Loganair to launch new base at Southampton

Image courtesy Loganair

The Southampton base will allow the airline to serve southern mainland and island communities and will increase the number of seats available through the airline by over 140,000 per year. It is planned that the base will be operated by two ATR-72 600 aircraft, with the first aircraft arriving in October 2025.

In addition to the news of this new base for the airline, Loganair has announced plans to launch two new routes, as well as increasing capacity for one of its existing flights. From 26th October new routes from Southampton to Manchester and Manchester to Exeter have been added to the airline’s timetable, while the capacity of aircraft serving the popular Southampton to Edinburgh route has been increased from 49 to 72 passengers. New routes via Manchester to Inverness and Aberdeen will also become available.

The new Southampton to Manchester route is timed to meet key connections to Inverness, Aberdeen and Isle of Man. This new route enhances onward connectivity at Manchester, via existing partnerships with Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Aer Lingus.

Luke Farajallah, chief executive officer at Loganair, said: “We are delighted to be announcing a new base in Southampton, which is a logical and important strategic step for the UK’s largest regional airline. Loganair is very familiar with operations to and from the South Coast and we feel confident the local market will respond well to our more permanent presence and new routes through the basing of two aircraft later this year.

“The DNA of our business for over six decades has been to connect regions and cities and to connect island communities to the mainland. Southampton offers a unique location and we believe the markets, local people and businesses will respond well to our presence in this thriving part of the UK. We are also looking forward to welcoming our new team members who will be recruited from the local areas.

“We would like to thank our partners at AGS (Aberdeen, Glasgow & Southampton Airport Group) for working with our teams to deliver a new dimension to our existing partnership and we look forward to enabling growth as we develop this new base.”

This new Southampton base places Loganair in a strategically important and prosperous region of the country, opening the possibility of additional future growth.

Loganair was recently recognised by Which? for its superior customer service, ranking as one of only three airlines to receive a five-star rating in that field.

Kam Jandu, chief executive of AGS Airports, added: “This announcement represents both a significant investment and huge vote of confidence from Loganair in Southampton Airport. Establishing what will be its 10th base, will not only significantly enhance the region’s connectivity it will deliver a welcome boost for the local economy by creating meaningful employment opportunities.

“Manchester is the most sought-after route by businesses across the region and was previously used by more than 200,000 passengers per year. The re-introduction of this route will further strengthen the economic ties between the two cities and Loganair’s extensive airline interline agreements will open even more global connection opportunities for our passengers, making the world even more accessible from their local airport.”

Loganair has nine other bases including: Kirkwall, Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, City of Derry, Newcastle and Isle of Man.