INTERVIEW
Loganair looks ahead to new air links from City Airport Lisa Smyth speaks to Kay Ryan, Loganair’s chief commercial officer, about setting up at Belfast City Airport and filling the gap left behind in the wake of the demise of Flybe
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he demise of Flybe in March was a devastating blow for its customers, staff and Belfast City Airport.
But very quickly, Scottish airline Loganair stepped in and announced plans to take up 16 Flybe flights across the UK, including an intention to run some of the former Flybe routes in and out of Belfast City Airport. However, as the coronavirus came crashing down on the world, its plans to fill the void left at Belfast City Airport were thrown into chaos. Several months on, while the effects of Covid-19 are still being felt, air travel is starting to get back on track and Loganair is preparing to launch two new services from Belfast in a matter of days. In addition to the flights already running between Inverness and Aberdeen, passengers will be able to fly between Belfast to and Glasgow from Friday, while flights between Belfast and Dundee first got off the ground on September 18. Despite the turmoil faced by the industry in recent months, Loganair’s chief commercial officer, Kay Ryan, is optimistic that the time is right for the expansion plans to go ahead. But she has sounded a note of caution for the industry as a whole, warning of further job
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losses and even the potential for more airlines to fold in the wake of the global pandemic. Asked why she believes Loganair will succeed where Flybe failed, Kay says: “There are a couple of reasons – our aircraft size and type are right for the routes. “We were very selective in the routes that we chose to restart, they’re all ones that feed into our hubs, they’re all part of our existing network and now we are the largest regional airline in the UK. “These routes really fit in with our strategy and we’re able to provide point to point access for people going up and down the country. “We have got a bit of history with Belfast in particular, as we were actually the first airline to operate out of Belfast City Airport. We provided the first passenger flight in that airport in 1983, so we know the Northern Ireland market. “There’s a real affinity between Scotland and Northern Ireland, there’s a lot of visiting between friends and relatives and a lot of business done as well. In fact, one of the reasons we’re launching the Dundee route when we are is to fit in with the university commuting traffic.” Of course, nothing is being taken for granted
and the airline has also carried out extensive analysis of the market to ensure there will be adequate customer demand. The effects of Covid-19 mean they are running fewer flights than originally anticipated but so far it is a strategy that appears to be paying dividends and the firm is already looking at expanding further in the coming year. “The demand is in line with where we would expect it to be,” Kay said. “Everything is being done in a conscious and planned way. We’re being asked by customers why we’re not doing this flight or that route, but we need to be able to make sure any routes we start are sustainable. “We don’t want to start routes that we don’t have the utmost confidence in, but we’re really glad to be back in Belfast in a bigger way and there are two or three other routes that we definitely like.” So, while Loganair is looking to the future, the last few months have been anything but easy. Kay said: “This year was supposed to be our