Which Airlines Had The Largest Presence At Southampton Airport In 2023?
Summary
- Loganair had the largest presence at Southampton Airport in 2023, accounting for over 35% of scheduled flights.
- Blue Islands, despite having fewer flights, offered a significant number of seats due to the larger capacity of its aircraft compared to Loganair.
- Aer Lingus, KLM, and Aurigny Air Services rounded out the top five airlines at Southampton Airport.
The UK’s Southampton Airport has a big year ahead of it, with several new seasonal routes from the south-coast facility being launched by easyJet this summer. However, with 2023 still looming large in the rear-view mirror, let’s take a closer look at the airlines that had the most prominent presence there in terms of seats and flights last year.
Two regional carriers rule the roost
According to data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, there were a total of 17,748 flights scheduled to and from Southampton Airport (SOU) in 2023. These offered 1,147,978 seats (averaging just under 65 per flight) and 307,416,302 available seat miles (ASMs), with Loganair having the most significant share.
Indeed, the Scottish regional carrier accounted for 6,290 of Southampton Airport’s scheduled flights last year (over 35% of the total figure). These services offered 308,134 seats (49 per flight, 27% of the total) and 105,280,194 ASMs. Edinburgh was the carrier’s busiest destination from Southampton last year, with a peak of 123 flights each way in August, followed by Glasgow (112 each way in July).
Why Loganair Is Unhappy With easyJet’s New Southampton-Glasgow Route
The Scottish regional carrier fears that its services could be jeopardized as a result of easyJet’s presence, despite operating more often.
Photo: Travers Lewis | Shutterstock
Not far behind in terms of seats offered is fellow regional carrier Blue Islands, which had a grand total of 268,848 available on flights to and from Southampton last year. It managed this despite its number of flights being much lower on a proportional level, reflecting the larger capacity of its ATR 72 aircraft compared to Loganair’s Embraer ERJ145s. The carrier serves Jersey and Guernsey from Southampton.
Rounding out the top five
Third on the list in terms of available seats to and from Southampton Airport in 2023 was Aer Lingus, whose total came to 197,428. These were offered across 2,564 flights to and from the facility, totaling 58,158,100 ASMs. The Irish flag carrier serves Belfast City and Dublin from Southampton using ATR 72 aircraft operated by Emerald Airlines under the Air Lingus Regional brand.
Dutch flag carrier KLM is next on the list, having offered 1,326 flights, 123,024 seats, and 34,323,696 ASMs to and from Southampton Airport last year. Much like Aer Lingus, the airline serves the facility with its regional subsidiary. In this case, KLM Cityhopper’s Embraer E-Jet aircraft link Southampton with Amsterdam.
Photo: KLM
To finish the top five, we have Aurigny Air Services, which, with 2,190 flights, actually flew to and from Southampton more times last year than KLM. However, its respective totals for seats and ASMs were much lower, at 92,720 and 9,956,680, with a key reason being its use of the 18-seat Dornier 228 on flights to and from Alderney. Meanwhile, ATR 72s serve the Southampton-Guernsey route.
The best of the rest
Three UK-based airlines make up the lower rankings at Southampton, with Eastern Airways, British Airways (flown by BA CityFlyer), and easyJet completing the list. These carriers respectively scheduled 63,088, 50,960, and 43,776 seats to and from Southampton last year, although 2024 will see easyJet exceed 250,000.
What do you make of the airlines that served Southampton Airport in 2023? Did you fly to or from the facility last year? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!