Skyliner report that one of the Loganair SAAB 340s operating for Flybe has been converted to a freighter. Have Loganair ever operated pure freighters before?

http://skyliner-aviation.de/regdb.main?LC=nav4&page=4

I believe they operated quick changes.

Yes. They have always had dedicated freighters. They are not operated on behalf of any other airline. They are Royal Mail contracts. It's been a very long time since they used quick change passenger/cargo aircraft. Although they did used to block off seats for newspaper deliveries on some passenger flights.

They've had at least two dedicated Saab 340 freighters in all white livery with basic Loganair titling. I believe the plan is for four to cover recently won cargo contracts, with G-LGNM coming out of conversion just last week. The freighters will also be the first of the fleet to sport the new post Flybe livery.

Thanks. I'd forgotten they'd split from Flybe.

Nice to see LC coming back anyway, they used to be the second biggest scheduled airline at places like MAN before the British Regional Airlines reorganisation that created the larger Manx Airlines. I'd really like to see more of them flying round the wider UK under their own branding as Loganair used to be a trusted airline brand, flying the ATP.

I haven't heard about any major problems with the ending of the BE franchising deal and as far as I can tell there will still be cross-selling of tickets.

The 'divorce' comes into effect on September 1st, until then you can still book as Flybe AFAIK. As far as that livery rendering goes, the large billboard Loganair text has been since downsized to a more traditional size owing to it not reading well around the windows. I'm also told that in the initial round of repainting, the owned Twin Otter and the one Flybe liveried Saab 2000 will be amongst the first to done, possibly as soon as August. The aforementioned 340 that returned from freight conversion has gone for respray already.

Oh and as a result of downsizing the large titling, there will be additional space on the nose area for individual aircraft names, which a bit like Aer Lingus, will be in Scottish Gaelic and English on opposing sides of the nose.

JannEejit wrote:

Oh and as a result of downsizing the large titling, there will be additional space on the nose area for individual aircraft names, which a bit like Aer Lingus, will be in Scottish Gaelic and English on opposing sides of the nose.

How lovely. More people speak polish that Gaelic in Scotland. Perhaps English and polish would be more worthwhile?

sevenair wrote:

JannEejit wrote:

Oh and as a result of downsizing the large titling, there will be additional space on the nose area for individual aircraft names, which a bit like Aer Lingus, will be in Scottish Gaelic and English on opposing sides of the nose.

How lovely. More people speak polish that Gaelic in Scotland. Perhaps English and polish would be more worthwhile?

I think more people in Scotland speak Urdu as well, but hey...Scottish airline that predominately serves the Gaelic heartlands...

What I do like about that scheme (assuming it's close to the finished product) is the tartan tail.

Reading about what's happening, it seems the owners want to redevelop LC as Scotland's airline. Maybe there's even some forward thinking about what might happen if Scotland does vote for independence and to join the EU under its own steam. LC would be well placed then for an upswing in business.

Channex757 wrote:

What I do like about that scheme (assuming it's close to the finished product) is the tartan tail.

Reading about what's happening, it seems the owners want to redevelop LC as Scotland's airline. Maybe there's even some forward thinking about what might happen if Scotland does vote for independence and to join the EU under its own steam. LC would be well placed then for an upswing in business.

Yeah pretty much, they're going back to being the 'Loganair - Scotland's Airline' I remember from the 1980's, when they had a red, white and black painted fleet of aircraft like Embraer Bandeirantes, Short 330's and Britten-Norman Tri-landers, to name but a few. There may be some kind of long term view towards an independent Scottish scenario, but I doubt that's behind the split from Flybe, whom I gather were something of a domineering partner in the "marriage". Funny to think that 30 years ago before the British Midland/Manx takeover, Loganair were probably a bigger operation than Jersey European, that eventually became Flybe. The other irony is that today Loganair is now run in partnership with the consortium that purchased BMI Regional, so along with Suckling that got purchased by Loganair a few years ago, we now have a reasonably formidable UK regional airline in the making. Interesting times methinks...

The article I read about LC emphasised the idea of the airline starting to run under its own colours again, so the end of the BE contract would fit with that. There's probably going to still be some kind of through ticketing where the two networks overlap though. I could see Scots passengers liking the idea of Scotland's Airline once again.

BE seems more bothered about their Irish partner Stobart at the moment, including some Embraer 190 flying being outsourced to them at Southend. Stobart's first jets.

Loving this thread, as a boy at GLA I used to watch the Loganair aircraft, fond place in my heart.

Any more info about them including articles in magazines etc much appreciated!

How many aircraft in Loganair fleet?

georgiabill wrote:

How many aircraft in Loganair fleet?

