Today, American Airlines, a founding member of the oneworld® alliance, inaugurated its new Summer seasonal nonstop service between Manchester and New York JFK and brought a little flavour of the Big Apple to the Northwest in the process.

Passengers departing on the first flight were treated at the gate to a glass of bubbly while also being entertained and helped into that New York state of mind with the presence of a living Statue of Liberty. A ribbon cutting officially opened the new flight before passengers were given a special commemorative gift in what appeared to complete the celebrations before the flight made its scheduled departure. As part of a final farewell to the special flight, however, a New York taxi then led out the Boeing 757 aircraft from its stand to the runway and to the excitement of all who were watching.

Speaking at Manchester Airport’s Terminal 3 this morning, Graham Bell, Director of Sales UK & Ireland, American Airlines, commented: ““We are delighted to be launching a second daily flight from Manchester to the US. American has been flying between Manchester and the US for nearly 25 years, which serves to demonstrate how committed we are to our Manchester operations and also gives us the distinction of being the airport’s longest continuously serving carrier to the US. We very much appreciate the region’s support which has enabled us to offer this new service and we believe the new service will prove just as popular as our existing Chicago route.”

Andrew Harrison, Commercial Director for Manchester Airport, said: “We are delighted that American have shown their commitment to Manchester by adding the JFK route. They first came to us in 1986 with a daily service to Chicago and have nearly reached their 25th anniversary here. It’s partnerships such as these that have enabled the airport and the region to flourish and we look forward our next 25 years together.”

The new daily flights are operated using an internationally configured Boeing 757 aircraft with 182 seats, including 16 lie-flat Business Class seats and 166 seats in the main cabin. The new flight enables non-stop travel to one of the most popular US cities, as well as increased and more convenient connections to around 40 popular onward destinations across the Americas and Caribbean.

To celebrate the new flight, members of the American Airlines AAdvantage loyalty programme will be able to earn 10,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles for each Business Class roundtrip flown on the route, or 5,000 bonus miles for travel in Economy Class. The number of times the bonus miles can be earned is unlimited, so sit back and watch the miles add up!

To participate in this limited-time offer, passengers simply need to register prior to travel and fly between May 14, 2010 and June 30, 2010 on the new non-stop flight. Registering is easy – just visit www.aa.com/offers, click on Airline offers “View All” to locate the Manchester offer, then use bonus code NYMAN. If you’re not already an AAdvantage member, it’s free and easy to enrol by visiting www.aa.com/enroll.