The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
THE launch this Wednesday of the Aer Lingus daily year-round service from Shannon to Boston is a major boost for the West of Ireland.
The service is one of the key aspects of Aer Lingus’ renewed commitment to the independent Shannon Airport this year, with the airline also set to operate a six-times weekly, year-round JFK New York service from March 30th.
In addition, Aer Lingus will also commence a new Malaga service at the end of April and, through its partner Aer Arann, under the Aer Lingus Regional service will also operate a new Bristol route this summer as well as almost double capacity on Manchester and Birmingham services.
The increased transatlantic services will build on the strong momentum achieved last year when passenger numbers on US services at Shannon, in the airport’s first year as an independent entity, grew steadily, with the latter half of the year showing a 22% rise on the same period in 2012.
The enhanced Boston and New York services will see Aer Lingus this year operate 13 weekly transatlantic flights compared to seven last year, a 24% increase in capacity. Passengers on US services from Shannon have the added bonus of pre-clearing US customs, immigration and agriculture on the Irish side, saving them considerable time on arrival in the US. Shannon, in 2009, became the first airport outside the North Americas to have US pre-clearance.
Shannon Airport chair, Rose Hynes said it is a strong vote of confidence in the airport and wider region. “We have a transatlantic catchment at Shannon that goes from Cork right up to the North-West. Within that region there is very significant demand for both business and tourism connections into both Boston and New York.
“This is the first time since 2009 that Aer Lingus will have operated year-round daily services from Shannon, which is a further reflection of the growth path that the airport is now on.”
Today’s Boston flight was another first at Shannon as it marked Aer Lingus’ inaugural commercial transatlantic flight with the Boeing B757 aircraft. The airline will base two 757s at Shannon, replacing a single Airbus A330.
