Vueling Airlines has launched its first service from Manchester Airport to Barcelona: Bekir Satlimis and Fang-Tzu Tsao from Manchester, were the first two passengers to check in for the new flight on Friday and were rewarded with a bottle of champagne to get their holiday off to a great start.
Left: The very first passengers, Bekir Satlimis and Fang-Tzu Tsao before they jetted off to Barcelona on the inaugural Vueling Airlines flight, alongside Manchester Airport’s Head of Aviation Marketing Patrick Alexander.
The four weekly flights will operate on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Terminal 3 to Vueling’s main hub at Barcelona’s El Prat Airport.
Patrick Alexander, Head of Aviation Marketing for the Manchester Airport Group, said:
“We are pleased to welcome Vueling Airlines to Manchester Airport. The airline will provide further choice for customers looking to visit Barcelona as well as giving the opportunity to connect to Vueling’s extensive route network.
“Furthermore, it continues to confirm Manchester Airport as the UK’s Global Gateway from the North, where we have over 22m passengers a year and a catchment area that extends as far north as Scotland and south to the Midlands.”
Gabriel Schmilovich, Senior Manager of Network Planning, Scheduling and Slots at Vueling said:
“We are very happy to announce the launch of the route between Manchester and Barcelona. With up to five flights per week during summer, passengers from Manchester will not only be able to reach Barcelona but will also benefit from Vueling´s connections to many destinations like the Balearic Islands or Canary Islands, with a premium product and very competitive prices.”
Manchester Airport, the UK’s third biggest airport, … has recently announced record passenger numbers with more than 22.32 million passengers passing through the global gateway. It offers over 210 destinations served by 65 airlines with Barcelona now served by four carriers.
Vueling was founded in July 2004 with two Airbus A320s, four routes, and a commitment to offer excellent customer service at highly competitive fares. Ten years later Vueling is part of IAG group and is operating on more than 300 routes to 160 cities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with a fleet of more than 100 aircraft and 22 operating bases. In its first decade it carried more than 75 million passengers.
The route will be served by an Airbus A320, with capacity for 180 passengers.
For more information see www.manchesterairport.co.uk or www.vueling.com/en