UK regional airline, Eastern Airways will provide business travellers with even greater choice of services and extra capacity this summer as it significantly develops routes from its largest bases at Aberdeen and Newcastle airports.

The independent airline’s expansion plans include increasing services and capacity from its largest base at Aberdeen to Newcastle, Southampton and Leeds Bradford; from Newcastle to Southampton, Cardiff and Stavanger; and from Southampton to Leeds Bradford and Angers Loire in France.

From 3 March 2008, there will be frequency increases on the following routes:

• Aberdeen to Newcastle increase to 6 flights a day
• Aberdeen to Southampton increase to 4 flights a day
• Aberdeen to Leeds Bradford increase to 4 flights a day
• Newcastle to Southampton increase to 4 flights a day
• Newcastle to Cardiff increase to 3 flights a day
• Newcastle to Stavanger increase to 2 flights a day
• Southampton to Leeds Bradford increase to 4 flights a day
• Southampton to Angers Loire increase to 4 flights a week 

A larger 50 seat Saab 2000 aircraft will also be introduced onto all services from Aberdeen to Newcastle, Aberdeen to Southampton and Newcastle to Southampton with the airline offering good value day return options.

Chris Holliday, Eastern Airways’ chief operating officer, said: “We’ve provided the business community with a comprehensive network of routes from Aberdeen and Newcastle for many years and this latest expansion demonstrates our commitment to providing the best business schedules from both cities. Seat capacity will also be increased by up to 60% on some services with the introduction of our larger Saab aircraft to meet demand.”

Aberdeen is Europe’s energy capital with the buoyant offshore oil industry, while Newcastle and the north east has strong business sectors including petrochemical, pharmaceutical, finance, law, insurance, automotive, manufacturing and construction industries.

Passengers flying with Eastern Airways from Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, Southampton and Cardiff airports also benefit from dedicated fast track security channels to avoid any queues at the search area.

Eastern Airways has been operating from Aberdeen since 1997 and flies to 11 destinations from the airport, which is more than any other carrier. From Newcastle, the airline links north east England to six destinations.