Loganair to invest £15M in air services
AIRLINE Loganair is to improve air services to and from the Western Isles through a £15 million investment programme in 2016.
Angus MacNeil, Na h-Eileanan an Iar MP, has welcomed the announcement, but warns that until passengers see major improvements to reliability, public confidence will remain low.
Mr MacNeil has had regular contact with Loganair to relay the strong concerns expressed by his constituents after months of flight delays. He has urged the firm to continue investment in service and fleet improvements to demonstrate commitment to the Western Isles.
He said: ‘The service in 2015 was unacceptable and passengers have long memories. Until customers see consistent service improvements, it is unlikely that satisfaction will increase in the short term.
‘Flight delays have a direct impact on the local economy and disrupt people’s lives, not just leading to inconvenience but for some, such as those working off-shore, this can be the difference between getting to work or not.
‘I hope that 2015 was a blip as Loganair have had 50 years of good service to the islands and we hope it will get back on track as soon as possible. I am relieved that Loganair is taking steps to create a more robust service for the future by improving aircraft and also enhancing the maintenance side of the business with the new spares hub at Glasgow Airport and the launch of engineer apprenticeship programme.’
Mr MacNeil said he would also write to Flybe, which has a franchise agreement with Loganair to operate the island flights. He added: ‘Flybe must be aware of the customer dissatisfaction on these services and as it displays its logo on these planes, it must also share some responsibility for service improvement.’
The New Year also marked the increase of the Air Discount Scheme to 50 per cent, a development which Mr MacNeil has warmly welcomed.
He added: ‘I am delighted this additional discount has now been applied and is available to ADS card holders. This is a further investment by the Scottish Government in transport services which will benefit islanders in addition to the already announced extension of RET to inter-island routes, new aircraft for the Barra air service and the announcement of daily dedicated services between Lochboisdale and Mallaig, Castlebay and Oban.’