Aer Lingus extends its transatlantic reach

Aer Lingus’s American network has gained another key route. The airline has revealed that their newest connection from their Dublin hub into the United States will be Miami, beginning service in September 2017 operating three times a week on Airbus A330 aircraft.

The carrier appear to be firmly focussed on their American expansion, with a strong dedication to growth in the region. The Miami route was announced as part of the Irish carrier’s summer schedule for 2017 which highlights their long-haul expansion plans.

Frequencies are being increased across the Aer Lingus American offering next summer. The carrier’s Orlando link will increase to four times a week, whilst the summer schedule sees the Chicago connection in service twice daily.

This year alone, Aer Lingus has added a further three transatlantic routes from their Dublin hub. Passengers now have the added choice of flying to Los Angeles; Newark, New Jersey and Hartford, Connecticut. Los Angeles to Dublin will operate on a daily basis during the peak summer months as revealed today.

In September, the airline welcomed their one millionth transatlantic passenger, confirming their largest ever transatlantic expansion. Speaking on the milestone, Aer Lingus’s chief operating officer Mike Rutter said: “We are thrilled to welcome the millionth guest on board an Aer Lingus transatlantic flight in 2016. This is a significant moment in the airline’s history which comes after a busy year in which we have announced a number of exciting new transatlantic routes.

“We are committed to expanding our Dublin Airport base into a major European transatlantic gateway and look forward to welcoming the next million guests on board Aer Lingus flights.”

Luckily for Dublin Airport, expanding services to the United States is logical due to their offering of Preclearance facilities. Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport are the only two airports in the European continent to offer this service for passengers, which means those travelling to the States have all of the necessary immigration checks completed prior to departure.

Vincent Harrison, managing director, Dublin Airport said: “We have been growing our transatlantic traffic strongly at Dublin Airport with 67 percent growth between 2010 and 2015 and we have already surpassed last year’s total number of transatlantic passengers. The addition of Miami next summer means that 17 new transatlantic routes have been launched at Dublin Airport since 2011.”

Aer Lingus chief executive Stephen Kavanagh added: “We are delighted to announce the further expansion of our transatlantic network with the addition of Dublin to Miami and increased frequency to Los Angeles, Orlando and Chicago improving connectivity to North America.”

Away from the States, the carrier will offer a four times weekly service to Porto, Portugal and a twice weekly service to Split, Croatia as part of their summer schedule.

Laura Hamill

Originally from Belfast, Laura graduated from De Montfort University, Leicester with a BA Hons English and Journalism degree in 2014. She has…