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Chairman Noel Hayes said “Normally the first half of January is the key period for the travel industry with people booking their summer holiday flights. This year the severe weather disruptions have meant that not only did travel in January decline sharply, but many people also delayed booking their summer holiday flights. Passenger numbers for travel to the Isle of Man in January are expected to show a decline of around 9 per cent on a like for like basis and forward bookings were down by a similar figure.
“I am delighted to see the resurgence in bookings in the last two weeks, with last week being our best week ever! We have seen strong growth particularly on our Newcastle and Blackpool routes. At Blackpool the unique offer of two weeks free parking and free executive lounge access for all our passengers seems to have caught the imagination of cost conscious visitors. I hope this also points to a good year ahead for the Isle of Man economy. The very slow start to the year was a concern but it now looks as though the snow and ice simply caused visitors to delay their holiday planning, rather than defer it altogether. ”
The news comes following Manx2.com’s record-breaking year in 2009 by carrying more than 100,000 passengers.
The company employs 60 staff and has a fleet of seven aircraft providing up to 30 flights a day to the Isle of Man. Its customer services, reservations and operations departments are all based in the new hangar facility at Ronaldsway Airport.
Manx2.com is proud to be a small Isle of Man based company carrying 100,000 passengers a year between the Isle of Man and Blackpool, Belfast, Leeds Bradford, East Midlands, Newcastle, Gloucester and Jersey. It has recently been voted the Island’s best small company for the second time in three years at the annual IOM Newspapers Excellence Awards.
