AIRWAYS SPECIAL Farewell to the Saab 340
For nearly 25 years , the Saab 340 has been the workhorse for Loganair ( LM ), providing a lifeline to many locations in the Scottish Highlands and islands , carrying millions of passengers and crucial cargo to remote communities . But nothing lasts forever and , on January 25 , 2024 , Loganair operated its final scheduled Saab 340 passenger flight , between Inverness and Glasgow .
1 Loganair Saab 340B G-LGNJ on stand , operating farewell flights from Glasgow
THAT FINAL FLIGHT , LM340 , touched down in Glasgow at midday . Fittingly , aircraft G-LGNA MSN199 , which had operated LM ’ s first Saab 340 flight , also operated the last .
Loganair certainly did not quietly retire the trusty plane , which served it for a quarter of a century . Over the previous months , it held a variety of celebrations , enthusiast flights , and hangar tours , all for charity . During the final celebrations , in January , LM raised £ 18,500 ( US $ 24,200 ) for Children ’ s Hospices Across Scotland ( CHAS ).
At the peak of its dependency on aircraft , Loganair operated 17 of them , mostly of the Saab 340B variant . The peak came between 2017- 2018 , with 44,000 flights and just over 800,000 passengers carried .
But where did it all begin ?
www . airwaysmag . com AIRWAYS MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2024 17