Leeds Bradford transatlantic flights ‘next year’
08.05.09
Leeds Bradford Airport will have a direct scheduled transatlantic service by the end of next year, its commercial director told TTG. Tony Hallwood said the airport was talking to one North American airline and one UK carrier about operating a regular Toronto service starting next year. He said the airport was also in talks with US airlines about operating a New York service.
Jet2 ran a number of one-off Christmas shopping flights to New York last year, but Mr Hallwood told the trade publication that the airport could support a scheduled operation. He said: ‘We have a large catchment area and our aim is to stop the leakage of traffic across the Pennines to Manchester. We have 2.8 million passengers now and we are confident it will be five million by 2012.’
He said that the airport is also targeting short-haul expansion to Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Scandinavia, and the airport was talking to ‘a number’ of no-frills airlines about Frankfurt, Hamburg and Copenhagen services.
