Time was when new ski destinations from tour operators were the biggest news of the winter, but with air travel ever more complex in its pricing, as well as fragmented for skiers and boarders trying to get to the slopes but not based close to a London airport, it is becoming increasingly interesting to see which new flight routes have appeared each winter too, to make reaching the slopes easier for your holiday.
So here’s a lowdown of some of the new flight options for 2015/16.
Belfast
Easyjet are launching a new service to Lyon on 12 December operating on Saturdays and in winter only. Lyon provides quick access to the French Alps and is closer to resorts like Alpe d’Huez and Les Deux Alpes than any other major airport. Other more distant resorts can be faster to reach from Lyon than Geneva as the roads may be faster and emptier.
Birmingham
Germania have a new service to Chambery serving Les 3 Vallées and Tarentaise which tour op Inghams are using.
Crystal are adding Birmingham to Verona for their Italian resorts, and this winter Thomson Airways will offer customers a self-service online account with online ticket and online check-in.
Bristol
Easyjet have a new service to Kittilä serving ski resorts in Lapland.
Dublin
Swiss have launched a new service to Geneva with four flights weekly.
East Midlands
Jet 2 have a new service to Geneva being used by Inghams to access all of their Swiss and most French destinations (except Alpe d’Huez and Les Deux Alpes).
Luton
Ryanair are launching a new service to Verona in Italy, great for reaching ski areas in the Dolomites, and Crystal have a new Zurich route for their Swiss resorts.
Manchester
There’s a new service to Kuusamo for ski areas in Lapland, Finland, with Crystal.
Southend
Easyjet are launching a new service to Lyon on 12 December operating on Saturdays and in winter only.
New Gatwick and Heathrow Routes
British Airways have a new service from Heathrow to Salzburg to reach resorts like Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Obertauern, Filzmoos and others. For anyone fancying a bit of Icelandic skiing at areas like Bláfjöll, there’s also a new BA service launching to capital Reykjavik, 25km from the slopes. Crystal have a new route from Heathrow to Toulouse for resorts in Andorra.
From Gatwick BA are serving Friedrichshafen in southern Germany for quicker access to the Arlberg region in Austria, and there’s an extra flight to Innsbruck with Austrian Airlines.
Peak Dates
Inghams say they’re adding extra capacity on 26 December for New Year week flights to France from Birmingham, Bournemouth, Glasgow, Luton and Leeds Bradford, at February half-term dates for departures on 6 Feb to France from Stansted, Birmingham, East Midlands, Manchester, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle and Edinburgh, and on 13 Feb to Austria from Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Leeds Bradford and Edinburgh.
