Leading airline Jet2.com announced that it will launch a unique new route from Leeds Bradford to Albert-Picardie in France to capitalise on the massive rise in battlefield breaks to World War I sites in Northern France. On sale from November 24th, the company will operate a twice-weekly service to Albert on Mondays and Fridays between April and June next year, with fares starting from £60.99 one way inclusive of taxes.

Jet2.com will be the first airline to offer scheduled flights to Albert in the Picardie region of France, most famous for the Battle of the Somme, and home to the city of Amiens with fantastic links to the city of Lille. Interest in visits to war graves and battlefield sites has risen sharply in recent years fuelled by notable anniversaries, such as this month’s 90th anniversary of the end of World War I. Growth in websites and TV programmes tracing family trees has sparked interest in the Great Wars among those keen to follow in the footsteps of relatives.
 
Meanwhile, the historical events of WWI and WWII are now included on the national curriculum leading to an increase in educational battlefield breaks for schools. Ian Doubtfire, Managing Director of Jet2.com, said: “This is a really exciting destination for us and we are proud to offer the first direct scheduled flights to Albert from the UK. “Battlefield breaks are becoming tremendously popular within the tourism industry and we anticipate the vast majority of passengers flying to Albert will be travelling there to see the sights and experience the history of key events during World War I. We will be offering two flights a week allowing four-night midweek breaks, which will believe will be extremely popular with schools, and three-night weekend breaks geared more towards independent travellers. However, we also believe that the likes of Amiens and Lille will prove to be popular destinations and not forgetting, because it’s such a short flight, Albert is a fantastic gateway to explore the rest of Northern France.”

Jeff Laroze-Cervetti, Manager Network Development at Keolis Airports who own Albert-Picardie airport, said: “Albert-Picardie airport is delighted that Jet2.com is launching a twice-weekly service from Leeds. It will enable communities in the north of England to access the Somme area which, because of World War I, is of great historical importance to the British public. The strategic positioning of our airport will enable independent travellers to easily access Amiens and Lille which are great cities to visit. The Somme and the Picardie region have a lot to offer and are rich with cultural heritage.”

Jet2.com recently announced that it was increasing its hold baggage allowance by 30 per cent, from 17kg to 22kg, offering the most generous baggage allowance in the leisure airline sector. Unlike many in the travel sector, Jet2.com is bucking the current downturn – In September its parent company, Dart Group plc, announced record half-year profits of £30 million and record load factors of more than 90 per cent.

Meanwhile, the airline recently launched 22 new routes for summer 2009 across its six UK bases and has recently been voted the UK’s best short-haul airline by readers of the Guardian and Observer, an accolade it has won for the last three years.