Loganair announces new deal with Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines operates scheduled services to 304 destinations in 122 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, making it the largest carrier in the world by number of destinations.

The interline agreement allows customers in the Loganair Highlands and Islands network to book one ticket, via their travel agent, to multi-long haul destinations when connecting through Edinburgh Airport, thus saving on the Air Passenger Duty (APD) charge of £78.

Passengers have the added advantage of being protected should their connecting flights be disrupted.

Kay Ryan, Loganair’s commercial director said: “We are excited that Turkish Airlines has chosen to work with Loganair.

“This is a deal with one of the biggest names in international air travel, and we see it as the start of a partnership that will develop into a full codeshare agreement later in the year.”

Gokhan Haciibrahimoglu, general manager of Turkish Airlines Scotland said: “We are pleased to be working with Loganair for our flights operating from Edinburgh Airport, thus giving Turkish Airlines the opportunity to extend its network and better serve Scotland.

“Our partnership will allow both of our passengers to easily connect with the regional airports of North and West Scotland to over 304 destinations and 122 countries.”

The move is the latest in Loganair’s Better Connected programme, which aims to provide the Scottish airline’s key destinations with a range of links both for local community travelling worldwide and to enable incoming visitors, whether for tourism or business, to enjoy ease of booking and access.

Deals have already been signed with Air France, Dutch giants KLM, Emirates, Thomas Cook Airlines, and customers can through-ticket and through-check baggage where flights connect at Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness and Norwich.

Single ticket booking for ongoing flights with more than one carrier offers multiple benefits including through check-in, protected connections in the event of delays and, importantly, the APD saving on flights from the Highlands and Islands, which can be as much as £78 per person, if connecting onwards to long-haul destinations.

The partnerships with KLM and Air France allow passengers from all Loganair’s Highlands & Islands destinations to travel via Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness onto KLM flights to Amsterdam and from there to destinations worldwide; and via Aberdeen and Edinburgh to Air France flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle and again onwards to destinations worldwide.

The deal with Thomas Cook Airlines allows holiday connections from the Highlands and Islands via Glasgow to destinations including the USA, and the same will apply to Emirates services to the Middle East and to the Far East and Australia.

The Thomas Cook partnership also provides long-haul connections from Inverness and Norwich via Manchester to destinations including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Orlando and Las Vegas on a single ticket.

It also complements codeshare arrangements Loganair already has in place with British Airways and its partner airlines at Manchester, offering connectivity to transatlantic routes, including Chicago and Philadelphia, with onward connections throughout the US.