Shannon’s US routes expand

AER Lingus has announced it will be significantly increasing the frequency of its Boston and New York services from Shannon next year, which, a spokesman for the airline said, would see the creation of around 100 new jobs.

 

The expansion, announced on Wednesday, would require additional cabin crew, pilots and ground-handling workers, the company said.

It’s also likely to create jobs in Clare’s tourism industry, particularly as American visitors are far higher spenders than Europeans. The extra flights would also benefit US companies that have bases in the West of Ireland.

The additional services should result in around 50,000 more people flying between Shannon and the US next year, most of whom will be Americans visiting this country. Overall, there should be around 177,000 on the two routes in 2014, while this could rise to over 210,000 in 2015.

Aer Lingus had no transatlantic services from Shannon for the first 10 weeks of 2013 and for the rest of the year there are four direct services a week to Boston and three to New York.

However, under its plans for 2014, Aer Lingus will offer daily services to Boston from January 6, with a similar level of service to New York, beginning around the end of March. It’s understood that the aircraft to be used on the flights to New York won’t be available any earlier.

The news follows the restoration of Shannon’s links to Philadelphia and Chicago earlier this year, which have already seen a noticeable increase in the numbers visiting Clare from America. Over the course of this summer, it’s expected that the number using transatlantic services at Shannon will be up by a quarter on the same period in 2012.

Wednesday’s development comes three years after Aer Lingus first announced it would be making cuts to its Shannon-US services. At that stage, the airline claimed the routes had been loss-making in 14 of the 15 previous winters. It also said, on an average winter, they were losing a total of €11 million on the two routes.

They now feel they have found a way to make the routes pay and, for the most part, it’s down to new, more compact aircraft. An Aer Lingus spokesperson said they currently use Airbus A330s on the route, which carry 322 passengers. However, they will be introducing two Boeing 757 planes, which are far easier to fill, having a capacity of 177 passengers.

Speaking to The Clare Champion on Wednesday, Shannon Airport chairperson, Rose Hynes, said an agreement was reached some time ago and the extension of Aer Lingus services was “exactly what we had asked them to do”.

The airport’s chief executive, Neil Pakey, lauded the recovery in Shannon’s transatlantic services, which some feared would be almost completely wiped out after the relaxing of the stopover some years ago.

“2013 is proving a very good year on transatlantic [services] already at Shannon, as summer services will see an increase of up to 25% in passenger numbers. To have Aer Lingus make this very strong commitment for 2014 is another hugely positive development for Shannon and, particularly, for passengers seeking access on transatlantic services.”

Lahinch hotelier Michael Vaughan, president of the Irish Hotels Federation, said he was delighted with Wednesday’s news. He said increasing the number of US visitors is crucial for Clare’s hospitality industry.

“They’re the highest-spending tourists that we have and their stay would be up to seven days, on average. Per head, they’re a lucrative market for us.”

The resumption of services to Chicago and Philadelphia has made a significant difference already, he added.

“There’s no doubt about, it’s translated into real business on the ground. Personally, I’ve seen a rise of about 15% in the first two months of the summer on the American market. In Clare, up along the coast, there are a number of hoteliers reporting good growth from America.”

Mr Vaughan said despite a domestic market that remains “sluggish”, 2013 is set to be a reasonably good year for tourism in Clare.