Scottish carrier Loganair is to collaborate with Channel Islands carriers Aurigny and Blue Islands to improve domestic connectivity from next year.
The new partnership between Loganair and Aurigny aims to open-up connections to and from Guernsey in particular to the north of England, Scotland and the Isle of Man via airports including Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham where the airlines’ networks meet.
Existing links between the Loganair and Blue Islands networks – centred on Southampton and Manchester – will also be expanded.
New one-stop connections such as Aberdeen to Guernsey and Isle of Man to the Channel Islands will provide frequent, year-round travel options on a single ticket.
The airlines aim to co-ordinate their benefits for frequent flyers and start a new programme of co-operation to harness their collective buying power.
Between them, the three airlines operate 54 aircraft and are responsible for maintaining services to a host of regional communities ranging from the Channel Islands to the Shetland Islands, serving a total of 40 airports throughout the UK.
European-built ATR turboprop aircraft forms the backbone of the fleet for all three carriers. They see several areas of potential co-operation ranging from major maintenance checks, purchasing of aircraft spares, and training of pilots and engineers to provide “genuine operational and cost efficiencies”.
They will also be working to use collective buying power across their operations in areas such as the purchasing of fuel and ground handling.
Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: “We’re delighted to be building on our partnership with Blue Islands, and we warmly welcome Aurigny – a long-standing airline with an exemplary track record of serving its communities – as a new Loganair partner.
“Working together will offer wider choice for customers and I’m heartened to see excellent progress already being made across areas of technical co-operation between the three airlines.”
Blue Islands chief executive Rob Veron said: “The simple aim of this initiative is to make air travel across the UK easier and to offer with more choice.
“By working together on a national network we will help make travel for business or to visiting friends and family a better experience – wherever you live in the British Isles.”
Aurigny chief executive Nico Bezuidenhout (pictured) said “By combining effort in the interest of improved passenger journeys, and through cooperation to the benefit of input efficiencies, 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.”