Airline Loganair is put up for sale by brothers Stephen and Peter Bond

Scottish airline Loganair is put up for sale by brothers Stephen and Peter Bond who have owned business for 25 years

• Glasgow-based airline flies 44 planes to more than 40 airports across Europe
• It has been owned by Scottish brothers Stephen and Peter Bond for 25 years
• Figures show it operates 1,000 flights weekly and employs over 900 people
• But it’s now up for sale with hope new owners will take over by middle of 2023

Scottish airline Loganair has been put on the market by tycoon brothers Stephen and Peter Bond.

The Glasgow-based airline, owned by the Scottish brothers for 25 years, currently flies 44 planes to more than 40 destinations across Europe and the British Isles.

Company figures also show it operates 1,000 flights a week and employs more than 900 people.

But the airline, owned by the brothers since 2012, has now been put up for sale with the hope that new owners will take over by the middle of next year.

Loganair became the UK’s biggest airline following the collapse of Flybe. 

The brothers, both of whom keep a low profile, previously owned FlyBMI, which collapsed in 2019.

It left hundreds of passengers stranded across Europe and most of its 376 staff without jobs.

Some of its more lucrative routes were subsequently taken over by the Loganair.

The airline’s chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: ‘The airline is trading profitably and has repaid its Covid-19 bank debt ahead of schedule.

‘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 per cent ahead of pre-pandemic levels, and our fleet renewal programme is also well advanced, continuing apace over the coming months.’

The UK’s biggest regional airline Loganair, owned by brothers Stephen and Peter Bond, has been put on the market

The Glasgow-based airline, owned by the Scottish brothers for 25 years, currently flies 44 planes to more than 40 destinations across Europe

The airline’s chief executive Jonathan Hinkles (pictured at Southend Airport) says the Bond brothers are ‘committed to finding the right future owner’

The tycoon brothers who have owned Loganair since 1997 

Scottish airline Loganair has been put on the market by tycoon brothers Stephen and Peter Bond.

The brothers are said to be ‘committed to finding the right future owner’ who will ‘act as its custodian for the next generation’.

The Bonds, both of whom keep a low profile, previously owned FlyBMI, which collapsed in 2019.

It left hundreds of passengers stranded across Europe and most of its 376 staff without jobs.

Some of its more lucrative routes were subsequently taken over by the Loganair.

The brother previously owned the helicopter firm Bond Aviation Group, which they sold to Spanish company Inaer for £300 million in 2011.

The company was formed in 2001 to take advantage of booming oil and gas in the North Sea, while it also became an operator of air ambulances and police helicopters across the UK

He added: ‘The Bonds – Stephen is now 72, Peter is 61 – are committed to finding the right future owner for Loganair, who will act as its custodian for the next generation, just as they and previous owners have done.

‘In the meantime, they remain wholehearted supporters of Loganair until any process is successfully concluded.’

The airline said it had doubled revenues to £161million in the year to March after flight operators took huge financial blows following the Covid pandemic.

It is also forecasting revenues of up to £240m for the current financial year as passenger numbers jump to 1.4m.

On top of passenger flights, Loganair also has a contract with Royal Mail to fly post and serves customers in offshore oil and gas.

The airline has also last week increased its flight schedule for summer next year with additional flights from Edinburgh to Southampton, Exeter, and Bergun, Norway. 

Following the announcement, chief commercial officer Luke Lovegrove said: ‘Loganair has experienced its busiest summer ever this year, carrying a record number of customers across the UK and Europe and we expect Summer 2023 to be no different.

‘We take great pride in facilitating growth in interconnectivity across the UK and by increasing our frequency on some of our key routes, we can better serve our customers.’

Loganair also gained notoriety in July earlier this year when a travel vlogger filmed his trip on the world’s shortest – and technically most expensive – commercial flight, which takes just one minute and 14 seconds.

Noel Philips, 41, shot the video flying between the islands of Papa Westray and Westray in the Scottish archipelago of Orkney – with the Loganair flight covering a distance of just 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometres).

The flight only costs £17, but its cost-per-mile ratio applied to a flight from London to Dubai would produce a £34,000 fare.  

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