Virgin Atlantic boosts Manchester-Orlando capacity

Virgin Atlantic has announced it will be offering 30,000 extra return seats to Orlando from Manchester Airport in summer 2014.

To meet high demand for travel to one of Virgin Atlantic’s flagship destinations, Richard Branson’s airline is deploying a Boeing 747 aircraft on all 11 of its weekly flights from the UK’s northern gateway, Manchester Airport - resulting in up to 2,000 extra available seats to and from the Sunshine State every week.

Confirming the enduring popularity of Florida with British holidaymakers, Virgin Atlantic will carry up to 10,000 passengers every week from Manchester Airport next summer, a 25 per cent increase from this year.

The move further confirms Virgin Atlantic’s commitment to expansion in Manchester following the recent launch of its domestic service Little Red, which operates four daily return flights from Manchester Airport to London Heathrow.

Little Red’s services reintroduced competition on the route, which had been served by a single carrier since British Airways’ takeover of bmi.

Edmond Rose, director of airline planning, Virgin Atlantic, commented: “Orlando has always been one of our most popular destinations and across our network we offer nearly 40 return flights a week to Florida.

“We are delighted to see continued high demand for our flights from the North West of England and to meet this demand we have taken the decision to bring a second Boeing 747 jumbo jet onto this route, resulting in a huge increase in the number of seats available for holidaymakers looking for a sunshine break.

“This continues our recent work with Manchester Airport to expand our operations, after we launched our first ever domestic flight from the airport this Easter. We now offer passengers from the city four daily flights to London Heathrow, opening up a host of onward connection opportunities on our worldwide network, with destinations varying from Tokyo to Cape Town, Lagos to Los Angeles.”

The 455 seat jumbo jet will replace a 314 seat Airbus A330 which previously operated seven of Virgin’s 11 weekly flights.

The Boeing 747 aircraft also features Virgin Atlantic’s award winning Upper Class in addition to the Premium Economy and Economy product available on the Airbus, and was recently refitted to include touch screen in-flight entertainment systems, new seats and mood lighting in all cabins.

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Spanish eatery hopes world best restaurant award boosts tourism

By Inmaculada Sanz

MADRID | Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:26pm EDT

MADRID (Reuters) - An avante-garde restaurant run by three brothers in north-east Spain hopes that being crowned the world's best restaurant will boost food tourism in recession-bound Spain.

El Celler de Can Roca in Girona scooped the prestigious prize from Britain's Restaurant magazine on Monday, making Spain's coastal region north of Barcelona the top place in the world to eat once again.

The restaurant ended Danish experimental eatery Noma's three-year run in the No. 1 slot. Noma took the title from Catalan chef Ferran Adria's El Bulli, which is 30 miles from El Celler, and held the crown for four years.

El Celler, which the Roca brothers opened in 1986 and boasts three Michelin stars, favors Catalan ingredients such as fresh seafood and playful presentation, serving caramelized olives on bonsai trees to diners.

Dishes at the avant-garde restaurant include desserts based on perfume ingredients, including Calvin Klein's Eternity, ice cream that tastes like smoke from Cuban cigars, and "Dublin Bay prawns with curry smoke".

"The prize means we can strengthen our brand and in terms of promoting our country it's extremely important," sommelier Josep Roca told radio station Cadena Ser on Tuesday.

"We have to take advantage of this to show off our country, philosophy, way of being, living, eating and in some way use it to our advantage in terms of tourism."

Josep and his brothers Joan and Jordi run the restaurant after learning the trade at their parents' Can Roca restaurant, also in Girona.

Joan, who spent one season under Adria at the now closed El Bulli, is head chef, while Jordi takes care of desserts.

The eatery, which has been ranked among the world's top five restaurants for the last five years, offers two tasting menus featuring over 20 dishes for 135 euros ($180) and 165 euros.

"The Roca brothers have managed to reach an extraordinary level based on dialogue, between the sweet, the savory and wine, in a way no other restaurant in the world has managed," said Adria, who cried when the award was announced on Monday.

Two restaurants in Spain's northern Basque Country, Mugaritz and Arzak, came in at No. 4 and No. 8 on the list, making Spain the world's top ranking gastronomic destination with three of the top 10 slots.

Elena Arzak, named the best chef in the world two years ago, told Reuters she also thought the rankings could help lift Spain's depressed economy.

Tourism is one of the only bright spots in Spain's economy, which has shrunk for seven consecutive quarters with record unemployment of 27 percent.

"Getting on the list has a major international impact because it encourages food tourism and generates excitement among people who like fine dining," Arzak said.

"People come from all over the world ... recently we've been seeing lots of visitors from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Canada. It's like you get to travel all over the world without leaving the restaurant, just talking to the people who come in."

(Writing by Clare Kane, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

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