Dominated by Saab 340, but also operate, Saab 2000, DHC & Viking Twin Otter, BN Islander, Dornier Do328 (ex Suckling) and a single leased ATR42 on the Dundee-Stansted service.

http://www.jethros.org.uk/fleets/fleet_ ... ganair.htm

Some of those Saab 340s though are rather elderly - I recall one or two of the B-models flying around for Business Air in the 90s! However they have the capacity for the market they serve & there doesn't appear to be a similar-sized aircraft currently in manufacture now. Saab themselves of course don't manufacture them anyone - perhaps more the pity.

Fitlikemin wrote:

Some of those Saab 340s though are rather elderly - I recall one or two of the B-models flying around for Business Air in the 90s! However they have the capacity for the market they serve & there doesn't appear to be a similar-sized aircraft currently in manufacture now. Saab themselves of course don't manufacture them anyone - perhaps more the pity.

The serviceability of the Saabs has been questioned in recent years, by passengers, and politicians alike. Lots of cancellations and going tech at remote airfields, including flights I've been due to take myself, The 2000's seem a bit newer and reliable over all but yes a new fleet strategy is going to have to be implemented soon. The problem is with what ? They had an ATR in from the manufacturer on a crosswind landing demo day recently, that was a 72 though and even a 42 seems like too much plane for Loganair. Perhaps Saab should do a 'Viking' and reintroduce the 340 like Viking reintroduced the Twin Otter, two of which are operated by Loganair as well as their last remaining DHC version, which as many know, is used to land on the Hebridean island of Barra, directly on the beach.

Booked a little open triangle in a couple of weeks time....all LC
EDI-NWI D328-100
NWI-MAN D328-100
MAN-GLA S2000

Quite fond of LC , having done Barra a few times, and spent a day at KOI on the Islanders in seat 1B.....
Great crowd of people, who look after you very well indeed.
Long may they prosper.

TUGMASTER wrote:

Booked a little open triangle in a couple of weeks time....all LC
EDI-NWI D328-100
NWI-MAN D328-100
MAN-GLA S2000

Quite fond of LC , having done Barra a few times, and spent a day at KOI on the Islanders in seat 1B.....
Great crowd of people, who look after you very well indeed.
Long may they prosper.

Enjoy, I bagged a Saab 2000 back from Kirkwall last May and it was the ex Etihad Regional one with plush leather seats. (G-LGNT)

The aforementioned Barra day trip for £75 was listed amongst these offers. I imagine it may reappear in the winter season ...

https://www.loganair.co.uk/adventure-days/

Also note that the latest Saab 340 freighter conversion is G-LGNN not 'NM' as I previously stated. My bad, etc etc...

I gather 'NN' will likely exit paint shop and position to GLA this Saturday afternoon...

sevenair wrote:

JannEejit wrote:

Oh and as a result of downsizing the large titling, there will be additional space on the nose area for individual aircraft names, which a bit like Aer Lingus, will be in Scottish Gaelic and English on opposing sides of the nose.

How lovely. More people speak polish that Gaelic in Scotland. Perhaps English and polish would be more worthwhile?

That is a bit of a silly comment really, sorry. I can see where you are coming from (and heading to!)...maybe you were actually trying to be humorous, so in that case I apologise. But Loganair is a proud Scottish name and it should be all about heritage in this semi-new incarnation.

Fitlikemin wrote:

Some of those Saab 340s though are rather elderly

I believe the oldest is G-LGNI. Although it entered Loganair service as recently as May 2005 it first flew in April 1989 so is over 28 years old.

How lovely. More people speak polish that Gaelic in Scotland. Perhaps English and polish would be more worthwhile?[/quote]

Loganair have been there and done that already.

Between October 1998 and the sad loss of both crew on 27 February 2001(when the aircraft was ditched with a severe icing problem on a night-time mail flight), Loganair's Short SD-360 G-BNMT, while operating as part of that airline's BA Franchise Partnership, carried the Polish language titling / name 'Kogutki Lowicke' on one side of its nose and its English translation 'Cockerel of Lowicz' on the other side.

Wish theyd stuck to the original billboard titles. The actual painted one has much smaller titles (avoiding the windows) to the rear. Good have been much better advertising! Nice to see some tartan though and like the red engines.

Now seen a few shots of G-LGNN at Glasgow in the tartan tail livery. It does actually look pretty smart. Presume eventually all the aircraft will receive the same style of tartan. Personally, would have been a nice touch to paint the aircraft with different tartans but appreciate for understandable financial reasons why they maybe cannot do that.

It's the Loganair company tartan so will be the same applied across the fleet (eventually). Back in the day it featured heavily in the cabin crew uniforms. Have seen pictures today as well, looks better than I anticipated.

Really not a fan of this livery :-/

Sandyb123

Took a few quick pics of 'The Orcadian Flyer' whilst cycling round GLA the other day...

sandyb123 wrote:

Really not a fan of this livery :-/

Sandyb123

Even worse - there's some foreign language on the last shot!

I like it, I think they did a really nice job of it.

The first passenger model has been repainted and will arrive at GLA base today from East Midlands, G-LGNK which was only done in Flybe purple livery a year ago.