Under its ‘Next Generation Airline of Switzerland’ development strategy, Swiss International Air Lines has outlined plans to further expand its offering from Western Switzerland with the launch this summer of a new non-stop service between Geneva and Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland. The new route will operate on a four times weekly schedule from June 26, 2015 and will be flown using a 150-seat Airbus A320.

The new route will bring the Swiss network from Geneva to 42 non-stop destinations and will strengthen the carrier’s activities in the competitive intra-European market where low-fare competition is having a significant impact on operations.

“In opening our new route between Dublin and Geneva, we are responding to a clear demand on the part of both our leisure and our business customers,” said Felix Rodel, Director for UK and Ireland, Swiss. The carrier already operates a year-round service between Zurich and Dublin with up to nine flights per week during the peak summer season.

This new year-round service to Geneva will provide additional choice and flexibility or passengers travelling between Ireland and Switzerland and will continue a growth in air links into the Irish capital hub from members of the Star Alliance airline grouping.

The Swiss service is the twentieth new route to be announced for Dublin Airport this year and will complement the growth from five other Star Alliance carriers at Dublin in summer 2015, Daragh Hanratty, airline business development manager, Dublin Airport, told Routesonline on the sidelines of the official welcome reception at this year’s Routes Asia in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.

“We have seen good positive news from Star Alliance partners for summer 2015 with a commitment for growth from Dublin Airport. Ethiopian Airlines will be bringing the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the airport for its first scheduled deployment with flights between Addis Ababa and Los Angeles, via Dublin, launching on June 20, 2015,” he said.

“We also revealed shortly after Routes Americas that Air Canada Rouge is increasing frequency from Toronto in peak summer from seven to eleven rotations per week, while United Airlines is adding a summer link to Chicago, complementing existing flights to Newark and Washington. We will also see an additional rotation from Lufthansa to Munich, flying daily, and SAS is introducing Gothenburg to a Dublin network that already comprises Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm,” he added.