Loganair, the Scotland-based regional carrier that has become the UK’s biggest regional carrier, is up for sale by its owners, and many of its customers and fans are worried what will happen next.
The airline is perhaps best-known as a no-nonsense carrier that connects mainland Scotland with its Shetland and Orkney island chains, carrying not only passengers but essential goods and even hospital patients. Among its routes is the famous two-minute flight from Westray to Papa Westray in the Orkneys, the world’s shortest scheduled airline route.
Founded in the 1960s by Willie Logan, it has belonged for the past 25 years to brothers Stephen and Peter Bond, it has resisted the kind of explosive growth that has left other regional carriers burdened with debt or bankrupt. Much of its growth in recent years has come from picking up essential routes left by the collapse of Flybe in 2020.
There is concern that Loganair could meet Flybe’s fate if it falls into the hands of owners or stockholders who push for expansion into areas where it can’t actually compete. On the other hand, other airline analysts believe that the current owners will only sell to a person or group who will keep Loganair on its historic path.
