Jet2.com adds Manchester routes

BUDGET airline Jet2.com has announced it is to launch three new routes direct from Manchester for summer 2010, hours after Ryanair dumped all but its Dublin flights from the airport.

The new routes to Kos, Venice and Gran Canaria will create 250 jobs, the airline said.

The airline has also increased the frequency of its summer 2010 services to Lanzarote, Dalaman, Sharm el Sheikh and Tel Aviv, and a new 737 aircraft will now be based at the airport taking the airline’s total number to seven.

August has been Jet2.com’s busiest month for bookings since it started flying over six years ago, the airline added.

Philip Meeson, boss at Jet2.com, said: “Manchester Airport is an extremely important base for us and we are committed to providing people in the North West with unrivalled choice when it comes to their holiday destination.

“It is fantastic to be able to offer people flying from Manchester a number of brand new holiday destinations direct from the region. No other airline currently operates a scheduled service to Kos and Venice and we are confident that these will be extremely popular routes.

Andrew Cornish, managing director of Manchester Airport, said: “The fact that Jet2.com is continuing to expand its services from Manchester is extremely encouraging to the airport and the region as a whole.”