Gail Ross welcomes Loganair and Flybe codeshare agreement

North MSP Gail Ross has welcomed the news of the return of the codeshare agreement between airlines Loganair and Flybe, saying it will benefit passengers flying out of Wick John O'Groats Airport.

The two firms made the announcement after a previous codeshare had been scrapped in 2016.

Back then, Flybe said its decision followed "a failure to agree future operational standards and commercial arrangements".

However, both airlines appear to have ironed out any previous differences and have joined forces once more, making Flybe Loganair's second codeshare partner – the firm already has an agreement in place with British Airways.

Loganair and Flybe routes to and from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Manchester – the five main airports where the airlines' networks meet – are included.

It means that customers making a single booking from Wick John O'Groats Airport for a connecting journey between Flybe and Loganair flights can check in bags right through to their final destination with the assurance that they will be re-booked to their destination free of charge if delays caused by the weather or other factors lead to missed connections.

The new codeshare agreement also offers a significant saving for customers as they no longer have to pay the multiple Air Passenger Duty charges they faced previously when buying separate tickets from Loganair and Flybe to build their own connecting itinerary.

Mrs Ross, the SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, said: "This is a very welcome announcement indeed. It was a blow when Loganair lost its previous codeshare, as a lot of people relied on that if they were flying from Wick and then onwards from either Aberdeen or Edinburgh.

"This agreement means that customers making a single booking for a connecting journey between Loganair and Flybe flights can check in bags to their final destination with the assurance that they will be re-booked free of charge if delays lead to missed connections.

"Hopefully this will give customers more reassurance when flying from Wick and we will see numbers start to rise again."

Loganair and Flybe expressed their delight at getting the codeshare deal done with both looking forward to a beneficial partnership.

Alan Tune, Flybe’s director of sales, alliances and strategic partnerships, said: "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.

"The new codeshare agreement with our Loganair partner offers unrivalled connectivity between most of the main cities, islands and regions of the UK, and onwards to several key European cities, too."

Jonathan Hinkles, Loganair’s managing director, said: "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 codeshare agreement will link all of the communities that we’re proud to serve as Scotland’s airline with major destinations throughout the UK and Europe, and I’m sure that this will be fantastic news for UK tourism, business and by making it easier to visit friends and family."

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