The new £20m Airbus A320 will service four new routes from Manchester, flying to Corfu, Athens, Dalaman in Turkey and Bastia in Corsica.

Carly Brear, easyjet’s UK commercial manager, said: “The launch of the new aircraft is a sign of the level of support we have had from our customers here since our launch just over a year ago, increasing our routes from an initial five to 12.

“We’ve listened to customer feedback and are confident our four newest routes will be a huge success, continuing to expand the choice for our customers in the North of England.”

Andrew Cornish, managing director for Manchester Airport, added: “easyJet has been an important part of our success over recent times and will continue to be so in the future. The addition of this aircraft to the Manchester fleet highlights the continuing importance that easyJet place on their Manchester operation and their confidence that they have in us, despite the tough economic conditions.

With easyJet's growing fleet at Manchester, this will give our passengers extra frequencies to the ever popular destinations that they serve this Summer.”

The Dalaman, Bastia and Athens flights were due to launch in August, but were brought forward to May due to high demand.

easyJet launched its first routes from Manchester in March last year and already flies to Crete, Malta, Cyprus, Tenerife, Alicante, Geneva, Sofia and Malaga.