AA touches down at Stansted

American Airlines (AA) landed at Stansted Airport today to mark the beginning of a new service between the south-east hub and New York JFK airport.

Hollywood actor Christian Slater cut the ribbon at Stansted to mark the opening of the new route, which will run on a daily basis from October 29th.

Stewart Wingate, managing director of the airport, described AA as a "world-renowned airline" and said its arrival was "fantastic news" for Stansted Airport.

He added: "Today marks the start of a long-awaited economy and business link direct to the United States that not only gives our business and leisure passengers direct access to American's hub at JFK, but also brings inbound tourism and business opportunities direct to the doorstep of the east of England."

Maria Sebastian, AA's vice-president of sales and marketing for Europe, said the airline was "thrilled" to begin flying from Stansted to New York and claimed that customers will be offered a comprehensive schedule at competitive prices.

The American Airlines route is not the only new launch from Stansted today, as Eastern Airways has also commenced a link to Manchester, while Ryanair has begun flying to Billund in Denmark and TACV has commenced services to Cape Verde.