlin autobahn is now non-core despite having 'one of the only two runways in Germany wide enough to handle the new Airbus A380.'