Star Alliance member Spanair is to launch flights from Birmingham to both Madrid and Barcelona, commencing in May.
Barcelona will be served four-times weekly (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday) from May 20, while the Madrid service will operate three-times weekly (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) from May 25. Both routes will be plied with A320 aircraft, configured for 168 seats in a two-class economy and business layout.
Bmibaby served Madrid from Birmingham until last October, and currently flies between Barcelona and Birmingham, but is due to cease the flights on June 7. Both routes have in the past been operated by BA with an Iberia codeshare.
Spanair joined Star Alliance in 2003, and was previously a subsidiary of founding Star member SAS, although the Scandinavian carrier now owns less than 20 percent of the Spanish airline, which serves destinations across Spain and Europe, as well as several routes to north and west Africa.
For more information visit spanair.com.
Report by Mark Caswell