Monarch Airlines Launch New Flights to Croatia and Crete

LONDON, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Leading scheduled leisure airline, Monarch, will launch new routes to 'The Pearl of the Adriatic', Dubrovnik, in Croatia and Heraklion in Crete. The flights will operate from Birmingham and London Gatwick airports from 1^st May 2012 with fares, including taxes, starting from £29 one way (£72 return).

Flights to Dubrovnik will operate three times a week from London Gatwick airport and two times a week from Birmingham. Flights to Crete airport Heraklion will operate two times a week from both London Gatwick and Birmingham airports.

The new routes are a continuation of Monarch's expansion strategy revealed last year to focus on its scheduled services and expand its network to new leisure destinations across Europe.

Kevin George, Managing Director of Monarch Airlines comments: "We are delighted to add both Croatia and Crete to our already extensive scheduled network of leisure destinations. The addition of these new routes further reinforces our expansion strategy and our position as the leading leisure-focused airline serving the Mediterranean and the Canaries."

He continues: "Dubrovnik is an extremely popular tourist destination with over a million holidaymakers visiting last year and Crete has always been a staple beach holiday favourite; we are therefore confident that our product offering is perfectly placed for the Croatian and Greek leisure market."

Notes to Editors:

Monarch, the scheduled European leisure airline, operates flights to Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Portugal Spain and Turkey from Birmingham, London Gatwick, London Luton and Manchester airports. In addition to year-round low fares, Monarch also offers a bespoke "build your own class of travel" range of products and services both on the ground and inflight.  All customers are allocated a seat at check-in but for those wishing to select where in the cabin they sit to ensure that families and groups are seated together, seats can be pre-booked from £5.99 per one-way flight.  For customers looking for added comfort, extra legroom seats are also available offering up to six inches of extra space from only £9.99.

Monarch recently launched 'Air Packs' enabling customers to build their own flights through transparent and pre-packaged optional extras, starting from just £20 per person per flight. The two new Air Packs are offered alongside the airline's traditional "build your own class" product and are designed to give customers full visibility on price from the beginning of the booking process. Customers will be able to choose between two Monarch Air Packs; an Essentials Pack and a Premium Pack, combining extras such as allocated seating, hold baggage and access to online check-in.

For further information or to book Monarch flights please visit http://www.monarch.co.uk.

For further media information contact Charlotte Hawley in the press office, tel: +44(0)1582-398-241, email: charlotte.hawley@monarch.co.uk.