Irish airline vows 40% increase in flights from Birmingham to fill North American void

Aer Lingus

Irish airline Aer Lingus has reacted quickly to the void left in the North American market from Birmingham Airport by announcing it intends to increase services from the West Midlands by 40%.

The airline is allocating an additional 50,000 seats to its hub in Dublin from Birmingham, starting from the end of October.

It is aiming to entice travellers looking to reach cities in the United States without the inconvenience of complicated connections.

Mike Rutter, Chief Operating Officer, Aer Lingus said: “Birmingham remains a critically important airport for us as we look to win business from Manchester and London.

“We are hoping to fill the void left by the removal of direct services to New York by offering passengers a simple connection via Dublin.”

The airline will be using Airbus A320 aircraft to service the routes, in what constitutes a €10m investment by the airline.

“Birmingham is the third largest market for traffic through Dublin to North America and we can offer gateway connections to many of the major cities,” added Mr Rutter.

The airline’s focus on expanding its long-haul network continues this winter with 350 additional transatlantic flights from Ireland to North America, representing a 13% increase in capacity compared to last year.

Beginning on September 1, Aer Lingus will operate three flights a week to Miami, a new long-haul destination for its winter schedule.

The new Miami service is in addition to existing transatlantic routes: Boston, Chicago, New York, Orlando, San Francisco, Washington, Los Angeles, Newark, Hartford and Toronto via Dublin and Boston and New York via Shannon.

The announcement is a welcome boost to the airport and the wider region following the decisions by American Airlines and United to pull its New York services from Birmingham.

Business leaders were highly critical of the US companies for axing the services, warning it could damage trade links between the US and the West Midlands.

Only last week, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street led a trade mission to Canada looking to boost international trade links to the region.

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