Airline continues its growth path with double digit growth in transatlantic capacity for 5th consecutive year
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Largest ever transatlantic schedule with 177,000 additional seats to North America
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Philadelphia to Dublin - new US route for Summer 2018
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575 additional transatlantic flights versus previous summer
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Double daily services from US West Coast – San Francisco and Los Angeles
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Twice daily service from Chicago
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8 Airbus A321 Long Range aircraft to provide further North Atlantic growth
Aer Lingus today announced its 2018 Dublin Summer Schedule which features a brand new North American gateway – Philadelphia - operating four times per week direct to Dublin. The latest route expansion comes on the back of IAG investment in new aircraft, with Aer Lingus taking delivery of four new long haul aircraft in the last 24 months, enabling the introduction of four new transatlantic routes; Los Angeles, Newark, Hartford, Miami and now Philadelphia.
Largest ever transatlantic network
Summer 2018 will mark the airline’s largest ever long haul program with 177,000 additional seats across the Atlantic over the summer season. Aer Lingus’ total capacity to and from North America for 2018 will reach 2.75 million seats. Additional transatlantic expansion includes a daily service from both San Francisco and Los Angeles on the US West Coast as well as twice daily flights from Chicago.
Miami, which was launched as a new route in late summer 2017 and subsequently as a new winter route, will continue into next summer operating three times per week. Miami combined with Orlando, operating four times weekly, will offer a direct connection from Florida to Ireland every day for summer 2018. Washington DC will continue to operate daily for summer but on a larger Airbus A330-300 series aircraft, for four out of seven days, providing 31% additional seats on the route.
Aer Lingus Delivers on North Atlantic Gateway Strategy
Aer Lingus continues to drive its strategy of expanding its Dublin Airport base into a major gateway to Europe. For visitors traveling from Philadelphia next summer, Aer Lingus offers seamless connections to 21 key European destinations via Dublin. Equally the convenience of U.S Customs and Border Protection services at Dublin make it an attractive proposition upon the return from Europe. On the strength of its connectivity to North America, Dublin Airport holds fifth position on the league table of European transatlantic airports in 2016, having jumped from eleventh position in 2010. Aer Lingus has ambitious growth targets for its transatlantic gateway and will add eight Airbus A321 Long Range aircraft to its fleet in 2019 and 2020 to support further transatlantic route launches in the coming years.