Loganair’s chief executive has revealed it is looking to add new flight routes from both Aberdeen and Inverness.
The Scottish airline posted pre-tax profits of £6.9 million for the year ending March 31 2024.
Chief executive Luke Farajallah believes the Granite City and Highland capital both played a “huge part” in the year.
Loganair carried 1,519,667 passengers in a year “full of internal distractions”.
New routes for north and north-east
Mr Farajallah believes the year went “as expected” for the company, but is looking to grow those figures in the next report.
He said: “Given the year was full of the internal distractions, I feel the team dealt with those really well.
“The focus now is to avoid similar challenges in the current year, along with fewer cancellations, which will see higher profitability.
“Although we have made a profit, we want and can do better than we have.”
Mr Farajallah also revealed Loganair is looking at adding new commercial routes in the north-east of Scotland.
He added: “Aberdeen and Inverness play a huge part in our network – Aberdeen is where we have our highest number of aircrafts.
“We offer leisure, business and mail flights. We’re present in the north and north-east markets as they’re very important to us.
“So it’s highly likely there will be new commercial routes. We are in a position where we can look at new opportunities.
“But we also want to focus on more stability and fewer cancellations.”
Earlier this month a Loganair flight to Aberdeen had to turn around after being struck by lightning.
Loganair grows Inverness and Aberdeen passenger numbers
Mr Farajallah said Loganair has become more popular in Inverness and Aberdeen.
He believes the larger passenger numbers in the north-east are down to a “resurgence in oil and gas”.
He said: “The Aberdeen market is influence by oil and gas to some degree and we’ve managed to capitalise on that.
“We have carried more passengers in a part of Scotland which remains very important to us as we continue to serve it.”
The airline employed an average of 899 people during its last financial year.
Loganair also reported a turnover of £264m in its latest accounts, up from the previous year’s figures of £248m.
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