Bosses at Norwich International Airport said the launch of extra services to Manchester were part of a new blueprint of sustainable growth aimed at tapping into the business market.

Yesterday saw the start of three daily flights to Manchester from Norwich as part of a partnership with Flybe and its franchise partner Loganair as part of a strategy which will see capacity reduced from 156 to 93 but a greater frequency of flights.

Instead of travelling on a 78-seater flight twice a day, passengers will fly on board a dedicated 31-seat Dornier 328 turboprop aircraft, which will be based at Norwich and operated by Suckling Airways, part of Loganair, in a move which has also seen the creation of 15 jobs for pilots, cabin crew, and engineering staff.

There are weekday departures from Norwich at 7am, 3.05pm and 6.20pm, with return flights leaving Manchester at 8.55am, 4.45pm and 7.50pm. Evening flights in each direction also operate on Sundays with fares starting from �49.99 one way including taxes and charges. From March 25 the plane will also fly daily to Exeter, while a weekly service to the Isle of Man will also be introduced the next day. Flybe is also launching a direct service to Newquay from May 5.

Andrew Bell, chief executive of Norwich International Airport, said the new service was part of a model for high frequency low volume services, which if successful could be extended to other UK or near European destinations. The airport is also looking to see if it can secure routes to holiday destinations, such as Spain and Portugal, based on its traditional charter model.

'My objective has to be based on getting a sustainable route network,' Mr Bell. 'I started at a time when the market had contracted and my focus is on the long term, finding out what people want, but also providing the right frequency. Routes like Manchester, Exeter and the Isle of Man have the right frequency but lower volume. There's no point having 180 seats flying backwards and forwards as you won't fill it.

'That doesn't preclude opening up routes to mainland Spain and Portugal, but we need to find the right operator. All of these things are not off the agenda, but they are being sought in parallel to this.'

Jerry Froggett, commercial director at Suckling Airways, said the first extra Manchester flight was two-thirds full and numbers were building strongly.

'It doesn't seem like a huge increase, but in reality the idea is that it's offering business people a choice of departure times,' he added.

'Passengers from Norwich will be able to 'hub' through Manchester, which opens up other destinations such as Glasgow, making it possible to do a day return.

'The route exists primarily for business travellers, but it's accessible to everybody and the fares reflect that.'

shaun.lowthorpe@archant.co.uk