With its fleet of Saab 340s on the verge of retirement, Loganair gave enthusiasts and employees the opportunity to bid farewell to the Swedish turboprop at a special event in Glasgow. Stewart Marshall reflects the type’s career with Scotland’s airline
The Saab 340 has been the backbone of Loganair’s Highlands and Islands operations for almost a quarter of a century. In that time, venerable Swedish-build turboprop has demonstrated time and again its reliability and robustness, maintaining crucial air links in some of the most challenging operating conditions in Europe.
The Scottish carrier’s affiliation with the Saab happened almost by accident. In 1998 it took over control of two British Regional Airlines (BRAL) routes from Glasgow to Islay and Londonderry at very short notice, so quickly in fact that it didn’t have sufficient equipment of its own to operate them. Consequently, Loganair wet-leased a pair of Short 360s from the former incumbent while it sourced its own aircraft and recruited additional crew.
A further two routes were added later the same year, again flown by the leased SD360s, but the ungainly type, while rugged (it was commonly referred to as the ‘Shed’), was also slow, noisy, and unpressurised, making it unp…
