transwede
11th Aug 2003, 02:49
On airliners.net it states than this new outfit are going to operate 757/767 aircraft to the Med and South Africa from MAN and NCL? Anyone know details of the NCL operation?
Good for NCL to get South African routes if all is true! :O
johnwalton
11th Aug 2003, 19:53
North East set to gain South Africa Connection
New holiday airline AV8air confirmed today that it is to base a 278-seat Boeing 767-300 aircraft at Newcastle International Airport, giving the North East its first direct flights to South Africa and boosting the number of low cost services offered to Spanish resorts from the region.
AV8air has been set up by independent holiday firm CT2 to serve its no frills charter brand LOCOFlights.com as well as sister operations CT2 Holidays and CT2 Flights. It will operate CT2 Holidays'route to South Africa's Kwa-Zulu Natal region next summer by introducing the UK's only direct flights to Durban. It will also serve LOCOflights.com's existing low cost services to Tenerife, Malaga, Lanzarote (Arrecife) and Alicante.
The move underlines CT2's commitment to growth at Newcastle with the company's summer capacity at the airport set to double from 14,000 seats this year to nearly 30,000 next. It will also see new routes being opened as the company looks to provide holidaymakers with greater choice from their local airport.
"AV8air will provide high quality, reliable services to both established and new holiday destinations, primarily on behalf of CT2 Holidays and LOCO Flights but also for other tour operators," commented AV8air's managing director Michael O'Donovan. "In addition to traditional favourites like Tenerife, we will be working closely with our tour operator partners to identify holiday routes which are not currently served from Newcastle in order to provide greater choice and value to north eastern holidaymakers. Durban will be the first but, with CT2, we are also looking at another long haul destination which we hope to announce shortly."
He added: "We will also be helping LOCO Flights to maintain its position as a leading provider of low cost fares from Newcastle's to the Canaries and Costas."
Newcastle Airport's Chief Executive John Parkin welcomed AV8air's announcement, saying: "We are delighted that CT2 have decided to expand their services from Newcastle next summer. It's great news for our passengers who can not only enjoy increased choice on some of the more traditional holiday routes - such as Tenerife and Malaga - but will also be able to fly direct to a brand new long haul destination from Newcastle. We look forward to a successful working relationship with CT2 and AV8air as their services from Newcastle Airport continue to grow."
This was in this months Flight:
Air Transport
AV8air takes off with 757
UK start-up AV8air aims to begin operations in October on charter flights from Manchesterr using a Boeing 757-200 leased from Ansett Worldwide.
The Airline - part of Club Travel 2000 holiday group - will operate the 233-seat aircraft between Manchester and the spanish resorts of Alicante, Lanzarote, Malaga and Tenerife on behalf of Club CT2 and Loco Flights brands.
In November, a 278-seat Boeing 767-300ER will be used to serve Cape Town in South Africa and boost European capacity. By mid 2004, AV8air hopes to add a Newcastle and Durban service via Manchester.
"We're also looking at a third long-haul destination in Asia" says Av8air managing director Michael O'Donovan.