BRITISH CAN´T GET ENOUGH OF MAJORCA

By Humphrey Carter THERE appears to be no let up in demand for flights to the Balearics from Britain. No-frills airline easyJet yesterday unveiled its new Newcastle to Palma route which is due to come into service on May 17. Newcastle will become the sixth British airport out of which Europe's largest no-frills carrier operates daily flights to Palma. The others being Bristol, Liverpool, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted and, in total, easyJet operates 79 flights between Britain and Palma each week. The launch of the Newcastle/Palma route is just the start of easyJet's expansion plans for 2004. The airline said yesterday that the arrival of nine new aircraft in the Spring means that the no-frills carrier will be increasing frequencies and introducing more new routes through Europe. Coinciding with the launch of the new service to Palma, the airline will also be taking off from Paris to Berlin and Paris to Naples. The new Newcastle route to Palma is further evidence of the airline's commitment to Majorca as its main destination and its plans to expand operations in Spain. At present the airline operates around 400 flights per week on its 37 Spanish routes, carrying some five million passengers per year. As Europe's largest no-frills carrier with a fleet of 74 aircraft, it flies to 39 European airports, operates 500 flights per day on its 128 routes and carries 20.6 million passengers per year.