Loganair’s Glasgow-Stornoway service goes all-jet, increasing passenger volumes

The introduction of jet aircraft in January 2019 has helped to cut flight times to as short at 30 minutes airborne, in turn increasing passenger numbers to record highs.

A total of 5,939 passengers used the Glasgow to Stornoway service in March, making it the busiest spring month on record.

Commenting on the change, Loganair’s Managing Director Jonathan Hinkles said: “We’re delighted to be moving the Glasgow-Stornoway service to an all-jet operation on weekdays and Sundays.

“Our customers’ response to the jet service has been excellent, and we’ve seen growth of 8% in passenger numbers in the first three months of the year since the jets began serving the route in January.

“The move to an all-jet service from April 29th increases the number of seats available each weekday and will provide extra capacity over the peak summer where we’re expecting another strong year for Scotland’s tourism industry.”

From May 28th, one of the four daily Stornoway-Glasgow flights will also provide a new “same plane” one-stop link from Stornoway directly to London Southend.

Early sales on the route are very encouraging, both from the Western Isles, where eligible customers can benefit from Air Discount Scheme for their entire journey to London, and for passenger originating in London and the south-east taking advantage of the convenience of the same-plane service to travel to Stornoway.

There’s also good news for Benbecula, where Saturday and Sunday services to and from Glasgow are now being operated by the Embraer jet in place of the Saab 340 aircraft used on weekdays.

Passenger numbers between Glasgow and Benbecula are also up by 16% during the first three months of 2019, with especially strong growth in the month of March leading to a 17% increase in passengers carried versus the previous year.

Saab 340 aircraft will continue to operate some Saturday services between Glasgow and Stornoway so that a higher frequency of services can be maintained for both local travel and onward connections than would otherwise be viable to provide with the larger jet aircraft.

Both of the two Sunday services are already flown by the Embraer 145 jet.

Meanwhile in Glasgow Loganair has relocated its check-in and bag-drops desks at Glasgow Airport to make them closer to the airport’s entrance and security clearance area.

The new home for the check-in areas will be at Desks 34 and 35, significantly reducing the walking distance for customers as they arrive at the airport and after check-in before reaching the security area - when compared to their previous position at Desks 1 and 2.

To book tickets for any of Loganair’s routes visit www.loganair.co.uk or call 0344 800 2855