British airline launches new base

British charter flight specialist Monarch Airlines is to set up a new base at Birmingham International Airport, creating 50 jobs, it was announced today.

Services will begin from Birmingham to Tenerife and Malaga from next summer as part of its Monarch Scheduled operation.

The company already operates scheduled services from Luton, Gatwick and Manchester to Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar.

Bosses predict the new route will result in an additional 250,000 passengers flying from Birmingham.

New routes have also been announced from Manchester to Almeria and Madrid and a third daily flight will be introduced to Malaga.

The Madrid service will be daily and Almeria four times a week.

Monarch has had a presence at Birmingham since 1986 and currently employs 53 people there.

Tim Jeans, managing director of Monarch Scheduled, said the Birmingham expansion would prevent people from the area having to travel to Manchester or Luton to catch flights and offer them lower fares.

It would also compete with no-frills airlines but with a “superior” service, he claimed.

He added: “Today’s announcement represents a massive expansion in our programme, but is just the beginning of our longer term plan to drive the business forward.

“Birmingham can look forward to the addition of many more routes in the future, making travel from the region easier and more affordable than ever before.”

Peter Vella, business development director at Birmingham International Airport, said: “We are thrilled Monarch’s low fares scheduled arm has decided to launch its new base from Birmingham next summer.

“This is fantastic news for Midlanders wanting to travel from their local airport and we wish Monarch Scheduled all the best for the future.”