The UK’s largest regional airline, Loganair, is up for sale as its private owners hope that new proprietors will control the business by mid-2023. Over the weekend, the Scotland-based carrier’s chief executive, Jonathan Hinkles, confirmed that brothers Stephen and Peter Bond recently appointed a consultant to find a buyer.
Loganair started as an air taxi operator in 1962 and today serves around 40 routes across the UK and Europe, with most of its international services connecting destinations in Scandinavia. It carries more than 11 million passengers annually with a 44-aircraft fleet consisting of a mix of Embraer 135 and 145 regional jets, ATR 42 and 72-500 twin turboprops, plus a mix of Saab 340s, Twin Otters, and Britten Norman Islanders.
“The airline is trading profitably and has repaid its Covid-19 bank debt ahead of schedule,” said Hinkles. “It will very much continue to operate as it is today with no changes to routes, services, or employment. Passenger numbers are growing and 50 percent ahead of pre-pandemic levels, and our fleet renewal program is also well advanced, continuing apace over the coming months.”
With the British pound trading at a historic low against the U.S. dollar, financial observers have predicted renewed interest in UK corporate assets by foreign buyers. Loganair’s management team has not disclosed what interest they have seen from prospective buyers or a provisional valuation of the business.