Aer Arann launch thrice-weekly Waterford to Manchester route

RED DEVILS fans who want to cheer on Roy Keane and John O'Shea in person now have the option of flying to Manchester three days a week out of the South East Regional Airport at Waterford.

Aer Arann is to introduce a thrice-weekly service on Tuesday, May 4 that will link the Waterford with Manchester International Airport. Support for the service is likely to be keen among sports fans in particular, mainly Manchester United fans in Waterford and Cork.

The 70-minute flights on a 48-seater ATR 42 aircraft will depart Manchester for Waterford at 5.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and leave Waterford for Manchester at 7.10pm on the same days with fares from €29.99 each way plus tax.

On Sundays, flights will leave Manchester for Waterford at 12.25pm with the return leg departing Waterford at 2pm. Announcing the new route on which 10,000 passengers are expected to travel in the first year, Aer Arann's managing director, Pádraig Ó Céidigh, said the airline was "delighted" to extend the services it provides to Waterford and the south-east as well as adding to the successful Manchester-Galway route that it also introduced in June 2003.

"This additional route is in line with our strategy of building steadily and growing traffic through airports that we know and where we have operated successfully previously. We have been very happy with the load factors on the Waterford-London Luton service over the last nine months or so and would expect similar strong interest in flights on the Waterford-Manchester route," he said.

Welcoming the announcement, the chairperson of South East Regional Airport (Waterford), Nicky Fewer said the Manchester service had been actively pursued by the airport's board for some time. "We have been keen to add to the passenger base coming through the airport and this additional route considerably increases capacity on our services to and from the UK. It is also a welcome vote of confidence in our airport from a very progressive airline," he said.

Commenting on onward travel options available via Manchester, Mr Fewer noted the airport has 95 airlines serving over 180 worldwide destinations "from Alicante to Montego Bay and from New York to Zurich".

"Manchester is a major international airport and I would urge all leisure and business travellers in the south-east to think local when planning any overseas trips.

"As well as providing swift access to the north-west of England, this new service can act as a very effective air bridge allowing a host of European and long-haul destinations to be accessed quickly and affordably."

Mr Fewer also pointed out the immense potential of the new service in terms of marketing the south-east of Ireland as a destination for tourists.

"One-third of the UK's population lives within two hours of Manchester International Airport and the north-west of England has traditionally been a key market for Irish tourism so this additional Aer Arann service provides the tourism industry in the south-east with access to a huge pool of potential visitors," he said.