Murray Travel arranges regional Spain and Lapland charters

Scottish agency Murray Travel has organised charter flights for the first time to cater for demand for regional departures.

The business, which has branches in Inverness, Elgin, Forres and Nairn, has arranged a five-week schedule of winter-sun services from Inverness airport to Gran Canaria, as well as two day-trip departures to Lapland.

“The price of chartering has come down,” said agency co‑director Scott Murray. “It was ridiculous during Covid, but there’s now more of an opportunity.”

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The first Rovaniemi flight, departing on December 13, went on sale in March and was fully booked within three days, he added, leading to the addition of a further departure on December 14, which is currently about 50% booked. The flights will be operated by a 189-passenger Boeing 737.

The first Gran Canaria service will depart on February 17, using a 149-seat Airbus A220, with Tuesday departures for five weeks.

“People really want direct flights from Inverness,” said Murray. “At the moment, there’s a direct flight to Majorca and that’s about it.”

Asked about the anticipated level of demand for the Gran Canaria flights, which are expected to go on sale in the coming weeks, he said: “If we can get an 80% load factor, we would be delighted. Anything north of that would be even better.”

On the potential for more charter flights, Murray confirmed the agency was “absolutely” considering the possibility and was already looking into charter flights for 2026 and 2027. 

“There are loads of options,” he said, adding that Aberdeen was another potential departure point.

The business, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, opened a branch in Inverness in 2014, with stores following in Elgin in 2021, Forres in 2022 and Nairn in 2023.

Trading has been “busy” this year, Murray said, adding: “It’s not really slowed down.”