700,000 Mancunians can’t be wrong as Arriva celebrates New Links to John Lennon Airport from Manchester

Arriva, one of the region's largest bus operators, is launchinga brand new, express bus service from Manchester to Liverpool JohnLennon Airport as part of its expanding AirLink network.

The AirLink 700 service will operate a direct link fromManchester Piccadilly Railway Station to the airport every hour,from 22 October, stopping at Sackville Street (Manchester),Salford, Eccles and Burtonwood Services

This new fast public transport link is a reflection of thegrowing numbers of Liverpool John Lennon Airport passengers who nowneed to travel between the Airport and Manchester. The most recentCivil Aviation Authority (CAA) Survey confirms that 17 per cent ofJohn Lennon Airport's passengers, which currently equates to over700,000 passengers per year, based upon the Airport's currentthroughput of over 4 million annual passengers, come from or aregoing to the Manchester area.

The choice of low cost, direct services to an ever increasingrange of destinations means that more and more passengers fromthroughout the North West now choose to fly via Liverpool JohnLennon Airport, with Greater Manchester passengers making up thesecond largest group of airport users. Management at the Airporthave been pushing for such a service for some time and aretherefore delighted that Arriva are to provide this important link,particularly following the recent success of their similar Airportto Liverpool City centre service – the Airlink 500.

Bob Hind, managing director of Arriva North West and Wales,said:

This is an exciting and groundbreaking development forour North West network. There are increasing numbers of leisure andbusiness travellers from the Manchester area who are choosing tofly from Liverpool and we want to offer them a cost-effective,hassle-free start to their journey.

Neil Pakey, Liverpool John Lennon Airport's managing directoradded,

Many cities of the size of Manchester such as Berlin,Barcelona, Milan and Washington have three airports and most othershave at least two. Liverpool is now seen by many passengers asManchester's alternative airport and we look forward to workingclosely with Manchester and in particular Marketing Manchester overthe coming weeks.

The Airport Company believes that this important publictransport link will prove popular with those inbound visitors toManchester who travel via Liverpool using the many low cost airlineservices provided by operators such as easyJet and Ryanair. It isalso in line with the new co-ordinated approach for the delivery oftourism across the region.

Marketing Manchester chief executive, Andrew Stokes added,

This initiative is a great example of a more regionalapproach to tourism which will benefit Manchester and the NorthWest as a whole.

Notes for editors

• The AirLink 700 service will run every day of the year (exceptChristmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day) from early morninguntil late at night. There will be a flat rate of £5(10€) for adults and £2.50 (5€) for children. Forfurther information, timetable enquiries etc, please contact ArrivaCustomer Services on 08701 20 10 88 or visitwww.arrivabus.co.uk.