Scheduled leisure airline, Monarch's new flight to Barcelona took to the sky on 21 October 2011, linking London with Spain's most cosmopolitan city.

Monarch's new scheduled flights between London Gatwick and Barcelona operate daily from 21 October, increasing to 11 flights per week from 30 October 2011, bringing the total number of scheduled destinations served by the airline from Gatwick to 13.

Commenting on the launch of this new route, Managing Director of Monarch Airlines, Kevin George said, "Barcelona is one of the UK's most popular short break destinations and we are delighted to be adding this to our route network from London Gatwick in addition to our existing flights from Manchester.

"Barcelona attracts a broad mix of visitors for business, city breaks and leisure and we have been delighted by our customer's reaction to the new service and the demand for the route.  In addition to the frequency of flights, customers travelling on the route will benefit from Monarch's fantastic value fares and innovative 'build your own class' service, which offers the ability to tailor the flight package to their exact requirements including extra legroom seating and pre-ordered meals."

Also commenting on the new route launch, Guy Stephenson, Chief Commercial Officer at Gatwick Airport said, "It is welcome news that Monarch has chosen to grow at Gatwick by adding another route to its long list of popular destinations already served by the airport. It is by working together that we are helping it realise its own goals for growth in London and continue to serve popular destinations for our passengers of which Barcelona is one."

Monarch's scheduled flights are available to book until October 2012. Customers now booking flights will also benefit from zero debit card charge fees and a fixed fee for all credit card bookings, regardless of the transaction value or number of people travelling.