Low-cost airline easyJet has marked 15 years of operation at Manchester Airport by announcing new daily holiday flights to France and southern Spain. The carrier, which launched in 1995, set up a base at the airport in 2008 following its acquisition in the March of GB Airways.
Back then easyJet operated out of Manchester with just two aircraft and ran only six routes - to Malaga, Alicante, Tenerife, Malta, Heraklion in Crete, Greece and Paphos, Cyprus.
To mark the 15 year milestone, the airline this week saw flights from Manchester to Paris Orly and Murcia in Spain take off for the first time - meaning easyJet now offers more than 70 routes from the airport.
And from May this year, the carrier announced it would be adding its 21st Airbus A320 plane to its fleet in Manchester. The aircraft is said to offer 'significant improvements' to environmental and operational efficiencies - less fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, and less noise during take-off and landing.
Since its launch at the airport, easyJet now employs more than 700 people in Manchester, including pilots and cabin crew, and added a route to Istanbul in Turkey to its network earlier this month.
There have been many frustrating delays and cancellation along the way, of course, but easyJet has taken millions of passengers on holiday from Manchester in its time at the airport.
Ali Gayward, easyJet's UK Country Manager, said: "We are delighted to be celebrating the 15th anniversary of our Manchester Airport base today. Since launching operations in 2008 with just two aircraft we've gone from strength to strength connecting the north west to the rest of Europe and beyond, which couldn’t be more clearly demonstrated than with the launch this week of two of our newest routes to Paris Orly and Murcia in Spain.
"We look forward to the coming months when we’ll welcome the arrival of a 21st aircraft to our Manchester fleet, which will create around 40 local job opportunities and shows our ongoing commitment to the airport and our customers in Manchester, proving them with more choice, the same low fares from just £23.99 still available today as they were, and the warm welcome on board that our fantastic crew are famous for."
Stephen Turner, commercial director at Manchester Airports Group, which owns and operates Manchester Airport and others, said: "It is great to celebrate 15 years of our partnership with easyJet, and to reflect on how it has gone from strength-to-strength to give our passengers a fantastic and ever-increasing choice of destinations.
"Over the last year alone, easyJet has added routes to Paris Orly and Murcia – which are already proving hugely popular with passengers – and added more based aircraft to its fleet at Manchester, which in turn creates jobs for the local economy.
"This helps cement Manchester’s role as the UK’s global gateway in the North, and we look forward to our relationship with easyJet flourishing further in the years to come."
Seats are available to book for this summer at easyJet.com and via the mobile app with value fares starting from £23.99 - one-way per person including taxes - to Paris and from £34.99 to Murcia. The airline said it would also launch package holidays to the new destinations
Flights to Paris Orly depart up to five times a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, complementing an existing route to Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Flights to Murcia will take off for first time this Saturday, April 1 and will be served by twice weekly with departures on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
The carrier was founded by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou to offer low-cost fares across Europe and its first UK base was at Luton Airport.
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