Stansted airport yesterday announced its first daily non-stop scheduled service to New York in a deal with Continental, the world's sixth largest airline, writes Keith Harper .
The service will start next May with Boeing 757s. The 172-seat aircraft will have 16 business seats and be able to connect at Newark airport in New York with 165 destinations in the US.
Welcoming Continental, John Stent, Stansted's managing director, said: "The airport is ready for transatlantic scheduled services, and I know there will be a big demand for this new link to New York." He said that the announcement was good news for people flying from eastern England to New York, and a boost for inward investment. He hoped it was the first of many.
The Israeli airline, El Al, was the first scheduled carrier to fly to New York from Stansted but only offered three flights a week, a service which has now stopped. Other scheduled carriers at Stansted include Lufthansa and SAS.
It is the fastest growing airport in the UK. Within the next five years it will have doubled its passenger numbers to 15m a year.
The government is examining options to build another runway at Stansted, Gatwick or Southampton to meet demand in the south east.
