Image: Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus has commenced services to Cleveland in Ohio, its first new transatlantic route since 2019, on cue with the surge in US demand for travel this summer.
With the start of its new service, Aer Lingus becomes the only airline to fly between Europe and Cleveland, opening a unique gateway to the Midwest for its customers.
Customer demand for the route has already taken off, with more than 90% of seats booked across the peak summer season, with general transatlantic bookings up more than 20% on 2019 levels this summer.
Data shows 40% of the airline’s US customers are eager to travel outside North America, with 33% putting destinations in Europe at the top of their list.
The bounce back in demand for premium leisure travel has fuelled the jump in demand from Aer Lingus’ UK and European customers connecting via Dublin, with bookings to Washington D.C. and Orlando increasing by 40% and 35% respectively, since 2019.
The new four times a week service from Dublin continues Aer Lingus’ highly focused strategy of growing its position as a major transatlantic connecting carrier between Ireland and Europe – and North America.
Since 2013, Aer Lingus has grown the number of transatlantic routes it serves from six to 19 in 2023 and the number of transatlantic passengers will have almost tripled in the same timeframe, from 1.1m in 2013 to an expected 3m in 2023.
Hub
Lynne Embleton, CEO, Aer Lingus, said: “The addition of the new Cleveland route is a further demonstration of Aer Lingus’ commitment to develop Dublin as a hub, a key part of the airline’s growth strategy.
“At Aer Lingus we are seeing a 20% increase in transatlantic bookings, a strong indicator of the demand amongst US passengers for travel to Ireland and Europe. which is being met by our largest ever transatlantic schedule, delivering over 2.25 million seats this summer.
“We are very proud of what we have achieved over the last decade having consistently grown our North American network and we plan to continue on this growth trajectory. Dublin’s geographic position is unique and advantageous for the airline as we can fly to North America operating some of the most sustainable aircraft across the Atlantic.
“Not only do we serve the very popular destinations such as New York, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles, our A321neoLR aircraft also allow us to provide connections to secondary cities such as Cleveland.
“Our strategy augments direct travel between Ireland and the US with connecting passengers from across Europe.
