Christmas consoles come by air

Sony has started shipping PS5 consoles to Europe by air. The first specimens have reportedly arrived in the UK. That could lead to a longer dry spell in the coming year.

Christmas is approaching with great strides and a PS5 should be noted on many wish lists. However, the potential buyers face a problem: The PS5 is still rarely available. And should Sony produce more than expected in the coming weeks, the consoles must first find the long way to Europe.

As a rule, it takes several weeks for the consoles to reach the local ports by sea and then to be distributed by truck to wholesalers or directly to retail chains. Sony is also aware of this problem. Building on that, the company has reportedly started air freighting PlayStation 5 inventory to Europe. This should better meet the demand in the run-up to Christmas.

First PS5 plane chartered

According to the reports, the platform operator sent three Boeing 747 jets from Seoul to London last week. They were each loaded with nearly 50 pallets of PlayStation 5 consoles. That reports The Sun and also points out that the PS5 inventory that each 747 brought with it could fill twelve semi-trailers.

It is not entirely clear whether Sony will charter more planes. Sony reportedly plans to book two more flights before the end of the month. So far, the reports only relate to the British market. And the flights are probably the reason for the unusually high number of PS5 consoles that could be ordered in the UK last week – including from Amazon, Argos and Game.

Piers Harding-Rolls, Research Director at Ampere Analysis, commented on the Sony move: “Transporting goods by air over such a long distance is usually avoided because it is expensive. But companies can use them to overcome supply chain problems or to meet demand at key times of the year as they get consoles from factories to stores much faster. “

Lean period in early 2022?

The faster delivery ensures higher availability before the Christmas business. But the early deliveries also have a negative side effect. Very few consoles are likely to linger in stores early next year once Sony returns to the sea.

Harding-Rolls also referred to this in his statement: “Air freight transport will help to bring forward some of the consoles, but could lead to a longer dry spell in early 2022 if you return to sea transport.”

More news about the PS5:

Ultimately, the delivery bottlenecks that were triggered, among other things, by the global chip crisis, have an impact on Sony’s business goals. True, the company recently announced positive Business results. However, deliveries to retailers fell short of expectations. Still, the company would like to stick to the annual targets.

More messages too PS5.