Why do you always assume that everyone wants to fly from a London airport?

Several readers have asked me this. No excuse, I'm afraid. None at all, particularly given that rail travel is so difficult. Hold on. I'm trying to make amends this week. Avro, which launched its website last week, specialises in flights from regional airports to the Mediterranean.

Charter flights?

Yes, but they claim that the majority of departures are during the day. Flights leave from Leeds Bradford, Newcastle, East Midlands. Glasgow, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol for the Canaries, southern Spain, Greece, Crete and Mallorca. Most use Monarch Airlines.

In other words, it's aimed at filling the seats that package tour operators haven't sold?

Yes, but that's why charters are cheap. Avro also specialises in one-way (or "open-jaw" ) flights, which are useful if you plan to tour Spain or the Greek islands. The site is certainly slick, but the booking section was rather slow when I visited; newly-launched sites sometimes are, and it may well improve.

What about city flights?

Athens is the only choice. However, Go is about to open a new hub in Bristol, which will mean cheaper journeys to Barcelona and Rome for passengers from the south-west.