Thomsonfly puts summer 2006 flights on sale

08.12.2005 High frequency, low fares airline Thomsonfly.com will operate flights from Coventry to Salzburg to coincide with the celebrations planned in the city to mark the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.

This will be the first time that it has been possible to fly from the Midlands to Salzburg outside of the ski season - flights go on sale today from £22.99 one way including taxes and charges. Thomsonfly will operate three flights each week to the Austrian city. Thomsonfly.com operated flights to Salzburg from Coventry last winter for skiers snowboarders and city breaks, however the route was not flown through the summer months, the airline has just started flying to the city again for the winter based on the success of last year and obvious demand.

In addition to the Salzburg flights, today also sees flights to Amsterdam, Jersey and Paris for next summer. Holidaymakers can visit the world-class museums and galleries, cosy pubs and pretty tree-lined canals of Amsterdam with 6 flights a week, prices are from only £19.99 one way incl taxes & charges. Flights to Paris operate daily from £19.99 one way incl taxes & charges, so discover the city of love and why not visit its gorgeous galleries and chic boutiques. Take advantage of Jersey’s tax free shopping and enjoy the warm sunshine with 5 flights a week from only £19.99 one way incl taxes & charges. These are in addition the flights, which are already on sale to Barcelona, Faro, Valencia and Pisa.

Maria Heckel, marketing director of Thomsonfly.com, said, "Salzburg is a great city for a short break or a longer stay combining the city with the beautiful surrounding areas of lakes and land. It’s a wonderful place to visit anytime of the year, but 2006 will be a special year in the city’s history, so we are delighted to be able to offer people of the Midlands the opportunity to experience Salzburg at its best."

To mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart, Salzburg will host the biggest celebration in the city's history with a variety of events throughout 2006. Highlights for the summer include the Salzburg Festival which will take place between 23 July and 31 August 2006 staging all 22 of Mozart's operas, singspiele and scenic fragments. Visitors can also enjoy the five o’clock concerts taking place in the centre of Salzburg or visit the Cathedral Museum where a special exhibition titled “Between Heaven and Earth” - Mozart’s Sacred Music will be running from April to October 2006.

In addition to the Mozart festivities, Salzburg is an ideal city break destination with its romantic narrow lanes, beautiful Baroque heritage, striking castle and beautiful gardens which intermingle with classy bars and chic eateries.

Still attracting visitors who were enchanted by the film 'Sound of Music' there is a special tour that visits the key sights from the film, both within the city and in the surrounding mountains. There are rumours of an Andrew Lloyd-Webber remake of the film with Cameron Diaz playing Maria, so visitors may even bump into Hollywood stars.

Those wanting to venture further than city should head the short distance to Austria's alpine region - Tyrol. For summer skiing people can head for the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier which is close to the lakeside resort of Zell am See. The temperatures in the summer months average the late 60s and 70s (degrees Fahrenheit) so a dip in one of the surrounding lakes may be needed to cool down. The lakes provide the opportunity to scuba dive, water-ski, windsurf, kayak and sailing and the area also has facilities for horse-riding, tennis, golf, white water rafting and even take yodelling lessons.

From March 2006 Thomsonfly.com will be offering high frequency flights from 11 UK airports. The airline currently operates from Bournemouth Coventry and Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield and new bases for 2006 are Manchester, key London airports Gatwick and Luton also Birmingham, Cardiff, Newcastle, Nottingham East Midlands and Glasgow.

A great selection of hotels can be booked on the Travel extras section, which also enables customers to book villas, car hire and foreign exchange online, at the same time as purchasing flights.