Thomson Holidays and First Choice have today announced that they will be increasing capacity from Bournemouth Airport next year. From May 2010 they will be basing a 189-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft at the airport which has 25% more seats than their existing aircraft.
To coincide with the arrival of this new aircraft, they will be adding five new destinations to their route map: Antalya and Bodrum in Turkey, Corfu, Tunisia and the increasingly popular Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh. The flights to Turkey will also provide holiday makers with the opportunity to link up with one of the Thomson ships cruising around the Eastern Mediterranean.
Commenting on this news, Rob Goldsmith, Managing Director of Bournemouth Airport said: “To announce increased capacity and an exciting range of new routes in the current economic climate clearly shows the confidence that Thomson and First Choice have in Bournemouth Airport. Both operators offer holiday makers realistic prices and high standards, and I am confident these new routes will be a great success.”
In addition to the new routes, Thomson and First Choice will also be operating to Malaga, Ibiza, Majorca, Paphos, Rhodes, Dalaman and Tenerife next summer.
While TOM are using a larger aircraft, the new destinations replace axed flights to Heraklion, Reus and Faro, whuile the frequency of Malaga flights are reduced