“Today is a great day for the West of Ireland economy,” Mary Considine, CEO of Shannon Group, the parent company of Shannon Airport, said in a statement today.
“It is great to get these strategic routes back which support thousands of jobs across the tourism and industry sectors. Shannon to JFK and Boston are key services so to see Aer Lingus recommence these routes next year is hugely positive.
“These are essential routes not just from an inbound and outbound tourism viewpoint, but they are critical also from a business travel perspective. Over 40% of US FDI companies are located within Shannon Airport’s catchment and these services very much underpin that investment,” she said.
The announcement of the return of direct Aer Lingus flights from New York and Boston to Shannon Airport comes just over a month after United Airlines confirmed it would be resuming its direct service from Newark to Shannon.
Considine also welcomed the airline’s continuation of the vital Heathrow service: “We are delighted to have the Heathrow service back here already and its continuation is very important to Shannon Airport and the wider region. This is an essential strategic route that provides vital hub connectivity for our entire region.”
She added: “It’s still early days in our recovery but we are very encouraged by the response of our airline partners, including Aer Lingus today. This is a very significant statement regarding the importance of the Shannon market on key international routes and a most welcome and timely commitment as we continue our COVID recovery.
“We have no doubt that these flights will be hugely supported from across the region and we look forward to working closely with Aer Lingus to ensure the success of their services.”
Considine said that as challenging as the pandemic was for the airport and its staff, the time was spent wisely with the introduction of improvements across the Shannon campus that will ensure an enhanced customer experience in recovery.
“Our new airport security screening system, for example, will ensure a quick, smoother and easier experience for our passengers, halving the time they spend in this area. This, along with our combined USA TSA and Europe security screening, gives Shannon a unique edge over other airports internationally and lives up to our brand promise to make our airport experience even easier,” says Considine
Aer Lingus 2022 Summer Schedule announced
The Aer Lingus 2022 Summer Schedule includes 16 transatlantic routes and 71 routes in total.
Anticipating strong customer demand for travel to/from North America following 18 months of travel restrictions, direct flights are available to favourite destinations such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington, Seattle, and Philadelphia.
Aer Lingus is also delighted to support the return of US College Football to the Aviva Stadium in August 2022, welcoming the teams and supporters of the Northwestern Wildcats and the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
Due to popular demand, Aer Lingus has extended its market-leading ‘Book with Confidence’ policy which allows all customers traveling with the airline to change their travel dates free of charge*, and as many times as they wish, up to seven days before they travel. The flexible booking policy is available on all bookings up until September 30, 2022.
Speaking about the new Summer 2022 schedule, Reid Moody, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer said: “This is an ambitious schedule for Summer 2022 and an important step for the airline, and the country, as we reconnect Ireland to the world. We know from our customer research that Irish people are very keen to get back flying, and we certainly are looking forward to welcoming them on board again.
“Month by month, we can see more and more people taking to the skies again. We’re confident that the demand is there for travel next year, and that is reflected in our announcement today.
“We can assure everyone that we continue to deploy all of our health and safety measures from check-in through to boarding, and on-board the aircraft. We are also delighted to announce the extension of our market-leading book with confidence policy, giving customers the option to change flights for free* up to seven days before they fly.”
To book a Summer 2022 break with Aer Lingus, and for more information, you can visit AerLingus.com.
