Passengers from Manchester Airport will soon be flying direct to Houston Texas for the first time.



Singapore Airlines has today announced the incredible new US destination, along with a plan to make its Manchester-Singapore route non-stop without the current landing in Munich.



The Houston route, starting on October 30, will be the only one outside London and Singapore Airline's first transatlantic service.



Running five times weekly, eastbound Manchester-Singapore flights will operate every day except Tuesday and Friday.

Westbound Singapore-Manchester services will run all but Monday and Thursday.



The launch follows a growing trend of US flights, with more than 2m seats on flights headed stateside to be available from Manchester by 2017.



Ken O'Toole , CEO of Manchester Airport , said: "This service will open up a whole new part of America to business and leisure passengers across the North.



"It underlines the role Manchester Airport is playing in connecting the North with its most important business and tourism markets.



"This year marks 30 years of Singapore airlines flying from Manchester and it is our longest serving Long haul carrier, so we are particularly pleased to be chosen for its first ever UK transatlantic service.



"It is one of the world's premier airlines and it is great to know passengers using this new route will receive some of the best service levels in the market."



Houston is a laid-back city with a flip side of high-culture and business.



With an economy built on oil and gas, this is a business destination as well as a tourism hot spot, particularly as many north west firms already have bases there.



Among them is Carl Emery who runs Harris & Howard bespoke tailors in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, and counts many of the North West's leading business figures as his clients.



He picked the Texas city as the location for his first overseas office - and in doing so joined a growing contingent.





Carl said: "Houston was the logical first location for our international expansion plan because of the high concentration of North West businesses with bases there, such as Oliver Valves and Morson.



"We first went in 2013 and now have more than 300 clients there. This direct flight service will save my business lots of time and money every month and no doubt the same can be said of our many North West-based clients who make several flights there each week but currently have to travel indirectly.



"The fact Manchester has been chosen as the location for the airline's first transatlantic service is just as much a sign of the strength of the region's business community as it is anything else."



Ranking behind Chicago as the nation’s fourth most populated city, Houston's sprawling nature belies that fact.



There’s the leafy Museum District, Upper Kirby and River Oaks for shopping and eating, Montrose with its bungalows, quirky shops and restaurants, and Midtown where cranes are building condos at a rate of knots.



For nightlife, there’s Washington Avenue and the famous Heights and within driving distance are NASA’s Space Center Houston in Clear Lake.



Flight SQ52 will leave Singapore at 2.35am and arrive in Manchester at 9am. Following a brief stopover, the service will depart Manchester again at 10.15am before arriving in Houston at 2.35pm.



The return service, SQ51, will depart Houston at 7.15pm and arrive in Manchester at 10.05am the next day. The flight will then take off from 11.35am and touch back down in Singapore at 8.20am the next day.



Sheldon Hee, General Manager UK and Ireland, Singapore Airlines, said: " The new Manchester-Houston flights represent Singapore Airlines' first ever transatlantic flights departing the UK and a huge milestone in our 45 year history flying from this market.

With this new route to the United States and our long-standing Manchester-Singapore route becoming non-stop, we are very excited to be able to welcome even more customers to experience flying with Singapore Airlines in the weeks, months and years ahead".