CHANNEL Islands airline Aurigny is to launch a twice-daily service between Guernsey and Manchester from March 22.
The route will be the second major service to the UK mainland operated by Aurigny.
The airline used to focus on inter-island services before taking over the Guernsey-Stansted service on June 4 last year, following KLM uk’s decision to drop the route.
British Regional Airlines already operates a daily service from Guernsey to the northwest airport.
Aurigny marketing manager Ian Le Moigne said: “We believe there is room for a second carrier on the Manchester route as it provides good transatlantic connections and services to the Isle of Man.”
Le Moigne added that Aurigny wants to add another daily flight from Guernsey to Stansted in summer, to raise frequency to four-times daily Monday to Friday.
However, it has decided not to pick up the Stansted-Jersey route axed by KLM uk in September.
Aurigny applied for the route when it became vacant, along with Jersey European, but pulled out when it looked at the likely carryings. “Jersey is already well served from London,” said Le Moigne.
JEA has also lost interest in the route and instead reopened the London Luton-Jersey service last month after suspending it for one month.
General manager Channel Islands Ian Taylor said:”We didn’t think we could make Stansted-Jersey work. We suspended services from Luton because promises of a new terminal and railway station were not being kept but they have opened now and made a big improvement.”
JEA is operating a daily service from Luton through the week, with two flights a day at the weekend. It is also adding summer weekend flights from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin to Jersey and increasing summer frequency on the Southampton-Guernsey route from five to six a day – the link was taken over from KLM UK last March,
A new weekend service from Leeds Bradford to Guernsey starts for the summer.
Taylor said KLM uk’s decision to pull out of the Channel Islands market was a sensible rationalisation of carriers but said it was still competitive.
JEA return fares from Luton start from £39 per person including taxes, while Aurigny fares from Stansted to Guernsey are from £65.
British Regional Airlines leads in at £75 one way from Southampton to Jersey, which it took over from KLM UK from November 1 last year.
British Regional Airlines is adding a fifth Friday flight from Southampton to Jersey from February 25. It currently operates four-times daily with three Saturday and Sunday flights.
n Guernsey’s government has approved a £13m redevelopment of the island’s airport, to include a two-level building that is 25% larger than the current terminal, which was built in 1938. It is due to be ready by 2002.