SeaTac Airport Welcomes a New Airline
Seattle is one of the fastest growing markets in all of the USA right now. The market has grown recently to include Condor flights, Hainan, Xiamen, Aeromexico, Volaris, Norwegian Air, and a little airline called Delta has been expanding too. Now, add Thomas Cook to that list. Starting in May 2018, Manchester to Seattle will be served by Thomas Cook!
from Thomas Cook.com
According to the airline, Thomas Cook Airlines is the biggest long-haul carrier from Manchester Airport. It has the largest number of long-haul aircrafts (eight Airbus A330) and serves the most non-stop long-haul routes – with more to the USA than any other airline. The addition of Seattle underlines its commitment to Manchester airport as the long-haul hub of the North, and broadens the choice of destinations for holidaymakers and business travellers in the region.
More Competition in the Works?
For one, I’m excited to see more cross-Atlantic competition coming, especially to England. I’m hoping that this means that Virgin/Norwegian/British will start decreasing fares to be more competitive.
Christoph Debus, CEO Thomas Cook Group Airline said:
“We are proud to be continuing our expansion to the USA by launching Seattle as a new destination next year. Our German Condor operation has served Seattle for many years and the year-round service has been really popular with our passengers. We work closely with partner airlines, allowing us to connect customers to 90 destinations within the USA. Alaska Airlines, based in Seattle is an important partner offering our customers even more choice to the likes of British Columbia, Alberta, Alaska and Hawaii.â€
Tickets are available for sale now, and it looks like the first flights are around $600-700 one-way with some of the flights in September and October going for $300+
From Collette Roche, Interim Managing Director at Manchester Airport:
“To secure a direct route to Seattle is further testament to the role Manchester Airport plays in the North and UK as a whole. We now offer more than a dozen direct destinations to the USA, meaning we have grown the number of seats on sale to US destinations at a greater rate than any other UK airport this year.”
Since Condor is a sister airline to Thomas Cook, I’d love to see a new partnership form between Alaska/Condor and Thomas Cook. Earning Alaska Mileage Plan miles would be a huge win, and while their premium cabin looks pretty much like a standard US First Class cabin, if the price was right, we’d go!
Are you excited about this new route and airline?
Tip of the hat to Travel Pulse
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