UK-US flights will reach record levels next summer

Intense competition at Gatwick, Manchester and Reykjavik

Transatlantic travellers in the summer of 2017 will have more choice than ever before, as airlines increase services between the UK and US.

From its thriving long-haul base in Manchester, Thomas Cook Airlines will be flying to San Francisco twice a week from 14 May.

The Manchester-Los Angeles link increases from twice to three times weekly, and there are also frequency rises to New York JFK and Boston.

Virgin Atlantic is launching a daily Manchester-New York link in March, but that is simply to replace the existing service on the route from its partner, Delta.

Delta is launching the first non-stop from the UK to Portland, with a daily flight from May.

Portland is also seeing more flights from Iceland, as Icelandair continues its relentless expansion from its hub in Reykjavik.

The airline is introducing new links to Philadelphia and Tampa. Its associate, Air Iceland, is introducing flights from Belfast to the Icelandic airport.

Icelandic rival Wow Air is hitting back with daily flights from late March to both San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The toughest competition, though, is from Gatwick. Norwegian, the low-cost transatlantic airline, is stepping up its air wars with British Airways.

The Oslo-based carrier is launching a second daily service from Gatwick to New York JFK on 10 August next year, with a 6am out/noon back rotation.

BA will be flying from Gatwick to two US secondary airports which it has never expressed any interest in before: Fort Lauderdale and Oakland.

Norwegian has hit back by increasing frequencies to both, and for good measure adding an extra flight to Orlando, up against both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.