A very Scottish farewell to the Loganair Saab 340 (a very short Trip Report)
Jan 29, 2024, 2:58 pm
#1
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A very Scottish farewell to the Loganair Saab 340 (a very short Trip Report)
This (very short) trip came about as a result of Loganair advertising a series of “farewell” flights on the 20th and 21st of January 2024 to mark the retirement of their remaining Saab 340 fleet and the retirement of their longest serving pilot (who also flew the Saab 340) on the 25th.
For those who aren’t familiar, Loganair is a Scottish regional airline which has been operating for more than 60 years, and currently service around 40 routes, mainly across the British Isles, with a few Scandinavian destinations thrown in. They have a diverse fleet of smaller aircraft, including the Saab 340, which has been in service with them for the past 24 years, and at it’s peak, they operated 18 of the type, carrying some 8 million passengers on the aircraft in that time.
As the aircraft were reaching their 35 year old mark, Loganair began to retire them, replacing them with larger, more efficient ATR 72 aircraft, and with the last remaining aircraft due to be retired from service on the 25th of January, Loganair decided to put on 8 commemorative flights from Glasgow, spread across two days (Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st), which would involve a loop off the Ayrshire coast, and then land back at Glasgow. It was primarily aimed at aviation enthusiasts, and the tickets for these flights sold out very quickly as a result. They also offered a limited number of hangar tour tickets, which sadly I missed out on, but I was able to one of the few remaining seats on the Sunday morning flight.
Arriving at Glasgow airport, I checked in at the Loganair desk to pick up a paper boarding pass for my journey, noting with some amusement the unusual sight of the departure board showing several flights to “Glasgow” (which no doubt caused a bit of confusion for some of the passing passengers).
Security was very quiet, which I was grateful of, since I didn’t have my usual fasttrack access on this ticket, and after a couple of minutes, I was airside and on my way to the gate.
My first view of the Saab 340 I'd shortly be flying on.
Loganair were using gate15 for all of their commemorative flights over the weekend, and had a few bits of signage up, denoting this special event. It was also clear from the abundance of cameras being carried around the gate area that this flight was going to be full of fellow avgeeks, and I caught up with a few people from social media whom I hadn’t met in person before.
The "expansive" signage at the gate for the commemorative flights.
G-LGNJ
While we were all waiting around, the gate agents made an announcement for anyone to come forward who wanted a paper ticket (but had perhaps checked in via their app, or printed their own off at home), in case they wanted it as a souvenir, which I thought was a really nice touch.
Before long, boarding was called, and we all headed down the stairs of the gate, and out into the chilly Scottish January morning air, ready to board our aircraft – a 35 year old Saab 340 (G-LGNJ).
An AVGeek heavy flight!
Several ground agents were outside the aircraft, and they were taking photographs of the passengers (if they wanted one) before boarding, which was great (and I availed myself of their services). The aircraft also had a decal on the side denoting it’s long service with the airline.
Despite having several hundred flights under my belt, this was my first time travelling on this aircraft type and I was really looking forward to it.
Boarding the 33 seat, all-economy cabin, I took my seat in 8C, one of only 11 aisle seats on this aircraft (and a testament to me securing one of the few which were left when I booked the ticket!)
The small cabin has 11 rows of seats in a 2-1 configuration.
Each seat had a goodie bag from Loganair, to commemorate the flight. This contained a signed certificate, a book on the Saab 340’s service with Loganair, and a few other bits and pieces. The seats were fairly new looking, and despite the age of the aircraft, it was in good condition. They were fairly basic with a very small tray table, and a mesh pocket below, containing the safety, but had really cool headrest covers made of Harris Tweed – a uniquely Scottish addition.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a flight with so many go pros and phone cameras stuck pointing out the windows, but given the nature of this trip, it wasn’t a huge surprise.
Captain Eddie Watt came on the PA to introduce himself and the flight crew to us. He had been a pilot for Loganair for 27 years and was due to retire a few days after this flight, having spent the last 17 of that career flying the Saab, with 15,000 hours and 40,000 landings on the type, and would be pilot flying for this flight as well. He was joined in the cockpit by First Officer, Iskander Pradesh, and the jump seat was occupied by Base Training Captain (who had 17,000 hours of flying experience), Alex Brand. Flight Attendant, Kirsten Gilmore looked after us in the cabin.
