Dublin Airport MD Vincent Harrison tells Routes about the airport’s recovery during the summer season; what new routes have been secured; and why its new North Runway will be vital for future growth.
As widely expected, European low-cost carrier Norwegian will introduce its new Boeing 737MAX fleet into operation on flights between the UK and Ireland and the United States of America. The budget airline will offer 38 new weekly transatlantic flights this summer from Edinburgh, Belfast, Cork, Shannon and Dublin serving ten routes.
Spirit Airlines will introduce its low-fare offering into Hartford at the start of the second quarter with daily flights from Orlando and a summer seasonal four times weekly link from Myrtle Beach launching on April 27, 2017. A daily link to Fort Lauderdale will follow from June 15, 2017.
European low-cost carrier Norwegian is set to open four new operational bases – two in the US and two in Europe – in 2017 to support the growth of its long-haul transatlantic network. The internal go-ahead for the expansion follows the final approval late last week by the US Department of Transportation for a foreign carrier permit for the airline’s Norwegian Air International business.
Irish flag carrier, Aer Lingus, a recent addition to the IAG portfolio, is to launch flights between Dublin and Los Angeles, Newark, and Hartford during the summer 2016 schedule, while British Airways will relaunch its New York operation from London Gatwick after a seven-year hiatus.
If the speculation is true, Aer Lingus will be the only airline offering a direct flight between Europe and Hartford Bradley International Airport, branded as the ‘Gateway to New England’. In fact the airline will be the sole carrier to serve the facility from outside North America with existing links limited to just domestic services in the US and flights into Canada.