Guernsey Post has announced it has secured a new air solution following Royal Mail’s decision to withdraw Guernsey’s dedicated mail plane. The current mail plane will cease operations on Friday 4th April and the new service will commence on Monday 7th April, ensuring continued export services for local businesses and residents.
Steve Sheridan, Guernsey Post’s Chief Executive said "We are delighted to continue providing our customers with a robust and reliable export solution. Our new service ensures seamless injection into the Royal Mail network all while maintaining an efficient and consistent export service for our Bailiwick residents."
The company also confirmed that all incoming Royal Mail volumes will now be transported via the UK road network before being dispatched to Guernsey by sea. The changes align mail services to the Bailiwick with those of Jersey and the Isle of Man, where dedicated airmail services have already been withdrawn. As a result, inbound mail to Guernsey will arrive approximately 24-hours later than before.
Steve Sheridan added “A significant percentage of parcels already come via sea such as Amazon Direct, Evri, Yodel, HelloFresh, Mindful Chef and also our myUKaddress volumes so many customers will see no difference to receiving their online orders.
Today we announced that we’ve successfully managed to source a new mail plane for any of those letters and parcels (inc. returns!) you want to post off-island. We know that news like this has generated a lot of questions on social media, so here’s our attempt to answer what we think are the most important ones.
What’s good about keeping the plane?
The best part about keeping our plane is the quality of service we can continue to offer all islanders. We know that many of you rely on next-day UK delivery and our bulk mail customers, who are a vital part of our business, also rely on this. It was important that we worked hard to find a solution for everyone.
How does my post arrive now? Will it be affected?
Most of your mail, in fact over 75% already comes in by sea, from other couriers such as Evri, Yodel, and Amazon Direct and of course our myUKaddress volumes, so there won’t be any noticeable change to service levels for many customers. The only incoming mail that relies on the plane is Royal Mail’s Special Delivery, which will now have an additional day's transit time before arriving on the island.
How much is it costing?
Unlike other islands that have lost their next-day network for export, we’ve been able to maintain ours because of the unique bulk mail export requirements, which means we send out a high volume of mail every night, making this a viable solution. The new arrangement ensures we can continue this service at a sustainable rate.
Why is the plane coming in empty?
Unfortunately, changes to the wider Royal Mail network mean that Royal Mail will no longer transport volumes by air, which is in line with the changes they have already incorporated in Jersey and the Isle of Man.
The first objective was to secure an outbound export service, which has now been achieved. Alongside our network partner, we are now working on an inbound solution for new volumes. Hopefully, more to follow on this in the coming months.