PSO is the only way to protect
Benbecula’s air service
This idea sounds sensible, until we remember that the reason the government chose to implement ADS was because it took advantage of the EC’s ‘aid of a social character’ scheme. This scheme is available to certain categories of passenger, such as island residents, students or such like. By definition it cannot be applied to all users.
In any case, why did the government choose a scheme that may need to be rolled out to more users because of its limitations, rather than a scheme that would have benefited all, yet cost exactly the same?
It should also be remembered that the HITRANS proposal also included a new daily route between Benbecula and Inverness – a route that Highland Airways, to their credit, attempted to offer commercially, but were unable to sustain and so, for commercial reasons, abandoned. This is exactly why PSOs are the only way to afford protection to such routes from arbitrary commercial decision making. Highland Airways, at the time that Benbecula – Inverness was abandoned, told Am Pàipear that they would ‘be very interested’ in bidding for the route should it be re-introduced as a PSO.
Hinkles also accepts that Benbecula – Glasgow is susceptible to commercial considerations and agreed that Loganair and Flybe were closely monitoring events at RA Range Hebrides: ‘We are naturally concerned about the potential closure of the missile range,’ he told Am Pàipear before the decision to save the jobs was announced. ‘[The Range’s] presence undoubtedly contributes to the passenger numbers using the Flybe service operated by Loganair from Glasgow.
‘Its loss,’ he warned, ‘would have an impact on the route, but it is impossible to say at this stage whether this would result in any reduction in the frequency of flights.’
