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Eastern Airways Announces New Aberdeen-Bristol Route |
June 2004
Aberdeen is to have a new twice-daily air link with Bristol operated by Eastern Airways, it was announced today.
Eastern will start flying the route from 1st. November as part of its
winter schedule. Bristol will be the tenth route from Aberdeen operated
by the leading UK regional airline and has been welcomed by the airport
and the local business community.
The twice-daily service will be operated from Monday to Friday with
29-seat Jetstream 41 aircraft with an additional single rotation on
Sunday afternoons. It has qualified for support from the Scottish
Executive’s Route Development Fund, administered by Scottish
Enterprise. Eastern Airways will be recruiting Aberdeen-based cabin
crew for the new service.
The airline, headquartered in Humberside, will operate more than 14,000
flights from Aberdeen this year on its routes that currently include
Belfast, Humberside, Leeds/Bradford, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham
East Midlands, Southampton, Teesside and Wick. The airline serves more
destinations from Aberdeen than any other scheduled carrier. Eastern
Airways director of Scotland, Graeme Ross said: “Over the past five
years Eastern has grown its route network from Aberdeen to provide
vital business air links across the UK. Aberdeen and North-east
Scotland are home to internationally competitive industries and good
air links play a key role in supporting businesses to compete and
operate effectively. We are confident that Bristol will prove to be a
valuable addition to our scheduled services at Aberdeen and also assist
inbound tourism in Grampian.”
Andy Flower, managing director of Aberdeen Airport said: “We are
delighted that Bristol will again be available direct from Aberdeen,
particularly when the route was highlighted as a desirable destination
by the business travel survey carried out jointly with the Chamber last
year. “Eastern Airways is an enthusiastic member of the Airport
Business Development Forum and has once again demonstrated its
commitment to expanding its important network to meet the demands of
the region, “ he said. Mary McLaughlin, Director of Transport at
Scottish Enterprise, said: “The creation of the first direct route
between north east Scotland and south west England offers the potential
for substantial economic benefits by linking two areas that were
largely inaccessible to each other without a time consuming combination
of air, road and rail travel. Although the Route Development Fund is
noted for new direct international services, this announcement
highlights the importance of the Fund in securing valuable domestic
direct routes, following as it does Eastern’s other new direct service
to Birmingham from Inverness.” Geoff Runcie, Chief Executive of
Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce said: “We are delighted to
see Eastern Airways further expanding its network from Aberdeen, which
underlines its commitment to the North-east. This is a welcome addition
to the flight connections available from Aberdeen to the rest of the
UK, particularly as Bristol was one of the most requested destinations
identified by businesses in last year’s Chamber/BAA Aberdeen survey.
"We believe strongly that Aberdeen Airport and the airlines that
operate out of it have a key role to play in facilitating growth in the
North-east economy and in attracting new businesses and visitors to the
region. This latest announcement is further evidence of the full blown
partnership activity that is operating between BAA Aberdeen, the
airlines and local businesses," said Mr Runcie. Jennifer Craw, Chief
Executive of Scottish Enterprise Grampian said: “The development of
Aberdeen Airport is a strategic priority for the region as better air
connectivity is good for business and leisure. Eastern Airways is a
major provider of routes to and from the region and we are delighted
that direct access to the South-west of England is being added to the
airport’s range of destinations with this new route.”
Ends
Issued on behalf of Eastern Airways by The BIG Partnership.
Notes to Editors:
Eastern Airways operates over 650 scheduled flights each week in the UK
and will carry approximately half a million passengers this year on its
route network that includes Aberdeen, Belfast International,
Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Humberside, Inverness, Isle of Man,
Leeds Bradford, London Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich,
Nottingham East Midlands, Southampton, Teesside and Wick. Eastern
Airways’ fleet of more than 20 aircraft is made up of British
Aerospace. Saab turboprop and Embraer Regional Jet aircraft. It
includes seven Jetstream 31, 13 Jetstream 41, Embraer ERJ145 and Saab
2000 aircraft. In addition to its scheduled passenger services, Eastern
Airways operates a special to-order passenger and freight aircraft
charter service in the UK and mainland Europe for corporate and private
individual clients.
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