The flight from Glasgow to the Outer Hebridean Island of Barra comes up as a topic of conversation every now and again, and whilst there are plenty of other online resources, I thought that it may be of interest to post some pictures and videos from an early 2020 trip.
The Loganair flight operates at least daily from Glasgow, under a Public Service Obligation.
The schedule is driven by the tides and daylight, and on some days of the week there are double-daily operations, meaning that a day trip is possible by air.
To support demand out of season, Loganair quietly markets a special ticket during the Winter, which is cheaper than a normal commercial booking.
It can only be booked through their call centre, but there’s more information online at:
https://www.loganair.co.uk/extras/adventure-days/landing-experiences
Empirically, it seems that two seats will be available on each flight for these discounted tickets. On dates when these tickets aren't available, do be careful when booking as the higher priced Loganair ticket options nominally include amenities that are not in fact available on the Barra service and are therefore of questionable value unless lower tiers are sold-out. Also note that all Loganair ticket types, even 'Full Flex' are non-refundable, unless flight operations themselves are disrupted.
Finally, in terms of booking, the 'best' seats are actually the rearmost row, which comprises a single seat on the port and another on the starboard sides of the aircraft. Both have additional legroom, with the A (port) seat's space being almost unlimited.
One of the downsides of a winter trip, and hence the promotional fare, is that very little to anything is open on the island, so do check in advance. The bus service is also, to put it kindly, 'erratic', as it too is dependant on tides, trying to meet flights, boats and on weekdays out of holiday times, provide a schools service too. The differences between the demands seem irreconcilable in practice, but there are number of options for a 'tour' from the airport, courtesy of the local taxi drivers:
Rob Daly 01871 810255
Rob Stewart 01871 810012
The weather for our trip was, for January on the West Coast, what might be described as 'exceptionally good'. It was not, however, Barbadian.
Photographs to follow; skip past the pictures for take off and landing videos.
Twin Otter boarding at Glasgow:
V1:
At the first runway, turn left and proceed straight on:
Extra Legroom:
A Gloomy Glasgow Airport:
Getting Gloomier:
Always sunny up here:
Could be anywhere. Actually over Oban:
Handy to know:
No inflight service. Bring your own:
Continued....../
The Loganair flight operates at least daily from Glasgow, under a Public Service Obligation.
The schedule is driven by the tides and daylight, and on some days of the week there are double-daily operations, meaning that a day trip is possible by air.
To support demand out of season, Loganair quietly markets a special ticket during the Winter, which is cheaper than a normal commercial booking.
It can only be booked through their call centre, but there’s more information online at:
https://www.loganair.co.uk/extras/adventure-days/landing-experiences
Empirically, it seems that two seats will be available on each flight for these discounted tickets. On dates when these tickets aren't available, do be careful when booking as the higher priced Loganair ticket options nominally include amenities that are not in fact available on the Barra service and are therefore of questionable value unless lower tiers are sold-out. Also note that all Loganair ticket types, even 'Full Flex' are non-refundable, unless flight operations themselves are disrupted.
Finally, in terms of booking, the 'best' seats are actually the rearmost row, which comprises a single seat on the port and another on the starboard sides of the aircraft. Both have additional legroom, with the A (port) seat's space being almost unlimited.
One of the downsides of a winter trip, and hence the promotional fare, is that very little to anything is open on the island, so do check in advance. The bus service is also, to put it kindly, 'erratic', as it too is dependant on tides, trying to meet flights, boats and on weekdays out of holiday times, provide a schools service too. The differences between the demands seem irreconcilable in practice, but there are number of options for a 'tour' from the airport, courtesy of the local taxi drivers:
Rob Daly 01871 810255
Rob Stewart 01871 810012
The weather for our trip was, for January on the West Coast, what might be described as 'exceptionally good'. It was not, however, Barbadian.
Photographs to follow; skip past the pictures for take off and landing videos.
Twin Otter boarding at Glasgow:
V1:
At the first runway, turn left and proceed straight on:
Extra Legroom:
A Gloomy Glasgow Airport:
Getting Gloomier:
Always sunny up here:
Could be anywhere. Actually over Oban:
Handy to know:
No inflight service. Bring your own:
Continued....../
