ISLE OF MAN SERVICE EXTENDED INTO OCTOBER
Flybe’s franchise partner, Loganair, is today (Thursday, July 26) delighted to announce the extension of its Norwich to Isle of Man service until Saturday, October 20, 2012.
The Saturday service was East Anglia’s first ever direct route to the Irish Sea-based isle when it was launched in May this year.
Loganair, which celebrates its 50 years in business in 2012, had originally planned to operate the seasonal route until Saturday, September 8. However, strong advanced ticket sales at the time persuaded the airline to extend the service for a further two weeks, ending September 22.
A further surge in ticket sales has led Loganair, to increase the service again for another four weeks with the last flight taking to the skies on Saturday, October 20.
Commenting on the decision, Loganair’s chief operating officer, Phil Preston, said: “We are delighted with the success of the new Norwich-Isle of Man service - demand for the new flights has far exceeded our expectations."
“With flights on several dates throughout the summer nearly fully booked and more people still wanting to travel, we’ve responded to this demand by adding extra flights through October.”
The extended service will depart each Saturday at 12.10pm from Ronaldsway Airport on the Isle of Man, landing in Norwich at 1.30pm.
Outbound flights from Norwich International Airport depart at 2pm, landing in the Isle of Man at 3.20pm.
One of Loganair’s 34-seat Saab 340 fleet will be utilised for the extended service. The main seasonal service is operated using a 31-seat Dornier 328 fast turboprop from Loganair’s subsidiary, Suckling Airways.
Fares start at £59.99 and passengers using the Norwich to the Isle of Man service can also benefit from a free checked-in bag up to 20kgs.
There are also other convenient connections between Norwich and the Isle of Man available via Manchester throughout the week.
For all bookings and flight times between Norwich and the Isle of Man visit www.Flybe.com, or call 0871 700 2000.
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Additional comments:
Andrew Bell, Chief Executive of Norwich International Airport, said: “We are very pleased that Loganair has once again reacted to the high demand for flights to the Isle of Man from Norwich International and extended into the autumn to benefit local travellers.”
Geoff Corkish MBE, MHK, Isle of Man Government’s Department of Economic Development Political Member with responsibility for Tourism, welcomes Flybe’s extension of its Norwich route to the Isle of Man.
He said: “The frequency and value of flights to the Island are a top priority to ensure that we can connect with both leisure and business travellers from both the UK and further afield.
“The extension of the Norwich to the Isle of Man service is great news and I believe it will really add significantly to the choice people have for travel to and from the Isle of Man.’
“We have a whole host of fantastic events lined up, from the Manx Grand Prix Motorcycle Festival in August to the End to End Mountain Bike Challenge in September and all our Manx National Heritage sites will be open for business until the end of October.
“This extended service will be well received and I hope visitors in the Norwich region will take the opportunity to visit us to see just how much our Island has to offer.”
Beverley Scarr of Premier Holidays’, which organises tours to the Isle of Man, said: “The Norwich-Isle of Man route has been incredibly popular and we are delighted to hear it has been extended to cope with this demand.
“Premier Holidays has an established Isle of Man programme and works very closely with the tourist board, hotels and guesthouses on the island.
“We have negotiated exclusive added value offers which enable us to offer fantastic prices from Norwich and we’re confident these will continue to sell well for September and October.”
Ends
Issued on behalf of Loganair by The BIG Partnership. For more information contact Peter Carroll, Alex Hamilton or Tim Malseed on 0141 333 9585:
Peter.Carroll@bigpartnership.co.uk – 079505 31199
Alex.Hamilton@bigpartnership.co.uk – 07812 138701
Tim.Malseed@bigpartnership.co.uk – 07756 079430
