This will be airBaltic's twenty-first direct flight destination in the airline's route network out of Riga, and the second to the UK. Commenting on the decision, airBaltic president Bertolt Flick says, "Manchester is an important UK centre of trade that has experienced a rapid regeneration over the past few years, and it is also an attractive tourist destination. airBaltic is offering very competitive prices for its flights to Manchester, with air fares a third lower than bus fares. Furthermore, the sufficiently large passenger flow on airBaltic's flights between Riga and London is an encouraging indication that flights to Manchester will also be in demand and therefore commercially successful for our airline." Initially airBaltic will operate three flights a week to Manchester, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tickets on this route will be sold under a one-way pricing structure, with ticket prices starting from 49 lats (including airport charges) one-way. As with our direct flights from Riga to Milan and Cologne, airBaltic is the first and only airline offering regular direct flights between Riga and Manchester. airBaltic will operate the Manchester flights with a 120-seater Boeing 737 aircraft and the flight will take just under 3 hours.