Aer Lingus has announced its schedule for Winter 2015/2016 including two new routes and increased frequencies on many popular sun and ski routes – in addition to improved timings on key high-frequency business routes. The extra 275,000 seats marks the biggest growth in the winter schedule in the past 10 years.
A new daily service between Dublin and Liverpool will commence on 23rd October with a total of 16 flights per week. This will significantly boost Aer Lingus’s presence in the UK’s North West region and strengthen the historic ties between the two cities. It adds further strength to the Aer Lingus offering between Ireland and the UK, covering 19 UK airports and a total of 32 routes. The flights will be operated by an A320 aircraft.
Speaking at the launch, Mike Rutter said that there is a potential market in the greater Liverpool area of more than 175,000 passengers for onward flights using the Dublin hub.
There are over five million short-haul seats in the winter programme, representing an increase of 5% growth year-on-year including:
- 10% more seats on Aer Lingus from Dublin to Manchester with up to six flights daily
- 14% more seats on Aer Lingus from Dublin to Birmingham with up to six flights daily, serving peak business traffic
- 15% growth on Dublin to Paris route with an additional prime evening business flight
- 5% growth on Dublin to Amsterdam with up to five flights daily
- Three flights daily between Dublin and Brussels with improved evening times to facilitate day-return business customers
- Additional flights to Zurich and Geneva with 10% extra seats, to cover demand during the ski season
- Aer Lingus will move its flight services to Berlin Tegel Airport, increasing flight frequencies to 10 flights per week, representing 18% additional capacity
- Up to 26 flights per week to the Canary Islands and Morocco, catering for demand over Christmas, mid-term and Easter
In a further boost to its growing long-haul business, the airline is also increasing capacity on other Aer Lingus transatlantic routes for winter 2016, with a 13% increase in capacity compared to winter 2014/2015. The additional frequencies will serve demand over Thanksgiving, Christmas holidays, mid-term and Easter and include:
- An extension to the four times weekly Dublin to Washington service to 4th January 2016
- An increase in frequency on the Dublin to New York route from January through to March with 5% growth versus last winter
- A double-daily operation in November, December and March from Dublin to Boston with 19% capacity increase
- Ten weekly services from Dublin to Chicago in November, December and March, up 18% on winter last year
- Additional frequencies on flights from Dublin to San Francisco and Orlando over Christmas, mid-term and Easter
- Flights between Dublin and Toronto will continue throughout the winter with up to four weekly flights
- Flights between Shannon and Boston will operate throughout the winter while flights between Shannon and New York will be suspended from early January to mid-March, recommencing in time for demand over St Patrick’s Day
- Enhanced connecting flows between Europe and North America, meaning customers can choose from over 100 onward connections across the USA and Canada with partner airlines
Aer Lingus is not only focussed on flying customers to and from Ireland but also on improving connectivity for those who wish to travel onwards. Customers connecting between Europe and the USA this winter have more choice than before. Dublin is now the fastest growing airport for transatlantic flights.
