Loganair to switch IOM route from London City to Heathrow

Former bmi regional exec may acquire Stobart Air - report

Ian Woodley, an aviation advisor and former bmi regional (BM, Aberdeen Dyce) executive, is reportedly in talks to acquire Aer Lingus Regional operator Stobart Air (RE, Dublin Int'l), unnamed sources have told the Irish Independent.

Andy Jolly, managing director of Stobart Air, is also understood to be involved in the talks alongside Woodley, and a UK-based private equity firm would provide financing for a deal, according to the newspaper.

In May 2012, Woodley led Sector Aviation Holdings, an Aberdeen-based consortium, when it bought bmi regional from IAG International Airlines Group (IAG later bought Aer Lingus in September 2015). He remained chairman and co-shareholder of the regional carrier until 2016. bmi regional eventually ceased operations in February 2019. Woodley was also founder and co-chairman of Business Air (United Kingdom) (II, Aberdeen Dyce) from 1990 to 2000.

Jolly, meanwhile, was chief operating officer at Loganair (LM, Glasgow Int'l) between 2007 and 2011, then general manager of Hebridean Air Services (HBR, Cumbernauld) until 2015 when he became COO...

Wick, United Kingdom secures PSO funding

The Scottish Government has announced it will make GBP4 million pounds (USD5.5 million) in Public Service Obligation (PSO) grants available over the next four years to subsidise services at Wick, local media reports.

A PSO is a permitted state aid which maintains scheduled air services on routes vital for the economic development of the region they serve. The Highland Council is to develop the plans for PSO routes, in consultation with local communities and businesses.

Up to GBP1 million (USD1.3 million) annually will go to the Council in 2021-22 and 2022-23, with a further GBP1 million (USD1.3 million) in each of 2023-24 and 2024-25, subject to growth in passengers in the first two years. The contribution in the first year will be determined by the start date of the flights, with GBP83,000 (USD114,400) being available for each full month of operation. In addition, the Scottish Government will continue to meet the full costs of the airport, which in 2019/20 equated to GBP2.035 million (USD2,805 million), through its subsidy of Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL), the airport’s...

UK's RVL Aviation adds first Saab 340 freighter

RVL Aviation (REV, East Midlands) has acquired its largest aircraft thus far and its first dedicated freighter, namely a S340B(F).

G-RVVE (msn 223) was registered in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2021. The 30.1-year-old turboprop was operated in a passenger configuration by Scotland's Loganair (LM, Glasgow Int'l) through June 2020. The ch-aviation fleets history module shows it was subsequently added by Estonia's NyxAir (NYX, Tallinn Lennart Meri) and converted into a freighter at Rzeszow airport. However, Flightradar24 ADS-B data indicates that the aircraft operated only once every few days, on average, and was ultimately ferried to East Midlands on December 12. It remains in storage at the British airport for the time being.

NyxAir operates another Saab 340B(F), which remains active.

For RVL Aviation, the Saab turboprop constitutes a significant expansion. While the passenger charter specialist operates a sizeable fleet of 15 aircraft, they are all much smaller units. According to the UK CAA registry, RVL Aviation's fleet comprises two Cessna (twin piston)...

Editorial Comment: Adds additional RVL commentary - 12.01.2021 - 20:34 UTC

UK's Loganair to launch Teesside base in 1Q21

Loganair (LM, Glasgow Int'l) is set to open a base at Teesside on February 1, 2021, with a single E145 stationed at the northern English airport, ch-aviation schedule analysis has revealed.

The Scottish regional specialist will initially operate to Belfast City (daily) and Aberdeen Dyce (6x weekly). Then, starting March 28, 2021, it will add daily flights to Dublin Int'l, 2x weekly flights to Newquay, and increase frequencies to Belfast and Aberdeen by an additional 7x and 10x weekly flights on each route. In May, the carrier will also add services to Jersey.

Loganair has not served Teesside since 2018. It will directly compete with Eastern Airways (T3, Humberside), currently the only airline operating scheduled flights from the airport, on routes to Belfast and Aberdeen. Eastern Airways also flies 5x weekly to Humberside, the ch-aviation schedules shows, using a mixture of E145s and Jetstream 41s.

Teesside is set to become Loganair's first English base. The carrier currently bases its aircraft out of...