Virgin Atlantic has struck a codeshare deal with regional carrier Flybe, giving north-east travellers easier access to Sir Richard Branson’s airline.
Until now, people from this region have had to get to Glasgow, Manchester or London to take advantage of Virgin’s flights and holidays to locations including Orlando in Florida.
Connecting to Virgin departures from Manchester or London Gatwick has meant reclaiming baggage from the domestic flight before checking it in again at either of the English airports.
But from Saturday, passengers travelling to Manchester with Flybe and then flying on to any one of seven destinations served by Virgin from that airport can check themselves and their luggage through all the way.
As well as Orlando, the codeshare applies from Aberdeen to Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, New York and San Francisco in the US as well as Barbados.
Boston and San Francisco are two new Virgin routes from Manchester.
Erik Varwijk, executive vice-president of commercial, Virgin Atlantic, said: “Our partnership with Flybe offers us a fantastic opportunity to reach customers looking to travel long-haul from key cities throughout the UK and Europe.”
Flybe chief revenue officer Vincent Hodder added: “It reinforces our commitment to providing a one stop to the world service, enabling Flybe passengers to make seamless onward connections from their own local regional airport.”