Breaking News: Jet2 to go Stateside
LOW-COST airline Jet2 today announced it is to launch a new route to New York from Leeds Bradford International Airport.
The new route will begin operating in time for Christmas so Yorkshire passengers can benefit from transatlantic shopping trips.
Four-day breaks direct from Leeds Bradford to Newark airport will cost from around £699 per person. Return flights will cost from £579.98, including taxes.
Announcing the flights, Richard Bodin, managing director of Jet2holidays.com, said: “This is an important announcement for us. We knew this destination was one that our customers had been calling for and we are proud and thrilled to be able to be the first holiday company in the region to offer this great deal to such an amazing city.
“We are launching initiailly with four departures, however, if these are successful and in high enough demand we will add more to the programme.”
The flights, which will go on sale from today at noon, are scheduled to depart from LBIA on November 6, November 13, December 4 and December 11.
Flights will be on twin engined, 220-seat Boeing 757 jets.
The announcement marks an exciting development for the airport following its £145.5m purchase last year by private equity group Bridgepoint from the five West Yorkshire councils that owned it.
At the time of his appointment last year the airport’s chief executive John Parkin admitted that longer distance routes were being sought from Leeds.
Speaking last year he said: “From an infrastructure point of view we can certainly operate New York and we can operate Dubai.”
And Philip Meeson, boss of Leeds-based low cost airline Jet2.com, said last year that it was the company’s ambition to fly transatlantic services from the airport in the future.
“We have aircraft that can fly over the Atlantic and we would like to. That is in our plans.”
Bridgepoint plans to invest around £70m to expand the airport and “take it up a league” and the announcement that the airline will now fly to the states will certainly help it achieve this aim.
It paid more than 30 times the airport’s annual earnings of £4.65m and wants to more than double passenger numbers to seven million by 2015.
It also wants to increase the number of routes by 50 per cent to 60 as well as adding more shops, bars and restaurants.
Passenger numbers have been increasing rapidly at Leeds Bradford airport as the number of routes continues to expand.
Last year the number of passengers flying with Jet2 increased by more than 50%.
Jet2 currently flies to European destinations including Prague, Rome, Barcelona, Sardinia, Crete and Cyprus.
However, direct flights between the airport and Pakistan, run by another airline, are to be scrapped, it has been announced.
Tony Hallwood, commercial and aviation development director at Leeds Bradford International Airport, said: “Shaheen Air International has confirmed that due to a lack of aircraft availability, the airline is due to cease operations from Leeds Bradford Airport on June 1.
“There is a very strong demand for a direct service to Pakistan from Leeds Bradford and we are naturally disappointed that the service has been withdrawn.
“We are however already in discussions with alternative airlines with a view to re-starting direct operations to Pakistan as soon as possible and we are confident of success.”
