New routes to get your year off to a flying start
IF YOU are looking to visit somewhere a little different this year, there are a host of new flight routes starting up from UK airports.
Some are well worth investigating, as they make certain countries or cities more easily accessible or cheaper to reach.
The fares quoted below are for return economy flights. Optional charges such as for checking in luggage are not included.
ALL THAT JAZZ
NEW ORLEANS is one of the most beguiling of cities, yet getting to the home of jazz is a faff, requiring a connecting flight from another US airport. But British Airways starts non-stop flights from Heathrow on March 27 (from £544).
Portland in Oregon, a hip and arty city known for micro-breweries and coffee shops, is also getting non-stop flights from the UK. Delta starts flying there on May 27 from Heathrow, with the service operating until October (from £704).
Virgin is offering direct flights from Manchester to San Francisco from March 28 (from £409). Thomas Cook begins its flights from Manchester to San Francisco on May 14 (from £450).
BA is starting Gatwick-Oakland flights on March 28 (from £379), competing directly with low-cost airline Norwegian, which already operates the route.
BA is also launching flights to Fort Lauderdale on July 6 from Gatwick (from £380). Again, these will give Norwegian head-to-head competition on the route.
NON-STOP TO CHILE
THE first non-stop flights between Britain and the Chilean capital Santiago started on British Airways last month (from £682). The journey still takes a buttocknumbing 14 hours 40 minutes – but reduces the indirect route time by several hours.
CHARMING CROATIA
AIRLINES are laying on more routes to Croatia this summer, offering holidaymakers alternatives to Turkey. New services to Pula with Jet2.com from Stansted start on April 30 (from £70), and with BA from Heathrow from July 4 (from £74).
GREAT GRANADA
GRANADA is the home of the Alhambra, and easyJet started Gatwick-Granada flights yesterday, with fares costing from £47 return – much cheaper than with BA from London City, the only other direct operator.
EUROPEAN DELIGHTS
RYANAIR has new flights from Stansted to Copenhagen, Naples and Cagliari in Italy, and Beziers, Clermont, Grenoble, Nice, Nimes and Strasbourg in France; some services start in April, others will follow in July. As these flights have only recently gone on sale and air fares rise as seats fill up, prices can be much lower than with other airlines flying to these destinations from London.