Manchester lands Boston and LA flights

DIRECT flights from Manchester Airport to Los Angels and Boston are to begin next year, Thomas Cook Airlines has annouced.

The new routes will start operating in May 2016, the leisure operator said, as part of a renewed five-year deal with Manchester Airports Group, which owns Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports.

In what is a coup for Manchester, Boston and LA will be the only regional routes from outside London.

Thomas Cook Airlines, which already flies to New York and Miami, said it would be taking adding another A330 aircraft to its Manchester-based long-haul fleet, which currently stands at five.

As well as Los Angeles and Boston from 2016, existing routes increase in frequency too – New York will increase to six flights a week, Orlando becomes a daily service in the peak season in summer 2016 and Las Vegas will increase to up to six flights a week. 

Christoph Debus, chief airlines and hotels officer for Thomas Cook Group, said, “We are incredibly proud to have the largest non-stop route network from Manchester Airport, with 15 long haul destinations including six to the US – more long haul routes than any other carrier from Manchester.

“Based on our relationship with Manchester Airports Group, we will continue to grow passenger numbers by over 20%, including further developing our long haul network by 50% in summer 2016.  With Manchester as a hub for our airlines across Europe as a gateway to the US, today’s announcement of new routes to Los Angeles and Boston is great news for our customers with even more choice from outside London.”

Ken O’Toole, managing director of Manchester Airport, added: “MAG has a very strong relationship with Thomas Cook Airlines, and the expansion at Manchester continues to confirm the airport as the UKs global gateway from the North.

“The announcement of services to Los Angeles and Boston, which makes Manchester the only airport outside of London to offer them, complements Thomas Cook’s recent launches of New York and Miami.

“With over 22 million people living within our two hour catchment, two full length runways and all-time record passenger numbers, Manchester Airport is, and will continue to have, the available capacity and demand to meet the needs of our catchment that extends as far north as Scotland and South to the Midlands.”

 

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