Regional carriers Flybe and Loganair have signed an agreement to renew their partnership more than two years after a break-down in relations.
The airlines used to operate together under a franchise deal, but the agreement came to a halt in 2017 after Flybe forged a new partnership with Humberside-based Eastern Airways.
Scotland’s Loganair later blamed a nearly £9 million loss on the break-up, saying it had to spend almost £3 million rebuilding its own brand and back-office systems in addition to competing with Flybe on routes in its home market.
The new codeshare agreement includes Loganair and Flybe routes to and from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Manchester. It will allow passengers to make a single booking for a connecting journey between the carriers’ flights.
The deal also means passengers will only have to pay one Air Passenger Duty charge for their journey as opposed to the separate fees they faced when booking separate tickets.
Loganair said the partnership means more than 100 new connections are now bookable through its website.
Alan Tune, director of sales, alliances and strategic partnerships at Flybe, commented: “We are pleased to add Loganair to our ever-increasing list of codeshare partners, offering customers even more flight connection opportunities by linking our route networks.”
Jonathan Hinkles, MD of Loganair, added: “I’m incredibly pleased to be launching this new partnership with Flybe, which will bring tremendous benefits for customers through assured connections, reduced travel costs and convenient through check-in.”
The new agreement comes after Flybe announced it will rebrand as Virgin Connect in 2020. The carrier was acquired earlier this year by Connect Airways, a collaboration between Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital.
loganair.co.uk; flybe.com