Guernsey airline Aurigny generally well-managed - review

Guernsey's government-owned airline Aurigny is "generally well-managed" but has areas and opportunities for improvement, a new review has said.

The independent efficiency review was commissioned by scrutiny organisations that monitor the States of Guernsey.

It came after the airline was predicted to be facing record losses of nearly £10m in 2020.

The report said the airline should review aircraft utilisation, schedules, crew costs and maintenance spend.

The efficiency and benchmarking review, by aviation consultancy PA Nyras, was commissioned by the States' Scrutiny Management Committee and the States' Trading Supervisory Board (STSB) and began in May.

It said Aurigny was "generally in a good situation in terms of unit costs and revenues plus the operation, but there are some improvements that could be made to its performance for the benefit of Guernsey".

Other suggestions included in the report said profits and profit opportunities could "be enhanced either with external assistance or with a rethink of approach".

Scrutiny bosses said they welcomed that the report showed "opportunities to improve efficiency in the future".

However, STSB President Peter Ferbrache said some costs would continue to be high because the airline operated "in a heavily regulated environment which brings with it high levels of fixed cost".

Others high-cost factors included having to schedule flights less evenly through the day - offering early morning and evening departures that "best serve the needs of the community" rather than cost-efficient flights through the day, he said.

Earlier in October, the airline was predicted to be facing record losses of £9.6m in 2020.

The States' Policy and Resources Committee has called for departments to work together to find a sustainable strategy.