After the safety briefing, our engines were started up, and we pushed back from our stand, making our way to Glasgow’s runway 23.
As we lined up on the runway, Captain Watt came back on the PA to let us know he would be doing a full power take off, with the brakes applied while the engines were moved to full power. This certainly gave us a burst of acceleration as the brakes were released, and we began our take off roll down the runway.
We were starting to feel the weather effects of storm Isha, which battered Scotland and northern England on the 21st and 22nd, so it was a bit bumpy when we took off, but this settled once we reached our initial cruise.
Unfortunately, the weather had brought with it a complete blanket of cloud cover, so we were deprived of views as we bade our way out over the isle of Byte in the Firth of Clyde (on a clear day, there would have been stunning views), but it was still a fantastic flight, despite the lack of views.
The "View" for the majority of the flight.
Hello from seat 8C
As this was only a short flight (about 20 minutes of flying time) we were soon on our approach back towards Glasgow, at which point Captain Brand came over the PA, and started an excellent narration of the stages of flight, and what was going on with the aircraft (flaps, gear lowering, etc.) the whole way down. It was an excellent addition to the flight.
As we lined up for the runway, we came in over Milngavie (pronounced “Mill-guy”), Clydebank, and then the River Clyde, with a few bumps on the descent, courtesy of a cross wind, and before long we had a smooth touchdown back onto Runway 23.
Unlike most flights, once we had pulled on stand and the door was opened, there was no mad rush to get off – rather, passengers were keen to visit the cockpit and speak to the captain. The crew were great and really accommodating, but as time marched on, they had to draw the visits to a close, as they were trying to prepare for the second flight of the day.
Exiting the Saab, there was another opportunity for some commemorative photos, and then it was time to head back into the terminal. All together a unique and fantastic experience.
Cheesy picture time.
Farewell Saab 340
If you want to experience some of it for yourself, I’ve also got a video record of the trip.
For those who aren’t familiar, Loganair is a Scottish regional airline which has been operating for more than 60 years, and currently service around 40 routes, mainly across the British Isles, with a few Scandinavian destinations thrown in. They have a diverse fleet of smaller aircraft, including the Saab 340, which has been in service with them for the past 24 years, and at it’s peak, they operated 18 of the type, carrying some 8 million passengers on the aircraft in that time.
As the aircraft were reaching their 35 year old mark, Loganair began to retire them, replacing them with larger, more efficient ATR 72 aircraft, and with the last remaining aircraft due to be retired from service on the 25th of January, Loganair decided to put on 8 commemorative flights from Glasgow, spread across two days (Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st), which would involve a loop off the Ayrshire coast, and then land back at Glasgow. It was primarily aimed at aviation enthusiasts, and the tickets for these flights sold out very quickly as a result. They also offered a limited number of hangar tour tickets, which sadly I missed out on, but I was able to one of the few remaining seats on the Sunday morning flight.
Arriving at Glasgow airport, I checked in at the Loganair desk to pick up a paper boarding pass for my journey, noting with some amusement the unusual sight of the departure board showing several flights to “Glasgow” (which no doubt caused a bit of confusion for some of the passing passengers).
Security was very quiet, which I was grateful of, since I didn’t have my usual fasttrack access on this ticket, and after a couple of minutes, I was airside and on my way to the gate.
My first view of the Saab 340 I'd shortly be flying on.
Loganair were using gate15 for all of their commemorative flights over the weekend, and had a few bits of signage up, denoting this special event. It was also clear from the abundance of cameras being carried around the gate area that this flight was going to be full of fellow avgeeks, and I caught up with a few people from social media whom I hadn’t met in person before.
The "expansive" signage at the gate for the commemorative flights.
G-LGNJ
While we were all waiting around, the gate agents made an announcement for anyone to come forward who wanted a paper ticket (but had perhaps checked in via their app, or printed their own off at home), in case they wanted it as a souvenir, which I thought was a really nice touch.
Before long, boarding was called, and we all headed down the stairs of the gate, and out into the chilly Scottish January morning air, ready to board our aircraft – a 35 year old Saab 340 (G-LGNJ).
An AVGeek heavy flight!
Several ground agents were outside the aircraft, and they were taking photographs of the passengers (if they wanted one) before boarding, which was great (and I availed myself of their services). The aircraft also had a decal on the side denoting it’s long service with the airline.
