Categories: Analysis

Aer Lingus Flies To From Shannon To The US For The First Time In 2 Years

Aer Lingus will fly from Dublin to Shannon before taking US-bound flights for the first time in two years. This is a small step towards offering greater deals, since it’s believed that this could be the beginning of a three flight route by 2020.

Aer Lingus has announced that they will be taking off from Shannon Airport for the first time in 2 years. With this, they hope to expand their service and make it easier for people to fly internationally.

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2021, service along this route was halted. Aer Lingus began direct flights from Shannon Airport to New York JFK and Boston Logan International earlier this week. After two years, the effort signified the restoration of connection from the Irish city to the northeast of the United States.

Aer Lingus was said to be planning a record number of flights to North America this summer at the start of the year. It was getting ready to fly 7,782 passengers to the United States and Canada. In comparison to the summer of 2019, this statistic has increased by 10.9 percent. There will be 14 direct transatlantic trips in all. The Airbus A321LR, interestingly, will play a key role on flights from Shannon, Dublin, and Manchester.

Aer Lingus is now eager to meet the high demand for North American activities. Following the slump, it first catered to the VFR sector, but tourism is expected to expand in the following months. The airline announced rates as low as €169 each way to many North American destinations in late 2021. For the time being, the airline’s network consists of:

Washington
Boston
Toronto
Chicago
Seattle
New York
Los Angeles is a city in California.
San Francisco is a city in California.
Philadelphia

On March 10, Flight EL135 departed Shannon at 13:37 and arrived in Boston at 20:10, almost 6.5 hours later. The next day, Flight EI111 departed for New York, arriving at 15:00 after a flight of 12:55 hours. The flight also marked the start of a new daily service.

The reintroduction of these flights has been eagerly anticipated by the airline.

Extremely High Demand

Donal Moriarty, Aer Lingus’ Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, stated in a statement:

“We are delighted to restart our transatlantic services from Shannon to Boston and New York, restoring regional connection to Ireland’s mid-west and enabling Aer Lingus to reconnect friends, families, and companies once again.” This summer, we’ll have the most transatlantic seats available from Shannon in 17 years. Customers who travel across the Atlantic on our two A321LR neo aircraft, which will depart from Shannon Airport, will benefit from a more creative and sustainable travel experience, as well as our signature warm Aer Lingus welcome.”

According to Moriarty’s statement, Aer Lingus would provide unlimited food and beverages, WiFi, and hours of in-flight entertainment in the cabin to passengers flying across the Atlantic Ocean. They may also take advantage of customs pre-clearance in the United States before leaving Shannon.

Industry Appreciation

With such a large Irish diaspora, it’s understandable that Aer Lingus wanted to restore service from Shannon to Boston. However, it is not just Ireland’s national carrier that sees potential in the Northeastern city. United Airlines has began flying to Boston from London Heathrow Airport. Meanwhile, companies like ITA confirmed service to the destination.

When it comes to relaunching flights, Aer Lingus has had a busy month. Belfast City service will be relaunched by Aer Lingus Regional on March 24, with flights to Birmingham. In general, the corporation has had a difficult few years.

Due to national and international constraints, the airline’s operations were disrupted, and its transatlantic operations were severely harmed. As a result, Aer Lingus will be searching for brighter and more attractive possibilities in 2022, owing to the return and expansion of several of its most popular routes.