Eddie Stobart Air
 

Stobart Air
 

Many thanks for posting this - very interesting.:)

:hmm:

Wouldn't suit all pilots though.
Eddie's drivers used to have to look smart, wear ties and were not allowed to eat or drink whist driving.:p

This could be interesting. Edie Stobart used to employ inspectors on the roads. I once heard of a driver being followed to a service station on the motorway by one of these inspectors, who then sacked the poor sod on the spot as he wasn't wearing a tie !!! Might be a bit of urban myth in this tale, but I know for a fact that it isn't that far from the truth!!

So what happens now, is there going to be a new spy satellite system sent up so they can see if the pilots are smart??

Whose reister will be aircraft be flown on? It is no secret that a fair amount of the Stobart road fleet is regsitered in Belgium to avoid road tax and fuel duty.

Personally, wouldn't let them run a village post round, let alone road transport, but then to remain fair here, I used to be involved in road haulage, and Stobart is the MOL of that industry, makes money and everyone hates him for doing it!!!

"Trucks, trains and maybe planes. Eddie Stobart spotters will be spoilt for choice."
:ok:

Anybody wanna buy some aircraft?
 

Well there's plenty of Emerald aircraft sitting on the Apron at Blackpool without a home to go to at the moment, if he's interested. :D

The stobarts bought carlisle airport at the start of the year and have plan for fraight and pax flights from CAX :ok:

Pax flights from Carslisle?? I would have thought that would have quite a limited catchment area. Blackpool, and to greater extent Newcastle aren't that far away.

I would imagine that freight might have some viability in it from there, as long as there is a link up with the road fleet. Problem being, back in the day when I was a novice artic driver, there was no minimum wage, but Stobart drivers were amongst the poorest paid in the industry. Since Eddie himself stepped down I don't know what T&C's are like now, but if they are still in a similar vain, then what are pilots going to get???

As for obeying rules, again under the reign of King Eddie, but I did hear a rumour about some of his drivers and managers falling foul of drivers hours regs in the early 90's.

To be fair, a lot of the negativity against Stobart in the haulage industry (including my comments here) come from the totalitarian rule of Eddie himself. For instance, he noticed one day that he was sending loaded artics into Scotland, and they were all coming back empty. So he then approached business in Scotland and offered to drag whatever they wanted as far as Carslisle for free. It cost him sod all extra as he still had the running costs of the vehicle, wages etc empty or full. On the back of this a lot of small hauliers in Scotland went to the wall, and industry up there was then paying half the haulage fee they were paying, and Stobart cleaned up. And a lot of reputable hauliers went bang. Good people that were trying to earn a butty, as the only way to get rich in haulage is to get out of it!

I cannot pass comment on the new management, but it has to be said that a leopard doesn't change it's spots, it might find a new cave to live in, but the spots stay the same. It would be interesting to hear from someone with a greater knowledge of the current Stobart operation that I have.

To sum up, the idea makes sense in a business way, but what are the mechanics of it, or is it just a way to gain cheap publicity???

The catchment area for carlisle is alot bigger then you think, dont forget the Lake District National Park,tourists from the USA and all over love it.
The west coast towns of whitehaven, workington and not forgetting the city of carlisle are crying out from airlinks, my family live in workington a big town, the closest airports to them is NCL,BLK or GLA all over 2.5 hours drive, I this day and age most people only have an hour or so drive to the airport and I would not miss the drive from essex to cumbria 5.5 hrs.

[quote

Whose reister will be aircraft be flown on? It is no secret that a fair amount of the Stobart road fleet is regsitered in Belgium to avoid road tax and fuel duty.

70 of the 845 trucks operated by Stobarts are registered in Belgium to service some of the european contracts they operate. A few others operate from Kiev......and the rest run on UK plates paying UK RFL and UK fuel duty

So pushing 10% of the fleet then. Even small numbers like this, I understand why, and don't have a great problem with trucks being registered abroad, as the UK haulage industry is taxed to death and regulated even further, whilst our european neighbours are free to send every bag of bolts held together by rust that they like!!!!!

As I said, I don't profess to be an expert on Stobart operations, I can just echo the sentiments that the UK haulage industry hold about that operator. As I said, Stobart are the Ryanair of the haulage world, they make money and everyone hates them for doing it!!

