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Regional enterprise air market has modified for good: Loganair chief | Information

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The business air travel market “changed forever” as a result of the pandemic, believes Jonathan Hinkles, CEO of Loganair, and the relocation should serve as a “warning” to rivals considering adding capacity as Covid-19 restrictions ease.

Speaking at an Aviation Club webinar today, Hinkles said that business travel – which is vital to regional airlines – “is not going back as it was” as many companies in industries such as financial services, consulting and retailing were doing theirs after the crisis would continue virtual meetings goes by.

“While construction, manufacturing and primary health care will continue to drive demand, many other sectors will largely switch to online permanently. This should serve as a warning to anyone considering building capacity in the UK domestic market,” he says.

“Gone are the days when people were traveling all week and staying in hotels. The work-life balance has changed, ”he adds. “Business travel will never return to 2019 levels, or at least within an airline planning period.”

Hinkles also makes a cautious comment on the prospect of an upturn in vacation travel, stating that “we don’t see much evidence of pent-up demand for domestic tourism right now” and that “some of my competitors may believe in their own press releases” “, a note on optimistic forecasts from airlines such as Ryanair.

He says, “I have no doubt that things are slowly recovering, but it’s too early to say whether or not we’ll have a good summer.”

The Scottish airline, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year, became the UK’s largest regional operator after taking over routes from Flybe and BMI Regional for the past 24 months. It has a fleet of 42 aircraft.

The airline has undergone significant changes over the past five years, ending its long-term franchise agreement with Flybe in 2016 and restarting services in mainland Britain under its own brand.

In 2019, the company took on five flights from its then sister airline BMI Regional, including to Bristol, Brussels and Oslo, and then agreed to take over 16 former Flybe city pairs after the airline’s collapse shortly before the Covid crisis. Last year it started its first flights to London Heathrow.

The airline also specializes in cargo and Medevac charter services, which “benefit us,” says Hinkles.

He admits that in addition to the impact of the pandemic, the changes were significant for an airline that has made a name for itself serving remote communities in the highlands and islands, mostly through public service contracts.

“If you’d told me around this time last year that we were flying from London Heathrow to Gdansk and Riga and had two Saab 340 ambulances, I would have laughed. But today these are some of the things we do, ”he notes.

According to Hinkles, Loganair’s strategy “will continue to be based on aircraft with up to 72 seats”. Along with a fleet of Britten Norman Islanders and Viking Twin Otters, the airline operates Embraer regional jets and began replacing aging Saab 340 aircraft with new ATR 42 and 72 in 2019.

Most UK domestic routes “won’t carry larger jets,” he says.

Hinkles also says that as the impact of the pandemic subsides, the environment “is quickly becoming the industry’s biggest problem”.

Loganair is the airline’s representative in a consortium led by the UK’s Jet Zero Council that aims to test hydrogen or electric hybrid aircraft on short-haul routes.

Under a four-year contract, the operator will fly two modified islanders from its Kirkwall base to the Inter-Orkney Islands from April 1st.