Summary
- Aer Lingus will begin Dublin to Denver and Minneapolis using the Airbus A330-200
- Ireland has never had Denver flights before, while Minneapolis returns
- Aer Lingus plans a record 148 weekly flights to North America next summer
Aer Lingus has announced routes from Dublin to Denver and Minneapolis. It will be the first time Denver has had Dublin flights, while Minneapolis returns after being postponed due to the pandemic. They follow the inauguration of Cleveland in May.All benefit from Dublin's geographic location on the edge of Europe, enabling logical connections, and the airport's US pre-clearance facility.
On the day that Aer Lingus officially revealed the return of Minneapolis, Delta announced the same route. When combined, the two carriers will have nine weekly flights – up from zero. It will be interesting to see which airline blinks first.
Dublin gets first Denver flights
Taking off on May 17th, Denver will operate four weekly using Aer Lingus' 266-seat A330-200s. Booking data shows that the Colorado city was Dublin's second-largest unserved market in North America in 2019, with around 38,000 point-to-point passengers. Only Las Vegas had more.
It is scheduled as follows, with all times local:
- Dublin to Denver: EI59, 16:15-19:00 (9h 45m block time)
- Denver to Dublin: EI60, 20:45-12:30+1 (8h 45m)
Minneapolis returns
The route will begin on May 1st. Like Denver, it will also run four weekly using the A330-200. (For that competitive edge, Delta will be five weekly, although it will begin a week later.) However, there is speculation that it may shift to the A321XLR in winter 2024, but this remains to be seen. For now, Aer Lingus' schedule is as follows, with all times local:
- Dublin to Minneapolis: EI89, 14:20-16:55 (8h 35m)
- Minneapolis to Dublin: EI90, 18:45-08:25+1 (7h 40m)
Aer Lingus is no stranger to Minneapolis. Initially launched in July 2019, it ran daily in the summer using Boeing 757s wet-leased from ASL Airlines Ireland. That the route will switch to the larger-capacity A330 next summer explains the lower frequency.
According to US DOT T-100 data, it carried 54,800 Minneapolis passengers until its postponement in March 2020. It had a low 70.6% seat load factor, not helped by the pandemic's start. Still, it was a brand-new offering, and routes – especially long-haul – take time to develop. Evidently, it performed well enough to return, relative to other opportunities with the aircraft.
As is sometimes the case, Aer Lingus had scheduled the return of Minneapolis, only to remove it ahead of the announcement. Airlines do not normally schedule a route without then operating it, so it was obvious it was to materialize.
19 North America routes next summer
As of August 17th and subject to change, Aer Lingus plans 19 US and Canada routes next summer from Dublin (15), Shannon (two), and Manchester (two). Based on July 2024, they are as follows, with planned equipment indicated:
Flights | From Dublin | Shannon | Manchester |
|---|---|---|---|
Double daily | Boston*, Chicago O'Hare*, New York JFK*, Washington Dulles** | ||
Daily | Hartford**, Los Angeles*, Newark**, Philadelphia**, San Francisco*, Toronto* | Boston**, New York JFK** | New York JFK*, Orlando* |
Six weekly | Seattle* | ||
Four weekly | Cleveland**, Denver*, Minneapolis*, Orlando* | ||
* A330, ** A321LR | ** A321LR | * A330 |
A record number of flights
Subject to any additions or reductions, Aer Lingus expects 148 weekly departing flights from Europe to North America next July (double for both ways). That is up 29% versus the 115 in pre-pandemic July 2019 and 6% more than in July 2023.
Where else would you like Aer Lingus to fly? Let us know in the comments.
Sources of information: OAG, US DOT T-100, Google Flights, Aer Lingus' website.