I have to admit that there is a masive tourist industry in the Lake District, in general made up of Americans and other nationals, as well as UK tourists. But what investment would be needed at Carlisle airport to enable trans atlantic ops? Probably more than the Stobarts want to pay. Whilst commuter flights from the regions, and even near Europe would help the local economy, and I am not about to put anywhere down at all, and indeed the Lake District is a fantastic place to visit, but in the harsh world of business I doubt that any investment to bring Carslisle upto an airline operation standard wold be re-couped by landing fees within a reasonable time frame. Although it would do wonders for the local tourist industry, the Stobarts, other than perhaps bringing goods to the local shops to sell, would not get a significant cut of the revenue it would generate to justify the expenditure needed.

Freight on the other hand, if managed in the right way from the start could be a viable option.

I am simply mindful of Sheffield City Airport. Built to take a hold of a niche market, perhaps in the wrong place really, but with the greatest intentions to turn it into a commuter hub for the local population. Never "took off" (pardon the pun) and those of us that fly there are simply waiting for Peel to close it.

Carslisle is a splendid GA field, with the best scenery this country has to offer en route. I would hate to see it spoiled, and then turned into a retail park 5 years down the line in a vain attempt to recoup the lost investment.

It will be interesting to see which part(s) of the freight market they intend to service. I wonder if they are aware of the willingness of shippers to pay such premiums to have goods moved by air as apposed to by road.

I have said that there is a good potential market for freight in Carslisle. That doesn't mean that it will be economical, especially in these "cost concious" days.

Let's be fair, how much is airfreight these days? To send a fully loaded artic from Manchester to Glasgow is in the £400 - 500 ball park depending on who you ask. How much would it cost to move 32 tonnes of goods on that route by air??

Because prices in the haulage industry have been driven into the ground over the years, in part perpetuated by Stobart themselves, the margins are that narrow, the customers have a whip hand, and will change haulier at the drop of a hat to save 50p per load. Within the UK there is no particular benefit other than rush goods. To look at it objectively, take a 1 tonne box of freight on the afore mentioned route.

It leaves your premesis in a truck and is driven to destination in about 4 or so hours, delivered to the door for about £450 or thereabouts.

Or take it to the local airport (haulage charge) have it packed for air transport (handlers cost) have it loaded on the plane (cost of a loader) fly the freight to Glasgow (air transport cost) unload it at destination, then have it delivered to the customer. All involve a cost, take time, I imagine that it would be cheaper, and certainly quicker to move those goods purely by road.

Now goods coming from near Europe are another matter, it is effective as it can take 2 days to get an artic back from France, and the best part of a week from Southern Spain. 3 or so hours by air, definate benefit.

This whole idea has the potential to create good things for the airport, the local community and could be a win-win all round, if done right.

The remaining question is, will it be done right?????

Before plying the skies I used to drive artics to earn a bean. The driver getting sacked for "having no tie" story rings a bell. My Father also drove for a living working for an associated firm, Irlams.He once received a boot in the rear from Mr Irlam himself for not wearing a tie! Man you stink of diesel after 5days living in a truck, never mind the tie.

Anyway. Wonder if he'll name the aircraft as well

Aircraft type?
 

What kind of aircraft then would be the most suitable for operating out of Carlisle on freight runs?

As an ex traffic cop ( tin hat on await hostile incoming) There was never much point in pulling a Stobart Truck always mint and paper work to die for. Not like some I could name. If Air Eddie gets going it'll be a straight and tight run ship (IMHO) Thats one lot of spots this leopard wont change. Built the entire business on clean straight motors. They pull about 10%-15% premium at auction apparantly.
Be lucky
David

They'll need to resurface the runway first!

They should be able to get 737 in there without too much trouble. Though what their real plans are I have no idea.

Fair comment. However, the same could also be said of R F Feilding's operation, and if you are up to date, you will know what has happened to them!!!!!!!

Just because they look good doesn't mean they are!!

Some more info
 

see link http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/vi...aspx?id=389844

A few years back R F Fielding's fell foul of the Ministry boys, and were being investigated if that's what you're referring to. Used to see their vehicles a lot at drops. Don't know what happened in the end as I moved out of the industry. Just glad to be away from those tacho regs. They were a nightmare for long distance drivers. Makes FTL schemes seem like child's play