09:53

Loganair’s punctuality boost as it increases Norwich’s international connectivity

Loganair’s latest figures for its Norwich services display a remarkable punctuality performance, it has been revealed.

In July, the most recent month for which figures are available, the Scottish airline’s service from the East Anglian city to Manchester showed 94.0% of its flights at D15, that is within 15 minutes of scheduled departure time – the industry’s definition of being “on-time”. The Norwich to Edinburgh service had figures just close behind, with 91.23% at D15.

The two key services sit in the top five on punctuality for the fast-growing Glasgow-based airline, which has its English base at Norwich.

Figures for the first seven months of 2018, January to July inclusive compiled by the Civil Aviation Authority, saw Loganair’s three services from Norwich perform at a consistently high level at D15 – 87.19% to Manchester, 85.34% to Jersey and 85.08% to Edinburgh.

Meanwhile, Loganair’s increasing number of codeshare and interline agreements with the giants of international aviation is seeing Norwich’s international connectivity growing at an ever-increasing rate – especially to North America.

An “interline” partnership with Thomas Cook Airlines provides long-haul connections from Norwich and via Manchester to 13 North American and Caribbean destinations including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Orlando and Las Vegas on a single ticket – with through-ticketing and through-check baggage.

Further interline agreements are in place with journeys via Turkish Airlines, Emirates and Qatar Airways.

There is also an arrangement with American Airlines at Manchester, via a British Airways “codeshare” to Chicago and Philadelphia, which is one step up from interline, giving passengers complete protection as if they had booked with the ongoing journey airline.

Loganair commercial director Kay Ryan said: “Norwich is a massively important airport for us, it is our only operational base outside Scotland. We are very pleased at our increasing performance here both in terms of punctuality and providing more connectivity. It shows our continued and growing commitment to the city and the airport.

“We have been working hard at developing partnerships with some of the world’s biggest airlines, and recent deals involve such as Turkish, Emirates and Qatar. All these deals will benefit Norwich Airport and its passengers, especially via our service from Norwich to Manchester. It is an exciting time for us and for our relationship with Norwich Airport.”

The latest news comes shortly after Loganair announced a partnership with Norwich City FC, which involves Loganair becoming the football club’s transport partner to away games, but also a sponsor of the club.

Norwich Airport managing director Richard Pace said: “As Loganair’s operational base in England we are delighted to see the airline achieve such excellent punctuality on its Manchester, Edinburgh and Jersey routes. Loganair is an important operator for Norwich Airport and its growing interline and codeshare agreements with some of the world’s biggest airlines via Manchester mean passengers can enjoy seamless transfers from Norwich to a growing list of long haul destinations including North America and the Caribbean.”