Despite having several hundred flights under my belt, this was my first time travelling on this aircraft type and I was really looking forward to it.
Boarding the 33 seat, all-economy cabin, I took my seat in 8C, one of only 11 aisle seats on this aircraft (and a testament to me securing one of the few which were left when I booked the ticket!)
The small cabin has 11 rows of seats in a 2-1 configuration.
Each seat had a goodie bag from Loganair, to commemorate the flight. This contained a signed certificate, a book on the Saab 340’s service with Loganair, and a few other bits and pieces. The seats were fairly new looking, and despite the age of the aircraft, it was in good condition. They were fairly basic with a very small tray table, and a mesh pocket below, containing the safety, but had really cool headrest covers made of Harris Tweed – a uniquely Scottish addition.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a flight with so many go pros and phone cameras stuck pointing out the windows, but given the nature of this trip, it wasn’t a huge surprise.
Captain Eddie Watt came on the PA to introduce himself and the flight crew to us. He had been a pilot for Loganair for 27 years and was due to retire a few days after this flight, having spent the last 17 of that career flying the Saab, with 15,000 hours and 40,000 landings on the type, and would be pilot flying for this flight as well. He was joined in the cockpit by First Officer, Iskander Pradesh, and the jump seat was occupied by Base Training Captain (who had 17,000 hours of flying experience), Alex Brand. Flight Attendant, Kirsten Gilmore looked after us in the cabin.
After the safety briefing, our engines were started up, and we pushed back from our stand, making our way to Glasgow’s runway 23.
As we lined up on the runway, Captain Watt came back on the PA to let us know he would be doing a full power take off, with the brakes applied while the engines were moved to full power. This certainly gave us a burst of acceleration as the brakes were released, and we began our take off roll down the runway.
We were starting to feel the weather effects of storm Isha, which battered Scotland and northern England on the 21st and 22nd, so it was a bit bumpy when we took off, but this settled once we reached our initial cruise.
Unfortunately, the weather had brought with it a complete blanket of cloud cover, so we were deprived of views as we bade our way out over the isle of Byte in the Firth of Clyde (on a clear day, there would have been stunning views), but it was still a fantastic flight, despite the lack of views.
The "View" for the majority of the flight.
Hello from seat 8C
As this was only a short flight (about 20 minutes of flying time) we were soon on our approach back towards Glasgow, at which point Captain Brand came over the PA, and started an excellent narration of the stages of flight, and what was going on with the aircraft (flaps, gear lowering, etc.) the whole way down. It was an excellent addition to the flight.
As we lined up for the runway, we came in over Milngavie (pronounced “Mill-guy”), Clydebank, and then the River Clyde, with a few bumps on the descent, courtesy of a cross wind, and before long we had a smooth touchdown back onto Runway 23.
Unlike most flights, once we had pulled on stand and the door was opened, there was no mad rush to get off – rather, passengers were keen to visit the cockpit and speak to the captain. The crew were great and really accommodating, but as time marched on, they had to draw the visits to a close, as they were trying to prepare for the second flight of the day.
Exiting the Saab, there was another opportunity for some commemorative photos, and then it was time to head back into the terminal. All together a unique and fantastic experience.
Cheesy picture time.
Farewell Saab 340
If you want to experience some of it for yourself, I’ve also got a video record of the trip.
Jan 30, 2024, 12:35 am
#3
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Jan 30, 2024, 12:36 am
#4
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I saw on Reporting Scotland about this plane type being withdrawn from serivce and looks like you (and the others) had a ball on that farewell flight.
Jan 30, 2024, 3:36 am
#6
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It was a great experience - and really fantastic of Loganair to put the commemorative flights on for all of us aviation fans. The final flight on the 25th (INV-GLA) was also the captain's final flight, so while I sadly wasn't able to be on that one, I saw a lot of the coverage, and they made quite an event of it (water canon salute at both INV and GLA). Great send off for both the aircraft and captain.
Jan 30, 2024, 9:25 am
#11
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Jan 30, 2024, 1:21 pm
#13
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Very cool.
I'm impressed how they changed the 2/1 seating to 1/2 between your shot down the aisle and your selfie in the seat!
I'm impressed how they changed the 2/1 seating to 1/2 between your shot down the aisle and your selfie in the seat!
