Air Charter Scotland Starts First Scheduled Services

Air Charter Scotland has begun operating the company’s first scheduled services in the form of a Wick to Aberdeen route, which it is now running six times a week. This is the first foray into scheduled services for asset management company Air Charter Scotland, which is initially deploying a Beechcraft King Air from UK operator DragonFly on the route.

Starting March 1, this rout will be served by an 18-seat BAe Jetstream J32 operated and crewed by Dutch airline AIS Airlines, while Air Charter Scotland seeks to add the type to its own air operator certificate.

Crucially, the link is designated a public service obligation route by the government, which offers financial subsidies to provide a minimum service for otherwise isolated communities. However, the October 2024 collapse of UK regional airline Eastern Airlines left the route without an operator. “While the number of people using these routes is not enough to make them commercially viable for airlines, they nevertheless provide important connectivity to local communities,” Transport Scotland said.

“Having a reliable air link from the far north to central Scotland is key to growing our local economy [and] improving connectivity,” said councilor Raymond Bremner, leader of the Highland Council. The same one-day trip would take around nine hours by train or at least a 4.5-hour drive around the Scottish coastline.