Highland air travellers are set to benefit from increased flights on the Inverness services operated by Eastern Airways between Birmingham and Manchester.

Due to the initial success of its services between Inverness and Birmingham, Eastern Airways announced today that it is to increase frequencies on its Inverness-Birmingham route with the addition of a third daily service and also a Sunday flight from 7 June 2004.

These additions will bring the Birmingham route into line with the three-times weekday service between Inverness and Manchester, which will now also benefit from the introduction of a weekend service, as Eastern announced the addition of a Sunday flight to its current schedule. 

Eastern Airways also announced that the new Sunday services from the Highlands will be operated with larger Jetstream 41 aircraft.

With the additional services, Eastern Airways will operate a total of 32 flights each week from Inverness.

Many of Eastern Airways’ passengers utilise the Birmingham route for business purposes and adding an additional daily service will provide greater flexibility and more convenience for travellers. The extra Sunday service will also provide Eastern’s passengers with an opportunity to enjoy the route for leisure trips. Birmingham is a city steeped in history and cultural diversity with attractions including the Cotswolds and ‘Shakespeare country’, making it an ideal weekend getaway destination.

Eastern’s introduction of additional services from two of the country’s largest conurbations will also help to develop inbound traffic to the Highlands as a gateway for many of Scotland’s premier tourist attractions.

Chief executive of Eastern Airways, Richard Lake, commented: "We are delighted to be increasing our services from Inverness to Birmingham and Manchester. The routes have proved to be extremely popular with our passengers and we have been quick to respond to the demand for additional services. Increased frequency on our Inverness-Manchester service has been a huge success and we hope to mirror this in Birmingham."

Alex Johnson, Commercial and Marketing Manager with HIAL said: “We have developed a very positive relationship with Eastern and are confident that the increased frequencies and Sunday flights will prove popular with travellers.

“Both routes serve major population centres in terms of business and leisure traffic and have proved themselves to be valuable additions to the growing number of air services at Inverness.”

HIAL's Inverness Airport Manager James Walton said: “Eastern Airways is a leading regional airline and has firmly established itself at Inverness. We are delighted to see the airline increasing the frequencies of its Birmingham and Manchester services. This will be of benefit to passengers and the economy of the region and is the latest piece of good news for the airport at a time of significant development.”

Eastern Airways operate over 650 flights each week, and will carry approximately half a million passengers on a  network embracing Aberdeen, Belfast International, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Humberside, Inverness, Isle of Man, Leeds Bradford, London Stansted, Manchester, Southampton, Newcastle, Norwich, Teesside and Wick.  For more information contact 01625 680600 or book online at www.easternairways.com.