A BATTLE between two airlines competing for passengers flying to and from the Western Isles is at an end after Flybe announced it is backing down.
The dogfight began last autumn when Flybe launched competing services with former partner Loganair.
Having previously operated joint routes across the Highlands and Islands with the Scots firm, Flybe flew solo and the pair went head-to-head. In a partnership with Eastern Airways, Flybe operated routes between the mainland and Northern and Western Isles, in direct competition with Loganair.
But five months on, it announced it is to discontinue its Glasgow to Stornaway and Aberdeen to Kirkwall routes.
The last flights will take to the sky on March 4 after Flybe said the routes had not shown signs of being commercially viable. It will, however, add 12 flights a week including a new Sunday service between Aberdeen and Stornoway.
Loganair has agreed to step in and honour the forward bookings on services between Stornoway and Glasgow, confirming it would work with Flybe to offer seats on its services to guarantee travel plans.
Roy Kinnear, Flybe’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We naturally regret having had to take this decision however it has become evident that the Aberdeen to Kirkwall route is not commercially viable for either Flybe or Eastern Airways.
“Serving Scotland is a key part of the Flybe business and, together with Eastern Airways, this service was launched to add market choice and offer much requested lower fares for islanders. Despite this, passenger numbers have remained disappointing with no evidence to suggest this is likely to improve sufficiently in the foreseeable future for it to become a commercially sustainable route.
“It is therefore with regret that we have taken the joint decision to withdraw from the route sooner, rather than later.”
Referring to Glasgow to Stornaway flights, he added: “We are naturally disappointed that passenger volumes on the Glasgow to Stornoway route have remained below the level needed to make it commercially viable for either Flybe or Eastern Airways.
"However, we look forward to Eastern's established franchise flights continuing to serve customers travelling between Stornoway and Aberdeen."
He said increased frequency on this route would “enhance the opportunities" to connect with Flybe's flights from Aberdeen, including to London Heathrow, Manchester and Birmingham.
Loganair has already warned it expects to make a loss in the current financial year because of Flybe launching its own flights, which led to the price war and reductions that ultimately meant costs weren’t covered.
Loganair’s Managing Director, Jonathan Hinkles, said: “We have maintained since the outset of competition that these routes could not economically sustain two airlines. The competition has been short-lived but intense, and we are grateful to the people of the Northern and Western Isles for their tremendous support, which has been unwavering - seeing over seven in every ten passengers choosing to fly with Loganair.
“Looking ahead, we recently already announced developments for the coming summer including larger aircraft on key routes, extra services between the islands and the first ever non-stop links between Stornoway, Orkney and Manchester.”
Mr Hinkles said the firm has increased the number of seats offered to Shetland, Orkney and Stornoway this summer, adding: “We’re proud to have served island communities for over 50 years and look forward to doing so for many more years to come.”
Western Isles SNP MSP, Alasdair Allan, said the news was not unexpected “as both companies seemed to be focused on pushing each other off this route, rather than on providing islanders with a wider choice of times of the day to fly at.”
He added: "This has caused more than a few issues in terms of timetabling and airport arrangements."
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