Aer Lingus increases regional flights

AER Lingus Regional is to increase the number of daily flights it operates from Shannon to Manchester.

It is part of an expansion at the airline which involves it increasing from two to three flights to Manchester from next summer, doubling flights to Birmingham and launching a new service to Bristol.

It said the decision to expand its services to and from Shannon was related to the Government’s budget announcement to abolish the travel tax from April 2014.  

The airline, which is operated by Aer Arann, said it expects to grow total passenger numbers from Shannon to 200,000 by the end of 2014, rising to 240,000 passengers by the end of 2015.

Chief executive Simon Fagan said: “The airline is determined to grow both our passenger numbers and route network. The addition of a new destination and the doubling of our capacity on two key routes from Shannon, provides real choice to the travelling public, and will serve to bring further visitors to the region.

“Our decision to move ahead with expansion in Shannon is directly related to the recent Government decision to abolish the travel tax, and is further evidence that sound policies can contribute to solid growth.”

He added: “Manchester and Birmingham are two of the UK’s biggest cities, with strong leisure and business relevance to passengers in the region. Equally, the two cities have large populations who can now benefit from further choice when looking to Shannon.”

One of Aer Arann’s major shareholders is Warrington and Carlisle-based logistics group Stobart.