Loganair
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Template:British Airways Loganair is an airline based at Glasgow International Airport (GLA) in Scotland. It operates scheduled services under a British Airways franchise in mainland Scotland and to Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, as well as to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Its tag line is "Scotland's Airline". In addition to its main base at Glasgow, the airline has hubs at Edinburgh Airport (EDI) and Inverness Airport (INV).
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History
Loganair was established on 1 February 1962 as the air taxi service of the Logan Construction Company Ltd, operating a single Piper Aztec from Edinburgh. Almost immediately, it was apparent that there was a demand for scheduled services in addition to the primary role as an air taxi, and as such Loganair's fleet grew. As the network expanded to take in more remote islands and communities, Loganair's scheduled network began to emerge.
In 1964 Loganair mounted an inter-island scheduled network in Orkney and a similar network in Shetland commenced in 1970, and the strong association with these island communities continues today. Air ambulance services were established in 1967 covering Coll, Colonsay, Oronsay, Mull and Oban, and Loganair continues to proudly maintain its relationship with the Scottish Ambulance Service, and to continually provide air ambulance cover with dedicated Britten-Norman Islander aircraft at Glasgow, Kirkwall and Lerwick.
Under the ownership of the Royal Bank of Scotland between 1968 and 1983, the Loganair network, serving the Highlands and Islands, was assuming its now familiar shape. The growth was spurred by the rationalisation program that British Airways commenced in 1975 with the transfer of "thin" routes to Loganair. Grasping the opportunity, Loganair's scheduled network grew, and Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles were served comprehensively from Glasgow and Edinburgh, and mainland routes were now firmly established. In 1979, Loganair launched an air service between Glasgow and Derry, with Northern Ireland becoming the focus of expansion, as the stage was now set for the next major step forward - a hub of business routes.
Firmly established as Scotland's Airline, new horizons were sought, and in 1980 Loganair took over the Belfast to Edinburgh route from British Airways. In 1981, Loganair faced the might of the flag carrier and competed on the Glasgow to Belfast route, stealthily managing to win market share by transferring its operations to Belfast City Airport. Manchester then became the focus of attention, as Loganair commenced daily services to Edinburgh, Belfast City and Glasgow.
With business traffic representing an ever-increasing proportion of Loganair's annual passenger carryings, Loganair acquired larger aircraft, the Shorts 360 and Fokker Friendship. In September 1983, the British Midland Group took a controlling interest in Loganair, and riding a wave of success and optimism the time came for Loganair to enter the jet market. The BAe 146-200 jet, known as the "Whisper Jet", was at the forefront of short-haul aircraft technology providing a high level of passenger comfort and load-carrying capacity, and two jets were brought into the fleet to expand the growing network to include services to the Channel Islands and mainland Europe. In December 1983 it became a subsidiary of the Airlines of Britain Group.
The fleet continued to grow with the acquisition of BAe Jetstream 31, Jetstream 41, and ATP aircraft, and in the late 1980's Loganair had a comprehensive schedule and charter network. Loganair became the second busiest airline at Manchester, the dominant carrier at Belfast City airport, and a significant player in the development of scheduled services at Southampton. With aircraft utilisation being such a vital factor, Loganair also secured contracts with the Post Office for the night movement of mail and datapost.
However, the promising eighties gave way to the turbulent nineties, and a reorganisation of the British Midland Group activities in 1994 saw the transfer of Loganair's cross-border services and associated aircraft to Manx Airlines (Europe). July 1994 also saw the significant forging of a relationship between Loganair and British Airways in Scotland, as Loganair became British Airways' second franchise operator, with the residual Scottish internal routes being flown in British Airways livery, but with the same professionalism that typifies the Loganair operation. Whilst still under the ownership of the British Midland Group, a further transfer of the main internal Scottish services took place in 1996.
The route network and operations that were left under the control of Loganair were subject to a management buy-out, led by Scott Grier, OBE in 1997. With one De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and five Britten Norman Islanders, the company found strength in its origins and its pioneering spirit, and dedicated itself to the provision of air services in Orkney, Shetland and to the West coast of Scotland.
Today
Loganair continues to hold a British Airways franchise, recently extended for a further 5 year period (to 2008). Under this agreement, Loganair's services are operated under British Airways flight codes, with the range BA 8770-8999 being allocated to the airline's services. All Loganair aircraft are presented in full British Airways livery and cabin crew wear the BA uniform. Loganair flights are sold through British Airways and the airline participates in BA's Executive Club and BA Miles programme. Loganair is an affiliate member of oneworld.
The airline continues to expand, and in November 2003 it announced it's intention to purchase a tranche of routes from British Airways' Citiexpress subsidiary with effect from March 2004. The seven routes acquired from British Airways Citiexpress were Glasgow - Stornoway; Glasgow - Benbecula; Glasgow - Belfast; Glasgow - Isle of Man; Glasgow - Aberdeen; Aberdeen - Shetland and Edinburgh-Belfast. Loganair continues to operate BA's BAe ATPs on these services until a suitable replacement can be found for the type.
In June 2005, Loganair was awarded a contract from the Irish Government to operate a daily return service from Knock to Dublin. The public service obligation route will operate for a period of 3 years as British Airways, with effect from 22nd July 2005. This effectively marks the entry of Loganair, and with it British Airways, into the Irish Republic's domestic market, as the service from Dublin to Derry is technically international.
Services
Loganair operates the following services (at July 2005):
- Domestic scheduled services: Aberdeen, Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Eday, Edinburgh, Fair Isle, Foula, Glasgow, Inverness, Islay, Isle of Man, Kirkwall, Londonderry, North Ronaldsay, Outer Skerries, Papa Stour, Papa Westray, Sanday, Shetland Islands, Stornoway, Stronsay, Tiree, Westray and Wick.
Fleet
Loganair.jpg
The Loganair fleet consists of the following aircraft (at January 2005):
- 1 Saab 340A
- 8 Saab 340B
- 5 Britten-Norman BN2B-26 Islander
- 2 De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 300
- 3 BAe ATP (on wet lease from British Airways Citiexpress, to be replaced during 2005)
Trivia
Loganair operate the world's shortest scheduled flight, taking only 2 minutes to hop between Westray and Papa Westray.
Services to Barra are dependant on the tide, as the Twin Otter aircraft used on the service land on the beach. This is actually the primary reason why the Twin Otters are retained by the company, as a trial period with a Shorts 360 with modified undercarriage to take a landing on sand proved unsuccessful.
External links
- Loganair (http://www.loganair.co.uk/)