Summary
- Aer Lingus celebrates a significant milestone, flying two million passengers across the Atlantic this year, offering upgraded service to one lucky couple on their honeymoon.
- The Irish carrier has significantly expanded its transatlantic schedule, now offering 19 routes to North America and becoming the fifth-largest European carrier regarding seats available.
- Aer Lingus continues to grow, with plans to launch new destinations in Minneapolis-St Paul and Denver next year, bringing the total number of routes between Europe and North America to 21.
Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus has flown two million passengers across the Atlantic Ocean so far this year. The carrier welcomed its two millionth Transatlantic passenger with a complimentary upgrade to business class for herself and her partner on their flight to Florida.
Two million and counting
The lucky two millionth passenger was Natasha Doherty from Kilmacrennan, County Donegal. She was departing Dublin Airport with her new husband, Redmond Doherty, to celebrate their honeymoon. Upon checking in for flight EI 121 from Dublin to Orlando, they were delighted to discover they had both been upgraded to business class to celebrate the special occasion! Speaking at the airport today, Doherty expressed her excitement that the milestone flight had occurred on such a significant occasion:
“It was such a dream come true to find out at check-in that we have been upgraded to Business class on our flight to Orlando!
We’re off on our honeymoon and this is the perfect start. Thanks so much Aer Lingus for this wonderful memory!”
Photo: Aer Lingus
One of Aer Lingus’ Airbus A330 aircraft operates the flight, which features 30 two-meter lie-flat class seats in buisness class, organized in a 2-2-2 configuration. The two (along with other business class customers) were treated to Champagne on arrival to the cabin, an amenity kit with cosmetics from Irish luxury brand Voya, unlimited WiFi at 37,000 feet, and a 16-inch HD inflight entertainment screen.
Making moves across the Atlantic
This summer is especially important for the Irish carrier, which is operating its largest-ever schedule across the Atlantic. The airline is offering over 2.25 million seats to North America across 19 direct routes. Aer Lingus is now the fifth largest European carrier based on the number of seats available between the US and Europe.
The newest addition to these links is a new direct service from Dublin to Cleveland, Ohio, which was added to the network in May. This winter will welcome the resumption of flights to Miami from Dublin on October 28th and to Barbados direct from Manchester Airport on November 1st. Susanne Carberry, Aer Lingus’s Chief Customer Officer, highlighted just how much the carrier has grown its transatlantic schedule over the past decade:
“We are delighted to welcome Natasha and Redmond on board Aer Lingus and celebrate our two millionth transatlantic passenger so far this year. This represents a significant milestone for Aer Lingus, following our largest ever transatlantic schedule this summer.
Over the past 10 years we have grown our transatlantic network from 6 routes to 19 in 2023, including adding new direct services from Manchester to North America.”
Photo: Aer Lingus
Barbados is not the carrier’s only nonstop transatlantic link from Manchester Airport. The airline already flies to Orlando and New York JFK airports.
The airline will continue to expand in the coming year by launching two new transatlantic destinations. Flights to Minneapolis-St Paul commence on April 29th, 2024, initially four times weekly, before upgrading to a daily year-round service from next October. Flights to Denver, Colorado, are also launching next year, and they also operate four times a week, beginning May 17th, 2024. The new additions will bring the total number of Aer Lingus routes operating between Europe and North America to 21.