Los Angeles route in sight for major Scottish airport as its New York flights resume after 7-year gap
Aviation chief says “it’s a question of when, not if”
Glasgow Airport is pursuing new routes to Los Angeles and Washington to rebuild its United States network after welcoming its first scheduled New York flights for seven years.
The chief executive of its AGS Airports owner told Scotland on Suday he expected to win another US route by 2028 and said more transatlantic links were “a question of when, not if”.
United Airlines resumed daily summer services to Newark, which had been suspended since the Covid pandemic, on Saturday. Its predecessor, Continental Airlines, launched the route in 1998.
United said it had been waiting for suitable aircraft to become available and has deployed its newest and most fuel efficient on the route - Boeing 737 Max 8.
The restored link comes after United expanded year-round flights between Edinburgh and Newark to twice daily during the summer and launched links from the capital to Chicago and Washington.
AGS Airports hopes its Newark route, which had been a “top priority”, will become permanent and be extended year round.
United said 70 per cent of passengers are expected to be Americans visiting Scotland, and more than half of US arrivals in Scotland already came to Glasgow.
AGS Airports chief executive Kam Jandu said: “The team are working diligently on other destinations, notably Washington and Los Angeles.
“The conversations with airlines in the US - essentially United, American and Delta - are positive.
“Everyone understands we have a good catchment, being the biggest city in Scotland.
“But for them, it’s similar to the conversations we had with United three or four years ago - it’s a question of when, not if.
“At some point, once they have an appropriate amount of aircraft and crew, those destinations will be announced.
“If I was to make a prediction, it would be that one new US route can start as early as 2028.”
On an LA route, which would be a first for Scotland, Mr Jandu said: “The bigger US airlines could make it work.
“There’s a lot of connections in terms of tech, innovation and advanced manufacturing here on the west coast.”
Mr Jandu said other key destinations he wanted to add to Glasgow’s route map included Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, and Shanghai in China, which it has been pursuing since last year.
Increased flights to places like Barcelona and Paris are also being sought.
United Airlines UK sales director Karolien De Hertogh said she was “encouraged” by the level of Glasgow-Newark demand and had already extended the season from September to October.
She said: “We saw a surge in bookings in December after Scotland qualified for the World Cup finals and bookings since then have been very steady, so we are very happy with the results so far. I am confident we will have a very good season.”
Tamora Nobilski, the deputy US consul general in Scotland, said: “Over the last several years we have seen the number of American visitors to Scotland absolutely skyrocket”. Ms Nobilski predicted the growth would be further boosted by the forthcoming Highlander film.
Allan Hogarth, executive director of the Scottish North American Business Council, said: “The US is the single biggest market for which Glasgow has not had a direct route for several years, which is important because of the time saving by avoiding the need for connecting flights.”
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