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MANCHESTER Airport is preparing for huge expansion with the launch of a British Airways base and the introduction of low-cost carrier Jet2.

BA franchise airline GB Airways will open its second UK base and launch five routes out of the airport from May, while Jet2 will launch nine services from December 1.

The flights are in addition to BMI’s long-haul services to the Caribbean and Las Vegas which start in November, and signal a return to form for Manchester after services were cut following September 11 2001 and SARS.

Jet2 will challenge Bmibaby as Manchester’s largest budget carrier. Its nine routes – Budapest, Murcia, Geneva, Malaga, Faro, Nice, Valencia, Venice and Pisa – will match the number offered by Bmibaby, but Jet2 will base six Boeing 737s at the airport as opposed to its rival’s three.

Jet2 already has a strong northern presence with 14 services from Leeds Bradford. Commercial director Steve Lee insisted the two bases could run harmoniously.

"We’ve a solid catchment area in Yorkshire. People from the northwest don’t like travelling to Yorkshire so we believe the markets can be kept separate."

The launch of the nine routes will be staggered between December 1 and May 26, with fares from £21, including taxes.

GB Airways, which has extended its franchise deal with BA until 2010, will initially base one Airbus A320 at Manchester, rising to three over the following two years.

Destinations include Malaga, Tenerife, Funchal, Paphos and Malta with flights starting on May 16. The two airlines will create around 340 new jobs at the airport.

• ABTA hopes to forge closer relationships with low-cost carriers under plans by new aviation chief Doreen McKenzie. Knock Travel boss McKenzie has met budget carrier Jet2, which has agreed to provide window marketing material for agents and a trade website.

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