Spanair announces Birmingham as first UK scheduled launch Airport

Spanair, a member of the Star Alliance network, will operate an Airbus A320 aircraft with 168 seats, which will be split into Business and Economy cabins on board. Timings have been scheduled to meet business and leisure travellers’ needs and both destinations will be served all year round.

Although Madrid previously operated from Birmingham until October 2008 it is currently unavailable from the Midlands region. Moreover, the current Barcelona service offered by bmibaby from Birmingham is planned to cease on the 7th June so travellers will not be left short of flights to this popular destination.

Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport’s CEO, said, “From May we will provide the only direct Madrid service south of Liverpool and north of Watford Gap and with the excellent road and rail access to Birmingham it’s a no brainer for people wanting to reach Spain’s capital city from this stretch of the country. We are obviously delighted too with the news that Barcelona will continue to be available for our passengers once the current service stops in June.

“Although it’s not clear if news like this is the early signs of economic recovering, it certainly demonstrates that the industry has confidence in Birmingham so we are delighted to have been chosen as the first airport in the UK where Spanair will start operating scheduled flights. We believe that once people experience the benefits of travelling from central England’s global gateway they with continue to choose Birmingham for a hassle free air travel experience, benefitting from the 140 plus destinations already available worldwide. We welcome the carrier to the Midlands and I encourage the region to support both routes to help show other airlines to show that the Heart of England is a safe bet for expanding their future operations.”

Spanair CEO Mike Szucs commented: “With the introduction of these new routes from Birmingham, Spanair is delighted to create a year-round gateway to Spain from the Heart of England. Via our hubs in Barcelona and Madrid, passengers will enjoy connections to a range of Spanish peninsula cities and Islands, which they could otherwise only reach during the peak season with low cost carriers and charter flights. With competitive fares, a free baggage allowance and allocated seating, Spanair offers tremendous value to leisure travellers, while allowing business travellers to fly direct to Spain’s leading business centres in Barcelona and Madrid without enduring the hassle of London’s airports or connecting flights. We are very much looking forward to filling the gap left by low cost and full service airlines on these important routes for the Midlands region.”

Spanair will also offer onward flights from Barcelona and Madrid across its scheduled network in mainland Spain, the Balearics and Canaries Islands as well as North Africa, increasing the 300 plus one-stop flights currently available from Birmingham.

Other Spanair News

• Spanair announces Birmingham as first UK scheduled launch Airport
• Spanair and Air Europa sign commercial agreement
• Spanair eliminates fuel surcharges on domestic routes
• Spanair continues to make progress in Viability Plan
• Spanair to reduce fuel surcharges on domestic services
• Spanair to increase Ibiza services in 2009
• Spainair adopts Amadeus Alta customer management solution
• Spanair announces changes to Winter schedule
• Spanair presents redundancy plan
• Spanair decides to sell Club Vacaciones