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Lancashire Times
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9:00 AM 27th January 2020
travel

Manchester Airport Strengthens China Link

 
The Year of the Rat is set to be a significant one for the UK’s third large airport, Manchester, as flights to Shanghai commence in March with leading Chinese carrier, Juneyao Air.

The route will be of huge importance to the 183,000 people in the airport’s regional catchment area who currently travel to the powerhouse of Shanghai via other means.

As well as being a huge boost for Northern businesses, it will also be of great importance to the student and ethnic markets. Manchester boasts Europe’s third largest Chinatown and the North has seen a nine per cent increase in Chinese students since Manchester’s route to Beijing launched three years ago.

Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said: “Not only will the enhanced connectivity benefit existing passengers and business going to Shanghai, it will also stimulate new trade and tourism opportunities for everyone. We’ve seen first-hand how a new connection, most notably our service to Beijing, can generate and unlock a range of economic benefits.

“In just three years the route has delivered a 38% increase in Chinese visitors, a 94% increase in average spend per visit and a 41% growth in export values. We are sure the same will come from this service to Shanghai with Juneyao Air.

“Routes like this and the other long-haul ones we’ve announced and launched this year demonstrate the role we play in the North, connecting people and businesses to key global hubs. As the year goes on and our £1bn transformation continues, we will continue to play this role to help everyone in the North continue to prosper.”

Wang Qun, General Manager at Juneyao UK, said: “The route will be a huge advantage to the people in Northern England looking to access Shanghai and vice versa with people in China looking to access what Manchester and the wider North has to offer.

“We are sure the route will be a huge success and look forward to flying one of our state-of-the-art Boeing Dreamliners 787-900 on it. The Year of the Rat is set to be an exciting one for us all at Juneyao Air as we forge stronger ties with Manchester and the North.”

Flights to Shanghai with Juneyao Air start on 30 March. They will operate three times per week with two classes – business and economy.

For more information see: https://global.juneyaoair.com/