Loganair Grows And Shows Their Remains A Niche For Regional Airlines

Transcript

Kay Ryan:Well, it's been a very interesting year for us. This year we've had over 20% increase in our capacity over last, and next year going forward it's another 65% over this year. So it's probably been— not probably, actually has been— the biggest year of growth for Loganair, and that's following on from 2 years ago when we exited our franchise relationship and went solo as a brand and as an airline. But this has been our busiest year, undoubtedly. Indeed, we're friends reunited, or airlines reunited, as they say, and we're very pleased about that. You know, we can completely see the synergies of working with Flybe, as they can with us, so we're delighted with that. Yeah, well, they're different markets, but we do find the brand travels well south of the border. There is an empathy for all things Scottish in the UK, And I think with the uncertainty in the UK, with the political situation, with the exchange rate, people are very pro to staycations, and particularly in Scotland, it plays very well to that. So it works both ways. Well, we've taken advantage of the opportunities that, if I'm honest, dropped right into our lap this year. We've started— well, we've put on sale 27 new routes this year. 6 of them start next year. Not all of those are Scotland. A lot of them are corporate But we do have a strategy within the airline which is what we call joining the dots, and we very much try and keep our routes, our new routes connected to airports where we already operate and where the brand is known in some way. I think people want to get there on time, they want to get there safely, on a schedule that works for them, and at a price they can afford to pay. I don't think it's that complicated. Our onboard offering hasn't changed. It's still tea, coffee, soft drink, a biscuit, a light snack. People like that, they enjoy it. In terms of our luggage allowance, I think it's fair to say we are the only UK airline that includes a luggage allowance in all its fare types. Yes, we have reduced our entry-level fare down to 15 kilos, but that enables us to add a little bit more to our higher fare classes. Well, the survey we undertook last year, our female pilot ratio is the highest in the UK. It's still very low, but it's the highest for any airline. I'm passionate about it, as I think you would expect. But in Loganair, and I think in any good responsible company, it's on merit. But there are no barriers, and in fact we actually actively encourage people. But it has to be on merit. I think it's different for different airline types, and there are different ones. We are particularly niche. The majority of the routes that we serve are quite thin. There's only room for one operator. And for us, I think it's going to be making sure we have the right aircraft in our fleet to be able to cope with the diversity of airports we fly into. Not many can get into some of these Highlands and Islands airports, but also just trying to get the right possibilities for growth for us at Loganair. We take people from A to B. We do provide— it's a well-hackneyed phrase— lifeline services, but people could not live their lives without the service we provide. You know, it's getting people to work, to see friends, see family, to go to hospital appointments, as well as go on holiday.

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