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Flybe sets out expanded winter programme from Birmingham

Two new routes for the winter – Hamburg and Oslo – are being added to Flybe’s network from Birmingham.

The regional airline will also extend six services being launched this summer to operate year-round – to Reykjavik, Florence, Oporto, Cologne, Toulouse and Bordeaux.

Hamburg, Oslo, Reykjavik, Florence and Oporto will be operated by 88-seater Embraer 175 aircraft with Cologne, Toulouse and Bordeaux operated by 78-seat Bombardier Q400s.

The daily Hamburg and Oslo routes will be introduced from the start of the winter schedule on October 26 with one-way fares on sale from today (Tuesday) starting at £39.99.

Flybe will also continue to operate up to 28 weekly flights to Cologne, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Florence and Oporto, with frequency aimed at business travellers and passengers looking for short breaks.

Due to the popularity of summer twilight flights to Reykjavik, the three-times-a-week service to the Icelandic capital will move to daytime flying from the same date.

Flybe will operate up to 350 flights a week from Birmingham on 26 routes as part of its 2014-15 winter schedule.

The expended winter commitment from Birmingham is estimated to result in the airline carrying an additional 100,000 passengers a year at the airport.

The move comes as Flybe launches its remaining summer flights from Birmingham this week to Newquay, Bordeaux, Palma and Toulouse.

UK routes director Fred Kochak said: “We said we would be investing in a major way at Birmingham and it is now our largest ever base.

“Today’s announcement gives additional weight to that commitment and I’m delighted that, as a result of the Flybe route assessment model, we have been able to add even more destinations as well as choice for our Midlands business and leisure passengers.”

He added: “Flybe already connects more than 1.5 million passengers a year from Birmingham, both domestically and throughout Europe.

“Today’s news further demonstrates our commitment to providing direct air links from the regions of the UK, which means passengers do not have to face long road or rail journeys to southeast hub airports.”

The airport’s aviation development director William Pearson added: “Flybe’s Birmingham route network is going from strength to strength after announcing nine new routes already this year and becoming our largest carrier.

“Oslo is another new destination for us and we’re very pleased that Flybe is recognising the need to serve these markets and satisfy demand to give business and leisure travellers the destinations that they want from Birmingham.”

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