Loganair has hit back at easyJet, following the announcement of the Luton-headquartered budget operator’s plans to compete with the Scottish airline on a UK domestic corridor. As of November this yr, Loganair’s flights between Glasgow and Southampton will face competition from two easyJet rotations per week.
Concerns regarding long-term viability
Just yesterday, Easy Flying reported on easyJet’s plans to launch twice-weekly flights between Glasgow Airport (GLA) and Southampton Airport (SOU) this November, as a part of a wider winter network expansion drive. It is a route that Loganair currently has a monopoly on, operating as many as 4 rotations a day.
While airlines relish competition, Loganair CEO Jonathan Hinkles took to LinkedIn last week to share certain concerns about this move. 4 other UK domestic routes, he noted that, lately, easyJet “.” While this underlines Loganair’s established presence on such corridors, it also poses certain challenges.
Photo: Liner/Shutterstock
Hinkles worries that, on the times when each easyJet and Loganair flights are serving the Glasgow-Southampton route (Thursdays and Saturdays, on this case), demand won’t be sufficient to sustain each services. This may increasingly have the potential to affect the Scottish carrier’s long-term viability on the corridor, with Hinkles adding:
“We fly all these routes throughout the entire yr, yet we’d like to make a profit on busy summer Thursdays to make sure the service stays available on quieter wintry Tuesdays.”
Lower fares vs more frequent flights
On the subject of this UK domestic corridor, Loganair actually has the upper hand when it comes to frequency. Nonetheless, easyJet will look to leverage its lower fares to fuel demand for its less frequent flights. For instance, the Southern Day by day Echo notes that an early-November round trip on the route has a base fare of around £100 ($123.77). Meanwhile, easyJet’s base fare is closer to £64 ($79.21).
Photo: Adam Loader/Shutterstock
In fact, it’s value noting that Loganair passengers get more for his or her money, resembling free checked baggage. Nonetheless, for passengers traveling with minimal luggage, easyJet’s lower fares could also be hard to withstand, even with a far lower service frequency. In accordance with the Southern Day by day Echo, the Luton-headquartered low-cost carrier offered the next response to Hinkles’ comments:
“We concentrate our efforts on maintaining and developing routes which prove hottest with customers, specializing in offering routes with the best demand. (…) We’re at all times reviewing the chance to operate latest routes where we see there’s demand and might offer competitive fares which, together with providing greater alternative, we consider is sweet for consumers.”
A recent milestone
Apart from its Glasgow route, Loganair’s presence at Southampton Airport also includes flights to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Newcastle, and Stornoway. Last week, it celebrated a special milestone regarding its operations out of Southampton, by awarding a free flight to its 350,000th customer on the airport. It’ll actually hope that this number continues to grow, even within the face of low-cost competition.