Aurigny, Blue Islands, Loganair ink tripartite p’ship

A new partnership between Scotland’s Loganair, Guernsey’s Aurigny Air Services, and Jersey’s Blue Islands will boost UK regional connectivity in 2022, offering more travel connections across their networks, coordinated frequent flyer benefits, and stronger collective buying power.

Existing partnerships between Blue Islands and Aurigny, and Loganair and Blue Islands, will be strengthened, while a new partnership will be introduced that will see Loganair and Aurigny link their route networks, the airlines announced in a joint statement.

Guernsey, in particular, will benefit from a broader range of connections to the north of England, Scotland, and the Isle of Man, via Manchester Int’l, Bristol Int’l, and Birmingham Int’l, where the airlines’ networks meet.

Route links between Loganair and Blue Islands currently centred at Southampton and Manchester will be expanded. This will see new, one-stop, single-ticket connections, such as from Aberdeen Dyce to Jersey and Guernsey.

The airlines also plan to align their frequent flyer programmes enabling passengers to redeem benefits across all three carriers’ services.

Closer cooperation on technical and purchasing matters aims to provide operational and cost efficiencies for the trio. With Avions de Transport Régional turboprops forming the backbone of all three fleets, potential cooperation will include major maintenance checks, purchasing of aircraft spares, and training of pilots and engineers. The companies will also pool their buying power to purchase fuel and ground handling.

Loganair’s chief executive officer, Jonathan Hinkles, welcomed Aurigny as a new partner, reporting “excellent progress” already being achieved in terms of technical cooperation between the three airlines.

Blue Islands Chief Executive Officer Rob Veron said: “The simple aim of this initiative is to make air travel across the UK easier and to offer more choice.”

“The travelling public stand to gain from a more comprehensive and robust air transport offering, whilst simultaneously leaving the respective airlines better-placed to operate in a world where sustainability, reliability, and customer-centricity make all the difference,” added Aurigny’s CEO, Nico Bezuidenhout.

The three airlines operate 54 aircraft between them and provide connectivity to 40 regional airports stretching from the Channel Islands in the South to the Shetland Islands in the North.