Loganair - 98% reliability record 12/2/13
Loganair has a 98%record in getting passengers to their destination said the airline.
Only 2% of Western Isles flights were cancelled last year and when bad weather is
taken out of the equation its departure reliability is 99.2% according to company
Loganair’s executive chairman David Harrison acknowledged that the 164 grounded flights
meant “over 1,000 passengers were inconvenienced and meant they didn’t get home for
the weekend, didn’t get their onward connection.”
Mr Harrison, - Loganair top boss - said the 72 non-weather related cancellations
were due to plane breakdowns.
In a presentation to the Comhairle, Mr Harrison dismissed recently released performance
figures from airport operator Hial, which claimed about 300 cancelled flights and
1,000 delays at the three Western Isles airports, as misleading and included double
counting. They included a competing airline and freight plane.
He said there were just 72 cancellations due to a faulty aircraft while the airline
flew 8,538 flights in 2012.
Some 503 journeys were delayed by over 30 minutes though this included 369 flights
held back by bad weather, a reliability percentage of about 96%, he indicated.
Mr Harrison said: “There is always room for improvement but, overall, our record
is not a bad one.”
Cllr Alasdair Macleod pointed out: “The lack of information irks passengers the most,”
when airport delays occur.
Mr Harrison replied: “Yes, we have had complaints and we will try and do better.
Cllr Norman Macleod said: “You should have your own representatives at airport.
He reckoned a problem aircraft was switched around various Highlands and Islands
routes to avoid nay build up of complaints on any specific island.
Mr Macleod echoed other councillors who objected to the high ticket prices and apparent
lack of availability of cheaper seats.
He also highlighted that the same complaints kept coming up year after year.
Mr Harrison said all rival airlines’ fares are now more expensive compared to a couple
of years ago.
He said Loganair had a fleet fo 14 Saab 340s , which the airline find are best in
high wind landings, move around its route network while its turboprop Dornier 328
is mainly used for Stornoway. To beef up their resilience against disruptions they
are considering introducing more Dorniers.
The airline chief explained they used sub-contracted representatives staff at Glasgow
and Edinburgh airports and the information service fell short.
He said: “We definitely owe it to passengers to provide good information.
On the accusation customers complaining about the same problems for years he said:
“We get it wrong sometimes.”
Mr Harrison said the firm was clearly not addressing feedback as well as it should.