Summary
- Loganair is retiring its Saab 340 turboprops after 24 years of service and replacing them with ATR72-600s.
- The airline has planned a farewell week for the Saab 340, including scenic flights and a celebration flight.
- Loganair is transitioning to the ATR72-600 for its reduced carbon emissions and to simplify its fleet operations.
Loganair is about to call curtains on the Saab 340 turboprop, and all the festivities planned are sold out. The Scottish airline used the Saab 340 for twenty-four years on over 430,000 flights carrying greater than 8 million passengers across the British Isles. Still, it’s now retiring her last three Saab 340s and getting three more ATR72-600s as replacements.
A farewell week
Loganair has planned and is executing a farewell week for the Saab 340 that served for over 24 years in its fleet as each a passenger transport and a freighter. A part of the ceremonies conducted include scenic flights for many who wanted one last joyride on the Saab 340:
Moreover, one among the flight attendants kissed goodbye to the Saab 340:
There may be a celebration flight from Glasgow Airport (GLA) to Aberdeen International Airport (ABZ) planned for today also that was sold out for a while. The celebratory flight coincides with hangar tours to learn Kid’s Hospices Across Scotland.
Final revenue flight
The ultimate revenue flight shall be from Inverness to Glasglow on flight LM0340, a 40-minute journey starting at 11:30 local time on January 25. The flight is already sold out.
It’s value noting that it’s in the future before the last revenue flight of Horizon Air’s De Havilland of Canada Dash-8-Q400 turboprop fleet. The regional subsidiary of Alaska Airlines has since gone all-Embraer E175.
Moving onward and upward
Loganair is transitioning from the Saab 340 to the ATR72-600. Saab stopped making the Saab 340 in 1999, while the ATR72-600 offers, in response to Loganair, a 27% reduction in carbon emissions at ATR 69 grams of CO2 per km. Moreover, the ATR72-600 comes with a contemporary cockpit with multi-function displays and holders for electronic flight bag devices as pictured below:
Loganair already has 17 ATR turboprops available, with three more on order. 3 De Havilland of Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and 13 Embraer 145s of various variants balance out the fleet.
For Loganair, reducing fleet types will help with operational challenges. As you may see from the Loganair FlightLOG podcast episode above – as Flight Support Manager Stewart Houston said,
“We sometimes complain within the office that we have too many sorts of aircraft, but it surely makes the job really, really dynamic.”
Reducing fleet complexity is one key reason why among the most prolific operators, like airBaltic, Horizon Air, and LOT Polish Airlines retired the Dash-8-Q400 turboprops from their fleets in January 2023. It is because fewer fleet types mean more efficiencies to drive down costs and keep fares down for the typical passenger.
Connecting Scotland
As Loganair has a special mission to function Scotland’s home airline, the airline must have aircraft that may do the whole lot from connecting major airports to flying out to far-flung feeders. The flights help provide reliable connectivity where ferries have sometimes flailed and failed, plus help promote tourism to grow the Scottish economy. You may read more in our evaluation below:
5 Reasons Why Air Travel Is Vital For Keeping Scotland’s Islands Connected
Flights inside Scotland’s highlands and islands have many benefits over ferries.
Moreover, in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, in response to the Loganair FlightLOG podcast episode 5, Loganair gave the Scottish air ambulance service two Saab 340s as emergency air ambulances. This is an element of the history of Loganair as Scotland’s key aviation provider, as you may read within the Easy Flying history below:
Scotland’s Airline: A Temporary History Of Loganair
The carrier has served Scotland in various ways for six many years.
Ultimately, because the Saab 340 is retired on January 25 from Loganair, the Saab 340 shall be remembered as a Swedish helper to the Scottish people. Based on ch-aviation, the Saab 340 continues to be flying in small numbers for several dozen airlines. Australia’s Rex is the biggest remaining operator, with 22 Saab 340Bs.
Did you fly on the Saab 340 with Loganair? If that’s the case, please share your tales within the comments.