Aer Lingus is launching service to a brand new U.S. metropolis, helped by the arrival of its latest plane sort.
Beginning in Could 2025, the Irish flag service will supply new nonstop flights from Indianapolis Worldwide Airport (IND) to its hub at Dublin Airport (DUB), Indianapolis airport leaders mentioned Monday.
The route will hyperlink the Midwest metropolis to the Emerald Isle by the use of the Airbus A321XLR, a long-range, single-aisle jet that is set to hitch the fleets of airways globally inside the subsequent few weeks.
Including Dublin to Indy’s route map may also give the Hoosier State its first transatlantic flight since earlier than the coronavirus pandemic.
“Reopening a a lot wanted and continuously requested transatlantic path to our expensive associates in Eire will as soon as once more open new alternatives for enterprise and leisure alike,” Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican from Indiana, mentioned in a press release Monday.
Aer Lingus’ new Indianapolis service
Aer Lingus will fly its new Indianapolis-to-Dublin route 4 occasions every week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Flights start Could 3, 2025.
Passengers will have the ability to e-book nonstop journeys to Eire nearly the whole yr; the flights will pause briefly in January and February — the winter months when air journey is often the slowest of the yr.
The brand new European service ought to show to be a significant leg up for Indianapolis.
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Previous to the pandemic, Delta Air Strains linked the airport to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). However that service — and the airport’s flights to Europe — disappeared in early 2020 and have not returned since.
On the similar time, Indianapolis in any other case has seen strong flight development. The entire variety of seats on industrial flights from the airport is ready to develop 6% in 2024 versus 2023, in accordance with knowledge from aviation analytic agency Cirium.
And, not counting Europe, seats from Indy are up greater than 12% over 2019.
The airport at present has short-haul worldwide service to Cancun Worldwide Airport (CUN) in Mexico on American Airways and Southwest Airways and to Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) aboard Air Canada.
Associated: Confort and comfort within the coronary heart of town: A evaluation of the Conrad Dublin
Airbus A321XLR opens up new routes
The brand new Dublin service from Indianapolis is made potential, partially, by the plane that Aer Lingus will use to fly the route.
The A321XLR, which is ready to hitch airline fleets for the primary time later this fall, gives an unprecedented vary for a narrow-body jet.
With decrease prices to function and fewer seats than a big wide-body, the plane opens up alternatives for carriers to attach smaller U.S. cities with Europe to bolster frequencies between the 2 continents. It additionally makes it potential to attach bigger U.S. cities with extra off-the-beaten-path locations overseas.
Earlier this month, Aer Lingus introduced a new path to Nashville with the plane.
Spanish service Iberia — a part of Worldwide Airways Group, which additionally owns Aer Lingus and British Airways — is predicted to launch the trade’s first XLR path to the U.S. from Madrid in November. It’ll fly from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) to Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS).
Many of those A321XLRs supply the identical sort of seating and onboard facilities usually discovered on bigger wide-body plane. As an illustration, American Airways, which has orders for dozens of XLRs, plans to put in its Flagship Enterprise suites and premium economic system seats on the planes. It’ll start to switch its fashionable four-cabin A321T jets on prime transcontinental U.S. routes.
For its half, Aer Lingus already operates some narrow-body jets to some East Coast locations, however it seems the arrival of the longer-range A321XLR will give the service extra alternatives to service farther-west cities which may not help one in all its bigger planes.
An air service evaluation by regional leaders in Indianapolis discovered a mean of 545 folks journey from Indianapolis to Europe each day.
The best way to e-book Aer LIngus with factors and miles
Hoping to e-book an Aer Lingus flight utilizing factors and miles? There are lots of methods you possibly can switch bank card factors to Aer Lingus AerClub, together with:
- Switch American Specific Membership Rewards factors, Chase Final Rewards factors or Bilt Rewards Factors on to AerClub.
- Switch Capital One miles or Citi ThankYou Rewards factors to British Airways Government Membership, then switch these Avios to AerClub (British Airways and Aer Lingus share a mother or father firm and the Avios loyalty forex).
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