News / Loganair recruits Boyle
EMBATTLED flight operator Loganair has announced the appointment of a new operations director in a bid to boost reliability and punctuality.
Maurice Boyle, who has worked in the industry for 35 years, took on the job in late October after the airline’s chief operating officer Phil Preston stood down from the role in June for health reasons.
Former Eastern Airways operations executive Lorna Bruce had been acting as operations director on a temporary basis after Preston went on leave.
Edinburgh-born Boyle said in a statement: “I’m proud to join the team that chief executive Stewart Adams has assembled and know that we can restore Loganair’s punctuality performance and passenger confidence.”
Chief executive Adams said Boyle will strive to ensure the airline’s criticised levels of punctuality and reliability are at an “acceptable level”.
“With Maurice in post, the director operations role is now a permanent position and will be responsible for achieving our operational performance targets by working closely with internal departments and external suppliers to ensure they provide the level of service we need to achieve acceptable levels of punctuality and reliability,” he said.
Boyle has previously worked as the general manager of DHL Aviation Middle East and managing director of Thomsonfly.
Loganair, who operate flights in the northern isles with franchise partner Flybe, has repeatedly come under fire for the reliability of its service.
Earlier this year the company admitted they were failing on punctuality targets, with one in four flights up to September 2015 being delayed by 15 minutes or more.
A scathing letter from pilots union BALPA that raised serious concerns about the airline’s engineering department later followed, with staff admitting they were concerned about their management’s ability to turn the crisis around.
The latest incident on the northern isles routes saw a flight from Glasgow to Sumburgh undertake an emergency landing in Aberdeen on 11 November after passengers reported smoke and flames coming from an engine – prompting first minister Nicola Sturgeon to contact Loganair directly in concern.
In October, chief executive Adams stated the company was addressing issues with its service.
“The investment Loganair is currently undertaking to improve operational performance is significant and we are confident it will have a positive effect on services we have provided for our valued customers for more than half a century,” he said in a statement.
“These changes will not happen overnight, but I can assure everyone that Loganair is working hard to improve performance.”
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