Removing ADS would not affect passenger numbers, Loganair official claims
The air discount scheme was discussed at a meeting of the Scottish Parliament’s transport committee this morning
THE ABOLITION of the air discount scheme (ADS) would have no impact on Loganair passenger numbers, one of its top officials has claimed.
Discussing the hypothetical situation of ADS being cut, the airline’s head of government and corporate affairs Simon McNamara said he did not believe it would affect the number of people choosing to fly on Loganair flights.
ADS is a Scottish Government scheme and offers islanders a 50 per cent discount on their flight fares to and from the isles, with around 88,000 people eligible
The Scottish Government expects ADS support to reach around £15 million in the 2026/27 financial year.
Members of the Scottish Parliament’s transport committee, which was hearing evidence from two Loganair officials this morning (Wednesday), strongly disagreed with McNamara.
Convener Willie Rennie asked if Loganair felt there would be “no impact” on passenger numbers if ADS was scrapped, to which McNamara replied: “I don’t believe so.”
Rennie replied: “Really?”
Loganair’s chief commercial officer (COO) Ronnie Matheson said that not all those eligible were taking advantage of the ADS service, and said he would not suggest that people would not fly if ADS was not available.
However Rennie said he found it “really difficult to believe” that Loganair’s passenger numbers would not be affected if ADS was not in place.
Scottish Labour’s Donald MacKinnon, MSP for the Western Isles, said that ADS was “undoubtedly” encouraging people to fly on Loganair routes.
And Rennie said he wanted Loganair to acknowledge in future that ADS was driving people to use their airline on certain routes.
McNamara asked the committee what they were getting at, and asked: “Are you wanting to eliminate ADS or something?”
MacKinnon said he wanted to see Loganair better utilising the money it was paid for ADS through the Scottish Government to provide a better service and cheaper fares for its passengers.
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Loganair fares
Reform UK’s Graham Simpson strongly criticised Loganair’s fares later in the meeting.
He said that return flights to Shetland this past weekend had cost him close to £500, adding he was “struggling to understand” how it could cost so much.
Simpson said he had spoken to Shetlanders during his visit who said the cost of flying was too much for them.
He described the trip as “once in a lifetime” for some people because of the high fares.
And the MSP added: “If I can’t afford to fly, and I’m very well paid, then we have a problem.
“Liam McArthur [MSP for Orkney] said you will get a caramel wafer and a piece of shortbread, but it didn’t make up for that level of fare.”
Loganair’s COO Matheson said that fares booked well in advance would be much cheaper than those booked at the last minute.
However, he said they were aware that most people seemed to book flights closer to the date and said they were evaluating a different system for booking.
He mentioned a “last minute market” and said Shetland flights would be trialled firstly.
Matheson warned though that if fare were lowered closer to the date then they would have to be higher when they first became available.
Referencing local demand for a second airline to challenge Loganair, Matheson said that both Flybe and Loganair “sustained significant losses” when they went head-to-head in Shetland.
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