Shanghai, Mexico City, Dubai, Amsterdam, Budapest... then Prestwick ?

Doug Maclean – Aviation Editor

I have had a chance to consider the likely impact of the 4th largest airline in the world starting scheduled freight services direct from Guangzhou, China direct to Prestwick.

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China Southern Airlines, report on their website that they are the largest airline in China in terms of passenger carried, and operate the largest fleet with intensive route network, ranking the first in Asia and fourth in the world.

With a fleet of more than 655 aircraft, including 19 Boeing 777 dedicated freighters, China Southern are comfortably the largest airline to ever operate scheduled flights into Prestwick. Their route network spans the capitals of the world. Prestwick attracting them to operate scheduled services is a notable boost for Scottish trade opportunities.

The second scheduled flight will arrive tonight and they will operate 3 or 4 times a week and soon be operating a daily service. To give some idea why their arrival in Prestwick is so outstanding I just have to look at where tonight’s aircraft recently operated. Amsterdam, Dubai, Mexico City, Budapest and Shanghai. As I write this report I can see the flight is over Russia with the next stop Prestwick.

After the first flight on Friday, Prestwick Airport Chief Executive Ian Forgie intriguingly said “the Board is delighted that a flagship carrier China Southern Air Logistics has established a scheduled service from China to Prestwick. We anticipate this new trade route will grow rapidly in 2025 as Prestwick delivers on its plans and the market responds to an alternative Cargo Gateway into the UK and a new direct export route to China from Scotland for high value Scottish seafood and Whisky. We are in discussions with other airlines and expect to make further announcements soon.”

Prestwick as the Alternative Cargo Gateway is a very interesting description and one I have never heard. It does describe what we at Ayrshire Daily News have been reporting since last year. The team at Prestwick have developed an ambitious plan to insert themselves into the e commerce business. In ordinary talk e commerce means delivery of items bought online. Those overnight deliveries rely on speed and integrated transport to consistently deliver against fierce competition. Prestwick has set up a sophisticated customer freight service. It is as sensitive and caring for its freight as any first class customer would expect for their own journey.

When freight arrives at major passenger flight airports like Heathrow it is treated well but very often handled by multiple companies who specialise in their part of freight importing or exporting.

Of course there are multiple options for flights to many destinations but with that complexity of choice comes delay and cost. From a first inquiry to the landing and unloading of time critical cargo Prestwick’s Alternative Cargo Gateway has taken a different approach.

If an operator wants to use Prestwick it is all Prestwick airport staff who are there to solve problems at every stage and make the journey as quick and efficient as possible.

Huge companies like Royal Mail and Everi have joined Prestwick in building a streamlined service for any volume of freight arriving or departing Prestwick. Their massive trailers are now seen at Prestwick almost every day. With the China Southern flight planned to become a daily service those trucks are going to be on site loading and distributing parcels in record short times.

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I see comments on these stories like ‘it is only internet stuff. What good does that do Scotland”? When Ayrshire Daily News wrote last June that “shrewd investment by the Prestwick Board has early payoff” we really started to understand the reason why Prestwick were investing millions in new freight handling equipment. One of the immediate benefits of that investment was that 55 temporary jobs had been created. Now we can see the scale and frequency of flights direct from China we understand that those jobs are becoming permanent and in fact may soon be increased in number. Those are not seasonal jobs. The annual surge of orders during winter with Black Friday and Christmas suddenly has a real appeal for those newly employed in this smart business.

We don’t know a breakdown yet of companies using Prestwick as a fast alternative to congested cargo hubs elsewhere but it is a fair guess that some, if not all, of the world’s biggest online retailers are aiming at landing at the slick Prestwick Alternative Cargo Gateway.

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What comes west from China gives opportunities to go east direct to China. Prestwick Chief Executive Ian Forgie talked about a new direct export route to China from Scotland for high value Scottish seafood and Whisky. Seafood, and soft fruit are 2 perishable exports which need quick access to long distance markets. The prospect of flying direct from Prestwick 7 days a week suddenly makes a logistics chain possible to build with confidence.

Scotland also has very high value aerospace parts manufacturing with 5,000 people employed in the aerospace cluster around Prestwick airport. There are more small cube satellites built in Scotland than any other European country. The oil industry is still a very large source of high value air freight.

Each Boeing 777 freighter has capacity for about 102 tonnes of freight. The China Southern flight connections across Asia from Guangzhou are enormous. Companies across the UK are likely to become aware of this quick route to China so there is every reason to believe that the frequency and reliability of having the world’s 4th largest airline operating daily schedules will be very attractive across the UK.

Ayrshire Daily News covered the first arrival of Hong Kong Air Crago flight in February. Our understanding is that by the middle of this year we are likely to see them operating scheduled flights from Prestwick to Hong Kong as often as 3 times a week.

Mr Forgie said there may be further good news in the near future. It is possible that he was referring to the Hong Kong service. However, Prestwick also has a link with a Chicago airport and GE do enormous business with airlines around the world. Could we see schedules going west as well as east?

Siobhian Brown MSP, Member of the Scottish Parliament for Ayr, Prestwick and Troon, said to Ayrshire Daily News - “It’s fantastic to see the world’s fourth largest airline, China Southern, now utilising Prestwick Airport. This is a major vote of confidence in the airport and in the potential of South Ayrshire as a globally connected region. Prestwick is a publicly owned travel hub with enormous strategic value, and this development can only signal good things for its future. I’m proud to see this kind of progress in my constituency and excited about what’s still to come.”

Whatever is coming next we will be covering here on Ayrshire Daily News. After so many years of gloom and uncertainty it is a pleasure to say “Well done team Prestwick, you are doing us proud.”