Norwegian - 2016-03-17 10:00 GMT Low-cost airline Norwegian is launching brand new flights from Manchester and Edinburgh to three popular Spanish destinations in time for the summer getaway with fares on sale today from £34.90. From 30th April, two weekly flights will take off from Manchester to Barcelona offering nearly 20,000 seats for the summer season. From 2nd June, four weekly flights will depart Manchester to Malaga and two weekly flights to Alicante will commence from 3rd June. Meanwhile, new flights from Edinburgh to Barcelona take off from 15th June with 15,000 seats available this summer. Norwegian now operates six routes from Manchester having flown nearly 100,000 passengers in the past year and offers six routes from Edinburgh, all on brand new Boeing 737-800 aircraft offering passengers free Wi-Fi at 35,000ft. Thomas Ramdahl, Chief Commercial Officer at Norwegian said: “As we continue our huge growth in the UK, these new Manchester and Edinburgh routes complement our existing city and sun destinations across Europe. With new aircraft and free in-flight Wi-Fi, we are providing sun seeking Brits throughout the UK with high quality and affordable flights to the most popular destinations.” Stephen Turner, Commercial Director at Manchester Airport said: "It is pleasing to see Norwegian expand its offering and route network from Manchester Airport, the UK Global Gateway from the North. All three of these destinations are incredibly popular and they offer our 23m passengers, who come from as far north as Scotland and as south as the Midlands, more choice and availability when flying from the UK’s third biggest airport.” Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive at Edinburgh Airport said: “This direct new route between Edinburgh and Barcelona is fantastic news - it offers even greater choice and is further confirmation of Edinburgh Airport’s position as a leader for connectivity between Scotland and the continent. “I congratulate Norwegian for recognising the growing international demand for direct links to Edinburgh, and this move shows that they have similar aspirations for growth as we do.” Schedule of new routes: Manchester to Barcelona From 30th April will operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays – Fares from £34.90 Manchester to Malaga From 2nd June will operate on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays – Fares from £34.90 Manchester to Alicante From 3rd June will operate on Fridays and Sundays – Fares from £34.90 Edinburgh to Barcelona From 15th June will operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays – Fares from £34.90 Europe’s third largest low-cost carrier is the only airline in the UK offering direct low-cost flights to the U.S. from its Gatwick hub to destinations including New York, Boston and San Francisco-Oakland. Norwegian first launched UK flights in 2003 and is Europe’s third largest low-cost airline. The carrier operates from London Gatwick, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester Airports to 34 destinations worldwide. Norwegian is the third largest airline at London Gatwick, with 3.9 million yearly passengers, and with 130 pilots and 300 cabin crewworking from its Gatwick base In 2014, Norwegian introduced the UK’s first low-cost, long haul flights to the U.S. flying direct from Gatwick to New York, Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles Norwegian is the only airline to offer free inflight WiFi on UK flights to more than 30 European destinations The airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world with an average age of four years, including next-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Boeing 737-800s Norwegian has been voted ‘Europe’s best low-cost carrier’ by passengers for three consecutive years at SkyTrax World Airline Awards, and was also the first airline to be awarded the ‘World's best low-cost long-haul airline’ in 2015 by SkyTrax.
