Low cost airline Buzz today announced the addition of nine routes from Stansted to France as part of its summer 2002 schedule, increasing the airline's French portfolio from 6 to 15.

The new routes, set to open on March 31, include a twice-daily service to Rouen and daily services to Brest, Caen, Dijon, Bergerac, Grenoble, Limoges, Toulon-St Tropez and Tours. Buzz already flies to Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Marseilles, Paris, Poitiers and Toulouse.

Adam Harris, UK head of sales and marketing at Buzz, said 'Our new routes will capitalise on the continuing popularity of France as a leisure destination.' The country is still the number one European destination for British holidaymakers: last year alone 12m Britons visited France.

2002 will also see Buzz become the first low cost airline to offer domestic services within a mainland European country, with four new routes in France (Brest-Marseilles, Bordeaux-Grenoble, Bordeaux-Toulon and Toulouse-Grenoble).

In order to support a domestic French service and expanded portfolio of routes, however, Buzz has been forced to withdraw Helsinki and Milan from its summer 2002 schedules. Lyons St-Exupery airport will also be replaced by Grenoble Saint-Geoirs.

Today's news follows the company's recent announcement of a 15% increase in passenger bookings for November 2001 compared with the same period last year and a fare restructure which saw fares reduced by up to 45%. Buzz also reports a 9% increase in bookings for December 2001 compared to the same period last year.

The summer 2002 schedule will see Buzz fly to Bergerac, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brest, Caen, Dijon, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Gerona, Grenoble, Jerez, La Rochelle, Limoges, Marseilles, Murcia, Paris, Poitiers, Rouen, Toulon-St Tropez, Toulouse and Tours.