Loganair (LM, Glasgow International) is making further disclosures about its plans for its 20-strong fleet of incoming ATR42-500s, which will initially begin replacing the airline's fleet of four remaining Saab 2000s and fifteen Saab 340Bs from next April.
In a statement to ATW, Loganair Chief Operating Officer (COO) Maurice Boyle said: “The ultimate ATR fleet will be 20-plus ATR42-500s. I would imagine, in the fullness of time, some of the Embraers could be replaced by ATRs, but that’s a few years down the road.”
According to the ch-aviation schedules module, the Scottish carrier's E135 and E145 fleets are currently employed on domestic routes, as well as international services to Esbjerg in Denmark, Bergen and Stavanger in Norway, Brussels National in Belgium, Düsseldorf in Germany, and Dublin International in Ireland.
In addition to the ATR42-500s due to enter the fleet, Loganair has also mooted its interest in the ATR42-600 variant of the 50-seat turboprop, however, a lack of airframes within the right timescale for the carrier has initially thwarted these plans. “We’ve been in dialogue with ATR - Avions de Transport Régional over the -600, as they would like to sell us some new ones, but there are no new ones [available] in the timeline we need,” added Boyle.
A cargo variant, an ATR72-500(F) (presently registered as OY-YAN (msn 570)), is already part of the Loganair fleet, but is currently undergoing maintenance before entering service. According to a senior airline source, the aircraft is due to leave Billund in the next 48 hours and join the Loganair fleet.
When referring to the ch-aviation PRO airlines module, this aircraft is being covered by a wet-leased RAF-Avia (MTL, Riga) ATR72-200 (YL-RAI (msn 493)), which operates on Loganair's Inverness-Edinburgh-Nottingham East Midlands-Inverness freighter service.
