Loganair Acquires London Heathrow Slots

DALLAS — Scottish regional carrier Loganair (LC) has announced plans for further expansion at London Heathrow (LHR), following the award of 30 additional weekly slots at London's primary gateway.

In a press release that was issued by the carrier, it describes that the extra slots have been obtained through a "lease arrangement" with British Airways (BA). Whilst LC has not divulged what their route deployment plans will be, they did indicate that more information would be issued in "the coming days."

The carrier presently operates from LHR to the Isle of Man (IOM) and codesharing agreements enable passengers to seamlessly connect around the world with numerous carriers. One of the most likely routes that will transition to LHR, is the existing LC route from the City of Derry (LDY) to London Stansted (STN), given the airline has hinted at its desire of transferring the route to LHR.

Now defunct regional carrier Flybe (BE), operated from LHR to Newquay (NQY) and this is another likely route that will be added to LC's growing route portfolio from LHR.

After BE stopped operating, its dormant LHR slots were returned to BA, and former BA CEO and current Director General of IATA, Willie Walsh, remarked that he felt that the unused slots should be dedicated to enhancing UK connectivity, a sentiment echoed by John Holland-Kaye, the Chief Executive of Heathrow Airport Holdings.

LC is currently replacing its Saab 340 fleet with ATR 42 and 72 aircraft. Photo: Ervin Eslami/Airways

Reason to Cheer

In April 2023, the UK Government will reduce Air Passenger Duty for domestic flights, which will represent a welcome boost to carriers such as LC. The ticket tax for domestic flights will be halved to £6.50 per sector. More attractive operating fees for regional aircraft, also came into operation at the start of this year, giving LC further cause to cheer.

“We’re delighted to be growing our operations at Heathrow,” said Jonathan Hinkles, Loganair’s Chief Executive. “Having taken these important first steps ourselves to provide new connectivity to and from the UK regions under this arrangement, it’s now essential for the UK Government to initiate the process needed to reform competition remedies to provide access to Heathrow for the UK regions.”

Featured Image: G-SAJS, Embraer 145. Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways