ROSSair Scotland Airlines is a Scottish regional airline headquartered in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland, a suburb of Glasgow. The airline’s primary base is located on the grounds of Glasgow Airport (GLA), directly south of the company’s corporate office. In addition to its Glasgow-GLA base, the carrier also has hubs Aberdeen Airport (ABZ) and Edinburgh Airport (EDI).
One of the largest regional airlines in the United Kingdom by passenger numbers and fleet size, ROSSair Scotland uses a mix of piston, turboprop and jet aircraft to conduct flights to 25 airports within Scotland and 8 other destinations within the rest of the United Kingdom. The carrier also offers international flights to destinations in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway.
History
Startup
Glenn Ross (1917-1994) was a World War II Royal Air Force transport pilot who flew Douglas Dakotas carrying paratroopers to targets across Europe during that war. After WWII he worked for Britain’s flag carrier, British International Airlines (BIA) before starting his own airline, RossAir Pty Ltd, in 1964.
RossAir set up shop in a hangar at Glasgow-GLA. The company leased two Beechcraft Model 18 utility transport aircraft and one Fokker F27 Friendship turboprop airliner, which were used to fly passenger, freight, medevac and mail services between Glasgow-GLA and various airfields around Scotland. RossAir soon acquired a reputation for reliability and safety.
In 1967 the company bought out its Fokker F27 and acquired three more, which were put on routes connecting Glasgow-GLA to Dublin-DUB, Manchester-MAN and London-LGW. The same year RossAir started using Britten-Norman BN2 Islanders to fly to additional remote airports within Scotland. In 1968 RossAir also added de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otters to the fleet, which proved so valuable to the carrier that the company retired its Beechcraft Model 18s in early 1970.
The 1970s were a period of growth for RossAir. The company expanded its base at Glasgow-GLA and in 1976 it opened a 2nd base at Edinburgh-EDI. RossAir also accepted a contract to provide air ambulance services to the outer islands of Scotland, assigning three Britten-Norman Islanders to the task.
In addition to purchasing additional DHC-6 Twin Otters and Britten-Norman Islanders, RossAir also took delivery of a set of Short 330s to increase its flight passenger capacity. RossAir became an early customer on the 330’s successor aircraft, the Short 360, which joined the fleet in 1983.
Jamie Ross Takes Over
By 1985 Glenn Ross began to have some health issues that were keeping him away from the office more and more, so he decided to retire in 1985 at the age of 68. His only son, Jamie Ross (b 1939), was a decorated British Royal Navy Sea Harrier fighter pilot who saw combat in the 1982 Falklands War. After retiring from the Royal Navy in 1983, Jamie joined RossAir and became its Chief Operating Officer (COO) alongside his father. Jamie then took over as CEO of RossAir in April 1985, while Glenn Ross was given the position of company Chairman.
After several years of illness, Glenn Ross passed away in 1994 at the age of 77. A statue of Glenn wearing his WWII RAF flight gear stands in front of company headquarters at Inchinnan.
Late 20th Century Fleet Management
Later in 1985, after 21 years of flying only prop aircraft RossAir finally entered the Jet Age by taking delivery of four secondhand Fokker F28 Friendship twinjets. The move was made because RossAir had been losing market share on several routes that were using more efficient and more profitable jet airliners. The F28s were placed on routes connecting Glasgow-GLA and Edinburgh-EDI to London-LGW, Manchester-MAN, Dublin-DUB, Amsterdam-AMS and new routes to Oslo-OSL.
In 1988 Jamie Ross also upgraded the company’s turboprop fleet by taking delivery as launch customer of the British Aerospace ATP, to replace the company’s aging Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops. The ATPs, which were all configured to be Combis capable of carrying any combination of passengers or freight, were placed on the airline’s regional routes.
In 1989, RossAir took delivery of the new Fokker 100 regional jet, which replaced the Fokker F28 Friendship jets on the airline’s city to city routes. The Fokker 100 became the company’s flagship jet and remained so until it was finally retired in 2023.
The airline also took delivery of a pair of a shortened version of the Fokker 100, the Fokker 70, which were used almost exclusively on routes connecting Glasgow-GLA and Edinburgh-EDI to the new London/City-LCY airport near Canary Wharf. The Fokker 70 was selected for these routes because the Fokker 100 was not certified to use London-LCY’s steep 5.5° approach, while the Fokker 70 was given such certification.
In the 1990s, RossAir leased a few Dornier 328 from 1993 and Dornier 328JET twinjet airliners. The 328JET was placed on new routes to Vagar in the Faroe Islands, while the 328 turboprops were added to local routes around Scotland. Jamie Ross came to dislike the Dorniers, however, and returned them to the leasing firm in 2000, replacing them with a set of leased Bombardier DHC-8s. Paris-ORY was also added to the route network that year using the Fokker 100s.
2000 Livery Modernization and ATR Aircraft Switch
After taking over RossAir in 1985, Jamie Ross had been thinking about updating the airline’s cheatline based livery for years, but kept putting it off. The original livery, which was rather contemporary when it first debuted in 1964, hadn’t aged so well by the 1990s and started to look somewhat retro.
In 1997 Jamie’s daughter Moira Ross, who started out in 1993 flying the company’s BAe ATPs and was most recently working as a young first officer flying the company’s Fokker 70 and 100 aircraft, drew up a newer livery sketch featuring a striking Scottish tartan tail design, using the Ross Red Modern plaid pattern.
Although both Glenn, Jamie and Moira Ross were all members of Clan Ross in good standing, the airline was not owned by Clan Ross and therefore could not use the Ross Red Modern tartan. So Jamie commissioned a designer to create a different tartan that didn’t include the color green in it, and this tartan was registered as a corporate tartan in 1999.
In January 2000, RossAir began rolling out its Fokker 70 and 100 aircraft in the new “21st Century Livery,” followed by the remainder of the fleet. It also restyled its brand name from RossAir to ROSSair Scotland, to better emphasize the company’s ongoing Scottish roots. The company also decided to retire its remaining Short 330 and Short 360 aircraft as part of the company’s 2000 changes.
In 2010, ROSSair Scotland took the decision to return its fleet of leased de Havilland DHC-8s and proceeded to replace them with European-made ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft leased from JetStream Aerospace.
Moira Ross Becomes 3rd CEO of ROSSair
By 2015 Jamie Ross was 76 years old but still in reasonably good health, but after 30 years as CEO of ROSSair Scotland, Mr Ross decided it was time to step down and retire. He took the mostly ceremonial title of Chairman, and handed the company over to his 43 year old daughter, Moira Ross.
Jamie Ross is still around at age 85, having belatedly taken up golf as a hobby in retirement. He still occasionally drops in to visit the company offices and hangars.
Moira brought plenty of real world experience to her new job as company CEO when she took over. Moira had already served 22 years with ROSSair as a pilot, having attained the rank of airline captain on the carrier’s flagship Fokker 70s and 100s back in 2003. She also had the distinction of having flown as first officer on every type of aircraft ROSSair operated from 1993 to 2014. Moira began to work for her father more directly in the company’s front offices from 2010, and officially became the company Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2012.
Moira Ross began by retiring the company’s remaining British Aerospace ATPs in 2016.
Having catered to the key petroleum industry market in Aberdeen for years, ROSSair Scotland opened up its 3rd hub at Aberdeen-ABZ in 2017. Initially the company connected ABZ with London-LGW and London-LCY, Manchester-MAN, Oslo-OSL and Amsterdam-AMS as well as to Glasgow-GLA and Edinburgh-EDI. But demand soon pushed the carrier to widen connectivity to Ireland and other cities in the UK as well as to Kirkwall-KOI and Sumburgh-LSI in Scotland’s northerly Orkney and Shetland Islands. In response to oil industry demand, direct flights to Denmark’s offshore oil center at Ebsjerg-EBJ were added in 2018, with flights timed so passengers can quickly connect to London-LGW and Manchester-MAN, as well as to Houston-IAH via a major US airline.
Recent Events
Moira Ross and her father Jamie, along with a couple of ranking ROSSair Scotland managers, visited the 2019 Paris Air Show. After considerable review and discussion, the group decided the time had come to streamline the company fleet and acquire new generation aircraft. Having visited the Aria Aircraft Company’s suite at the Paris show, Moira Ross decided to sign leasing agreements through the JetStream Aerospace leasing firm for several new Aria aircraft, including the Aria T42 Transonic, the Aria T102 Transonic, and the Aria V42 eVTOL and Aria V42qc Quick Change Combi aircraft.
ROSSair’s overall goal was to use only Aria and ATR aircraft by 2024, retiring all of its Fokker fleet in favor of the newer T42 and T102 jets, while using the V42s to replace all of the company’s venerable Twin Otter and Islander prop aircraft.
During the Covid 19 Pandemic, ROSSair Scotland was instrumental in providing air ambulance services to airlift Covid patients from the Highlands and Islands regions of Scotland. The company also delivered critically needed food, medicine and supplies as well as doctors, nurses and public health officials around Scotland and beyond. For a time ROSSair Scotland had to drop air routes to London, Amsterdam and Paris, but these routes were all restored by early 2024.
ROSSair Scotland began taking delivery of its new Aria aircraft in late 2022, with the arrival of two Aria V12c eVTOL Special Missions aircraft that were converted into air ambulances, to be assigned to the ROSSair Ambulance service.
Further deliveries of Aria T42 and T102 Transonic jets helped to expedite the retirement of ROSSair’s older Fokker 70 and 100 aircraft, while the Aria V42 eVTOLs took over routes formerly operated by the company’s age-old Twin Otter and BN Islander fleet. The last of the Fokker aircraft departed in October 2023, while the remaining de Havilland and Britten-Norman aircraft are scheduled to be retired in late 2024 and early 2025.
Aidan Ross (b 1997), son of current CEO Moira Ross and a great grandson of ROSSair Scotland’s founder Glenn Ross, joined ROSSair in 2019 as a pilot, as has become the family tradition. He originally flew Twin Otters on the various island-hopping routes around the Orkney and Shetland Islands. In 2022 he was selected to undertake training on the Aria T42 and T102 aircraft, and in 2023 began serving as first officer on flights between Glasgow-GLA and other city destinations around the ROSSair route network.
Young Mr Ross was recently appointed Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of ROSSair Scotland in early 2024. He will split his time between piloting T42 and T102 flights and working at the head office planning out the company’s future endeavors. Further plans are afoot to train Mr Ross to become the future Chief Operating Officer (COO) and ultimately the new CEO once his mother, Moira Ross, elects to step down from that role.
Destinations
ROSSair Scotland offers flights to the following destinations. (All destinations listed are located within the UK except where otherwise noted.)
Aberdeen-ABZ - Base [Map Link]
Amsterdam-AMS
Barra-BRR
Belfast-BRR
Benbecula-BEB
Bergen-BGO, Norway
Bristol-BRS
Campbelltown-CAL
Coll-COL
Colonsay-CSA
Donegal-CFN, Ireland
Dublin-DUB, Ireland
Eday-EOI
Edinburgh-EDI - Base [Map Link]
Esbjerg-EBJ, Denmark
Fair Isle-FIE
Foula-FOA
Glasgow-GLA - HQ and Base [Map Link]
Inverness-INV
Isle Of Man-IOM
Islay-ILY
Kirkwall-KOI
Lerwick-LWK
London/City-LCY
Londonderry-LDY
Manchester-MAN
Newquay-NQY
North Connel-OBN
North Ronaldsay-NRL
Oslo-OSL, Norway
Papa Westray-PPW
Sanday-NDY
Shannon-SNN, Ireland
Stornoway-SYY
Stronsay-SOY
Sumburgh-LSI
Tiree-TRE
Vágar-FAE, Faroe Islands
Westray-WRY
Wick-WIC
Fleet
Current Fleet
ROSSair Scotland’s current fleet consists of the following aircraft.
