Aer Lingus has announced the expansion of its North American and Dublin Hub strategy as it commences its first new transatlantic route since 2019.

The launch of its new Cleveland service last Friday, operating four-times weekly, will serve Cleveland – Ireland business, investment and tourism connections. 

Longhaul Strategy

With no direct flights between Europe and Ohio’s second largest city, the new route is also a new gateway between Europe and North America, continuing Aer Lingus’ strategy of growing its position as a transatlantic connecting carrier between Ireland, Europe and North America.

The airline’s longhaul strategy is also focused on connecting Europe to North America and vice versa due to Ireland’s unique geographic position, along with the advantage of customers being able to clear US Customs and Immigration in Dublin and Shannon airports, removing the requirement to be cleared upon arrival stateside.

Peak Summer Season

Aer Lingus’ North American routes include Washington which is seeing a jump in bookings of 40% versus 2019 and now operates double daily from Dublin, along with Orlando, Florida with 35% more bookings which is largely resulting from increased demand from UK and European passengers connecting from Dublin.

This summer Aer Lingus’ transatlantic bookings are up more than 20% on 2019 and Cleveland flights are already off to a very strong start with more than 90% of seats booked across peak summer season.

'Dublin Hub Commitment'

“The addition of the new Cleveland route is a further demonstration of Aer Lingus’ commitment to develop Dublin as a hub, a key part of the airline’s growth strategy," said Lynne Embleton, CEO at Aer Lingus.

"At Aer Lingus we are seeing a 20% increase in transatlantic bookings, a strong indicator of the demand amongst US passengers for travel to Ireland and Europe. which is being met by our largest ever transatlantic schedule, delivering over 2.25 million seats this summer."

Source: www.businessworld.ie