Football fever leads to new direct route from Norway to North West

Scandinavian carrier SAS has responded to a surge in interest in English football by introducing a new direct service from Stavanger, in Norway, to Manchester.

The service will operate all year round, with two departures each week, on Mondays and Fridays.

Prices start from £73 each way, or from £127 return in SAS Go Light, the airline’s fare which includes a carry-on bag only, as well as several services to save time, including mobile check-in and seat selection.

SAS has steadiy expanded its direct services to Manchester in line with an increase in demand for trips to the British Isles and the interest in English football, in particular.

Clubs including Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Leeds United have large groups of supporters in Norway, with a recent surge attributed to the appointment last season of Norway’s Ole Gunnar Solskjær at Manchester United.

Torbjørn Wist, financial director of SAS, said: “There is tremendous interest in English football and now SAS is creating additional opportunities for even more Norwegians to be able to travel to see their favourite teams in action in the famous stadiums, in a way that is fast and convenient.

“We are the airline with the most flight connections between Scandinavia and Manchester.”

He added: “We have been enthralled by Liverpool’s sporting success and the popular arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjær at Manchester United, and both have inspired many Norwegians to travel to the matches.

“We are delighted to be able to respond to this by introducing so many direct flights with SAS.”

Julian Carr, aviation director at Manchester Airport, said: “We’ve had a long and successful relationship with SAS for more than 50 years and it’s fantastic to see the airline increasing its operation from Manchester for this Winter.

“By adding extra frequencies to Bergen and Oslo and launching flights to Stavanger, the airline will be offering more seats than ever before to the 29 million passengers that travel annually from Manchester Airport.”

SAS is the biggest carrier between Scandinavia and Manchester, with 49 flights a week each way to Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Aarhus, Bergen and now also to Stavanger for Winter 2019/20.

The new direct flight between Stavanger and Manchester will operate twice a week, Monday and Friday, enabling weekend fixtures to be included in weekend breaks.

The service will be operated on a Boeing 737 aircraft and the services commence on November 8:

SAS says for Brits looking to take advantage of the new flights, and perhaps escape football weekends, Stavanger offers a great destination for a short break or longer trip.

Lying on Norway’s southwestern coast, it is the country’s third largest city and home to more than 300,000.

The capital of Norway’s oil region and a university city, there’s a great selection of restaurants and a booming cultural scene, with the top attraction the famous Preikestolen/Pulpit rock, a steep cliff rising 604 metres over Lysefjorden, with a flat top popular for its views and photo opportunities.

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