Loganiar returns to profit
Loganair made a pre-tax profit of £1.01 million for the year to the end of March, its first full year of operation under its own brand as Scotland’s Airline.
It made a record turnover of £119.85 million, up 8.3% on the previous year.
The pre-tax profit is reported after non-recurring costs of £3.07 million related to the introduction of Embraer jet aircraft to the fleet and the associated expansion of~Loganair’s fleet to 43 aircraft during the first quarter of this year.
Loganair said it was ‘a welcome return to the black’ after the previous year’s loss, which reflected the cost of creating an airline from scratch due to the break-up of~Loganair’s franchise agreement with Flybe.
It accused its former partner airline of ‘subsequent damaging and unsustainable competition’.
Loganair benefited from the collapse in February of bmi Regional, immediately recruiting 140 of its pilots, cabin crew and engineers – as well as expanding the fleet by acquiring many of its Embraer jet aircraft.
The increased range of the jet aircraft has facilitated growth further for Loganair, with new services from Scotland to Germany, Norway and Denmark and from Newcastle to Belgium and Norway being launched in recent months.
Operating from its Glasgow Airport headquarters and with 10 further operating bases in Scotland and England, Loganair now has 840 staff – its largest-ever complement.
Managing director Jonathan Hinkles said: "We have every reason to be proud of our achievements in the last year, growing our routes in the UK and Europe, expanding staff numbers and expanding our fleet.
"In addition to new scheduled routes during the year, we also won a new contract to provide services for British Airways’ CityFlyer subsidiary, took over the operation of a corporate shuttle service for a major aircraft manufacturer linking its production sites and won a competitive tender to provide essential air services between the City of Derry and London.
"We have also expanded our codeshare and interline agreements with such major international airlines as British Airways, Turkish Airways, Emirates Airline, KLM, Air France and Qatar Airways, bringing benefits to customers who can fly with a single ticket between our destinations in the Highlands & Islands and hundreds of major cities worldwide."
Hinkles said the three challenges affecting the aviation industry were the ‘aggressive’ no-win no-fee claims companies pushing for the extension of EU261 flight delay comenpensatin to cover flights affected by adverse weather; the five-fold increase in the cost of EU Emissions Trading Carbon Permist, which add more than £1 million to Loganair’s ticket prices every year; and the industry-wide shortage of pilots.
Despite these challenges, the airline has pressed forward with expansion plans in the early part of the new financial year, launching new services to London Southend Airport from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Stornoway and the first commercial air services from Carlisle Lake District Airport in over 25 years.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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