Aer Lingus today announced a further expansion of its long haul fleet. An additional Airbus A300-200 will join the fleet in May of next year and will be used to increase capacity on the Dublin to Philadelphia route, which launches in March 2018. The Philadelphia service will initially operate 4 times per week but will quickly expand to a daily service from May 2018.

As well as servicing the Philadelphia service the new A330 aircraft will also service Aer Lingus’ new Seattle route, which was announced on 17th November. The Seattle route will commence in May 2018, when it will operate four times per week.

With the addition of this Airbus A330 the Aer Lingus long haul fleet will be made up of 17 long haul aircraft, servicing 15 transatlantic routes across 13 North American destinations. This 260 seater aircraft represents a significant investment by Aer Lingus in its transatlantic network and is above and beyond the fleet growth that was initially planned for 2018.

Aer Lingus plans to significantly expand its long haul fleet over the next number of years with the acquisition of 8 Airbus A321Neo long-range (LR) aircraft, bringing the long haul fleet total to 24 by 2020. Aer Lingus looks forward to on-going development of hub infrastructure at Dublin Airport which will be required at Dublin Airport to accommodate the planned A321Neo LR expansion.

Ambitious long haul growth is an integral element of Aer Lingus’ strategy of expanding its Dublin Airport base into a major European transatlantic gateway. While traditionally Aer Lingus connected Irish residents to North America, today more than a third of Aer Lingus transatlantic guests begin their journey in the UK or mainland Europe and use Aer Lingus’ Dublin base as their transatlantic gateway.

The convenience of U.S Customs and Border Protection services at Dublin has enhanced the continued growth of Aer Lingus’ Dublin operation as a connecting gateway. According to the 2016 league table Dublin Airport is the fifth largest airport in Europe for North American connectivity having jumped from eleventh position in 2010. 

Stephen Kavanagh, Aer Lingus CEO commented:

“This announcement of further long haul fleet expansion concludes a year in which we’ve seen unprecedented growth. With new aircraft and new routes announced, 2018 will see us continue to deliver upon our mission to be the leading value carrier across the North Atlantic. We look forward to operating our busiest summer schedule on record to date and remain committed growing our transatlantic network and connecting Ireland and Europe to even more destinations across North America.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor

About Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus is the national airline of Ireland, founded in 1936. It operates 63 aircraft on routes to destinations in the UK, Europe and North America and carries more than 12 million guests per annum. Aer Lingus is Ireland’s only 4-Star airline, awarded by Skytrax, the international air transport rating organisation. Its mission is to connect Ireland to the world and to become the leading value carrier operating across the North Atlantic. Its home base is Dublin Airport. Aer Lingus is a member of International Airlines Group (IAG), one of the world's largest airline groups.

Since Aer Lingus’ acquisition by IAG in 2015, Aer Lingus has announced a total of six new transatlantic routes;

• Dublin – LA – announced October 2015
• Dublin - Newark, New Jersey  – announced October 2015
• Dublin - Hartford, Connecticut – announced October 2015
• Dublin – Miami – announced November 2016
• Dublin – Philadelphia – announced October 2017
• Dublin – Seattle - announced November 2017