Saturday, December 13, 2008

Virgin adds Caribbean flights

As the region's tourism industry faces one of its toughest seasons, thanks to the global economic meltdown, one international carrier is keeping the the tourism flat line at bay.

Virgin Atlantic Airways has announced that it will increase services from Manchester to the Caribbean and Florida next summer and add extra flights from Gatwick to Jamaica from November 2009.

The announcement is a boost to Manchester following a succession of blows, including the withdrawal of BMI long-haul flights from the airport, and to the Caribbean, which lost capacity from the UK when XL Leisure Group collapsed in September.

Virgin Atlantic will fly twice a week from Manchester to Barbados, adding a Saturday departure to the existing Sunday flight between May 2 and November 7, and will increase departures from Manchester to Orlando from nine to ten a week with an added Sunday flight operating from April 26 to November 8.

The carrier will also increase its winter Gatwick service to Montego Bay from two to three flights a week from November 13 next year.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: "This is a vote of confidence in Manchester. British Airways and BMI have pulled out and there is a big gap left by XL".

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