Aer Lingus resumed direct flights from Shannon Airport to Boston Logan International and New York JFK this week, after two years of suspended service due to pandemic. This effort represented the resumption of connectivity from the Irish city to the United States' Northeast after a two-year hiatus.
Back in the game
We announced at the beginning of the year that Aer Lingus planned a record number of flights to North America this summer. It was planning 7,782 flights to the United States and Canada. This percentage is up 10.9 % from the previous summer. There will be a total of 14 direct transatlantic services. The Airbus A321LR, in particular, will play a crucial role on routes from Dublin, Shannon, and Manchester.
Aer Lingus is eager to meet the high demand for North American flights. Following the recession, it first catered to the VFR sector, but is now anticipating an upswing in tourism in the coming months. It offered fares as low as €169 one way to various North American destinations in late 2021.
Flight EL135 took off from Shannon at 13:37 on March 10th, arriving in Boston at 20:10, 6.5 hours later. The next day, Flight EI111 departed for New York at 12:55 a.m., arriving at 15:00 a.m., rolling out a new daily service.
High Demand
In a statement, Aer Lingus' Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Donal Moriarty, said the following regarding the service, “We are delighted to resume our transatlantic routes from Shannon to Boston and New York, restoring regional connectivity to the mid-west of Ireland and allowing Aer Lingus to unite friends, families, and businesses once more. This summer we will be operating our largest transatlantic seat capacity from Shannon in 17 years. Aer Lingus customers will avail of a more innovative and sustainable travel experience as they travel across the Atlantic in our two A321LR neo which will operate from Shannon airport and our unique warm Aer Lingus welcome.”
Aer Lingus passengers flying over the Atlantic Ocean will receive complimentary food and beverages, as well as hours of in-flight entertainment and cabin WiFi, according to Moriarty. They can also take advantage of US customs pre-clearance before leaving Shannon.