Aria T42 Transonic - 2023-Present
Aria T102 Transonic - 2023-Present
Aria V12 eVTOL Combi - 2023-Present
Aria V42 eVTOL - 2024-Present
Aria V42qc eVTOL QC Combi - 2024-Present
ATR 42 - 2010-Present - Retiring 2025
ATR 72 - 2010-Present - Retiring 2025
Britten-Norman BN-2B Islander - 1967-Present - Retiring 2024
de Havilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter - 1968-Present - Retiring 2025
Former Fleet
ROSSair Scotland previously operated the following aircraft.
Beechcraft Model 18 - 1964-1970
Bombardier DHC-8 Q200 - 2000-2010
Bombardier DHC-8 Q300 - 2000-2010
Bombardier DHC-8 Q400 - 2000-2010
British Aerospace ATP - 1988-2016
Britten-Norman Trislander - 1972-1982
Dornier 328 - 1993-2000
Dornier 328JET - 1999-2000
Fokker F27 Friendship - 1964-1988
Fokker F28 Fellowship Mk 3000 - 1985-2005
Fokker 70 - 1994-2023
Fokker 100 - 1989-2023
Short 330 - 1977-2000
Short 360 - 1983-2000
=Nota Bene=
Once upon a time there was a real life Rossair charter company based in Australia, and also a Rossair Executive Air Charter based in South Africa. Both companies are defunct, and my version of ROSSair is not related to either of them.
ROSSair is somewhat inspired by the real world Loganair. I didn’t like their specific tartan tail design, but I did like the concept of it. So I designed my own tartan to use with ROSSair.
I used the name Ross simply because it is Scottish and it was easy to create a proper brand identity around the ROSSair name. I liked ROSSair better than RossAir, but I decided to use both versions in the story, to give the company a natural evolutionary progression.
None of the Ross family characters referenced in this article are based on any real persons. I started with old Glenn Ross and generated his descendants as needed until I reached young Aidan Ross. I think they really do resemble each other.
Speaking of tartans… Tartans are awesome! And the Ross clan has tartans! However, the tartan I designed for ROSSair is not a Ross tartan.
In real life there are at least 4 different Ross tartans, including 3 “hunting” tartans. My favorite is the Ross Hunting Modern tartan, which is a deep green color and looks great on kilts - I even have a kilt of my own that uses Ross Hunting Modern - but it didn’t look as good on aircraft tails. There is a Ross Red Modern tartan, which looked better on the aircraft tails, but it still didn’t quite pop for me. So in the end I decided to create my own tartan pattern, and it popped out perfectly on the aircraft so I adopted it for this article.I’ve named the tartan pattern I designed for ROSSair as the RossAir Modern Tartan. As far as I know my own Rossair Modern Tartan is a unique design. I can definitely say that when I looked through the Scottish clan registries I couldn’t find a tartan that exactly matched it.
Did you know there are corporate tartan patterns that are officially registered with the Scottish government in real life? JetBlue has a registered tartan called JetBlue, Minted, which was gifted to them in May 2024 by Edinburgh International Airport. The real life Loganair has two such tartans listed.
All of the aircraft listed in the current fleet part of this article are original illustrations of my own design, except for the ATR 42 and ATR 72. In addition to the fictional Aria Aircraft templates, I also drew up the de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter and Britten-Norman Islander templates from scratch.
The two ATR turboprops as well as the Dornier, Fokker and 3 Bombardier DHC-8 templates were all licensed from Norebbo, then adapted using livery designs created and applied by me.
BTW an ongoing catalog of all templated aircraft that are featured in one or more of my story articles can be found on the Aircraft page.