Select a region
A slew of suggestions were made in a review of Aurigny's operations, carried out by PA Consulting, while some of his decisions have been vindicated, but the airline’s CEO says there are no feelings of “vindication”.
The airline says it will now focus on "Resilience, Retention, and Collaboration", with a comprehensive plan outlined to address the criticisms highlighted in the PA Consulting report, published this week.
You can read more about the PA Report and its findings HERE.
Pictured: CEO Nico Bezuidenhout has acknowledged areas for improvement and detailed the airline's ongoing efforts to enhance its operations.
The disruption faced by Aurigny earlier this year was always bound to come under scrutiny, and now the airline has put plans in place to prevent a similar situation occurring again.
Essentially the report picked up that the airline had faced challenges in maintaining consistent schedules and delays, plus the ‘rigid scheduling’ often made it ‘difficult to accommodate unforeseen circumstances’.
"The first step was to re-engineer our summer schedule," explained Mr. Bezuidenhout. "We've introduced substantially more resilience, including increased standby aircraft capacity and strategically placed breaks throughout the day."
The airline says this proactive approach aims to mitigate disruptions caused by factors such as adverse weather conditions or technical issues, and gives them a little more wiggle room should the weather become its usually uncooperative self.
Aurigny has taken a phased approach to releasing its 2025 summer schedule, prioritising essential connections between Guernsey and Alderney, and between Guernsey and London Gatwick, London City, and Southampton. Alderney to Southampton flights are also available to book now for next summer. However Liverpool, East Midlands, Exeter and Stansted services are all being axed.
Mr.Bizhuidenhout said: “Consolidating your effort on one route, as opposed to splitting it across two, does help with resilience. Again, that doesn't mean that we cannot look at ad hoc operations to Stansted, but not as frequent and regular service, as we may have had this year.
“I feel obliged to make sure that I use the taxpayers assets as efficiently as possible, especially in cases where it cannot affect or does not affect the resilience of other services.”
A full story on next Summer’s schedule is available HERE.
The report stated that part of the reason for Aurigny being hit especially hard during this pilot shortage comes down to pay. It says Aurigny's pilots' salaries start at just over £40,000 per annum, rising to £53,000 after 10 years - lower than other airlines, which contributes to a high turnover rate among Aurigny pilots.
"It's a known fact that pilots typically progress to larger aircraft and higher salaries," Mr. Bezuidenhout stated. "We can't compete with offers like $300,000 a year from major airlines."
To address this, the airline is actively exploring various strategies, including enhanced training programs, competitive compensation packages, and improved working conditions.
The review stated that Aurigny's flight programme is constrained by the Airport's operating hours, which limits aircraft utilisation.
The airport does not permit the movement of aircraft during the airport closure hours of 2100-0630. This restriction is “unusual and could be reviewed to improve Aurigny's on-time performance”, says the review. PA Consultancy says the regular closures for maintenance (of up to 50 nights per year), is also “unusual” and could also be improved.
"We need to work more collaboratively with the airport," said Mr. Bezuidenhout. "The earlier closing time limits our ability to optimise our fleet and recover from disruptions, which can impact ticket prices and passenger experience." By fostering a stronger partnership with the airport, Aurigny says they aim to find solutions that benefit both parties. This could involve extending operating hours during peak seasons or implementing more flexible scheduling.
Pictured: The report labeled the Airport's opening times and matinenance schedule as "unusual".
One of the more unpopular choices in the public’s eyes was highlighted as a good decision, with the ditching of the Embraer Jet, although one that “was not without its challenges, with delays and maintenance issues impacting operations” according to the report.
"While it was a difficult decision, switching to an all-ATR fleet was the right choice," Mr. Bezuidenhout stated. "It's more resilient and environmentally friendly. Maintaining the Embraer would have been a costly endeavor."
The decision to operate a single fleet type aims to simplify maintenance, reduces operational costs, and improves overall efficiency, although rumblings over a runway extension and the desire to attract larger aircraft are both still very much on the public's mind.
“I'd like to have much bigger aircraft to operate, but it's not the right thing for this airline. Having a single aircraft of a type does not make for resilient solution. You cannot fit 122 passengers into a 72x seated aircraft when the inevitable technical disruptions or other delays those occur.
“So I do think that it's more responsible from a resilience standpoint, it's more environmentally responsible. And the fact is that retaining the embryo would have come at a cost of nothing short of around 10 million pounds one soft cost. Now it is true that this year, we expended a lot of money on wet lease operations, but not close to 10 million pounds that I can guarantee you.”
You can read a full interview with the Chief Commercial Officer of ATR, MR Alexis Vidal, HERE.
Aurigny releases lifeline summer schedule, with more to come
Experts appointed for Aurigny fleet and reliability inquiry
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.