Royal Mail has dramatically transformed deliveries to the Western Isles through a new air route, which provides customers on the islands with the best quality of service they have ever received.

Since August 22, 2005, Royal Mail has routed its mail to the Western Isles via Inverness Airport on a dedicated Highland Airways flight, instead of flying from Glasgow.

The result of the new service is that customers in the HS2 postcode area now receive their first class mail the next working day instead of waiting two days as was often the case before the new air link.

Preliminary quality of service figures for the Western Isles clearly show the major improvement the new provision has brought to businesses and households throughout the Western Isles.

In the first week of the new service 95 per cent of all first class mail arrived in the HS postcode area the day after posting, the highest ever seen in the Western Isles.

Because of its geographic remoteness, the Western Isles is excluded from the quality of service targets set by the postal regulator, Postcomm, which dictate that 93 per cent of first class mail on the mainland must be delivered by the next working day. But thanks to the new service, customers in the Western Isles are now being given deliveries on a par with anywhere else in Scotland.

Royal Mail Islands Manager, Eddie Mackenzie, said: “I’m delighted that the new service is paying dividends and quality of service has improved so significantly.  For first class mail that stays within the HS postcode area, in the first week’s results, 100 per cent arrived the next working day.  We are certain that the new service will mean that we can consistently achieve this level of quality of service.”

The new dedicated flight has also meant a great improvement for businesses in the North and South Uists through the increase in volume of mail Royal Mail is able to fly from the islands.

Because of the changes in the arrival time of mail on to the islands, Royal Mail is also now using the ferry link between Uist and Barra.  This has meant improved quality of service to the Island of Barra and a much more regular delivery time, as the passenger flight it used previously was regulated by tidal conditions.

Pete Smith, Royal Mail Area Manager for the North of Scotland including the Western Isles, said: “Royal Mail is proud of and committed to providing a universal service.  We are constantly looking to find ways to improve quality of service particularly to areas, which because of their geographic remoteness pose far greater challenges than the mainland.”

Through the Universal Service Obligation - which guarantees deliveries to all of the 2.5 million addresses in Scotland at a uniform cost to the customer - Royal Mail allows businesses in rural areas to compete on a level playing field, despite the fact the cost of simply delivering mail (excluding the cost of collection and sorting it) in remote areas is over 600 per cent more expensive than in urban areas.

Julie Morrison, Head of External Relations for Royal Mail Group, added: “Our recent independent economic impact study demonstrated that Royal Mail adds significant value to the Scottish economy through its network which provides a vital link between businesses, their customers and individuals to one another across every community in Scotland.

“Royal Mail is spearheading the drive in delivering for internet-based businesses encouraged to set up through access to the Government’s broadband scheme. No-one else currently has the extensive network that fully covers the whole of Scotland.”

Through working closely with Highland Airways Royal Mail has been able to achieve an all round workable solution on both price and logistics. Highlands and Islands Airports has also shown significant support through opening Stornoway airport earlier to meet the new flight arrival time.