Irish airline, Aer Lingus’ inaugural direct service to Seattle, Washington State, takes off with flights from Ireland at just $260 each way.
Aer Lingus’ inaugural service direct to Seattle, Washington State, will take to the skies on Friday, May 18th, at 3.50pm from Dublin Airport. Flight EI143 will be operated by an Airbus A330-200 series aircraft carrying the registration EI-DAA and named Saint Keeva.
Read more: Mayo and the Cliffs of Moher tours
Dublin to Seattle
The new Dublin-Seattle service will operate four times weekly, year-round, with 2,218 round-trip seats available each week and marks the start of Aer Lingus’ new interline agreement with Alaska Airlines.
Seattle is the second new transatlantic route to be launched by Aer Lingus for summer 2018, the Dublin-Philadelphia service commenced in March. The route has been so successful that from today a daily service will operate during peak summer season.
Marking Aer Lingus’ inaugural service to Seattle, Mike Rutter, Chief Operating Officer said:
“We are delighted to commence Ireland’s first and only direct service to Seattle, Washington State, with four direct flights each week. Seattle as a destination holds great promise for Aer Lingus given the strong business ties between the two regions making this an important route for business travel, as well as leisure trips, as exemplified by the high demand for business class tickets on the route to date.
“Our interline agreement with Alaska Airlines means we can offer seamless onwards connections to our guests to 40 additional locations serviced by Alaskan Airlines, including Hawaii and Alaska. It also ensures that we can make Ireland, and further into Europe, accessible for Alaska’s 44 million travelers.”
Read more: Galway and the West tours
Seattle the destination
Hot on the heels of San Francisco, Seattle is fast becoming one of North America’s leading tech hubs and is home to multiple global hi-tech giants including Microsoft and Amazon, which have significant operations in Ireland. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing and global coffee company Starbucks started out in Seattle and still have a significant presence there today.
For leisure travelers Seattle, known as the Emerald City, is home to must-see sights like the Space Needle and Pike Place Market and has a noteworthy musical history synonymous with the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Given its location, Seattle is a launch pad for outdoor activities and its position on the water makes it a prime cruise destination with several major cruise lines departing out of the city.
Largest ever transatlantic network
Summer 2018 marks Aer Lingus’ largest ever long haul program boasting 2.75 million seats across the Atlantic. In addition to new routes Seattle and Philadelphia, Aer Lingus’ transatlantic summer schedule boasts additional capacity across other key routes which include a daily service to both San Francisco and Los Angeles on the US West Coast as well as twice daily flights to Chicago.
Miami, which was launched as a new route in late summer 2017 and subsequently as a new winter route, continues to operate during summer, three times per week. Miami and Orlando, operating four times weekly, combined offers a direct connection from Ireland to Florida every day for summer 2018. Washington continues to operate daily for summer but on a larger Airbus A330-300 series aircraft, for four out of seven days, providing 31% additional seats on the route.
Read more: Aer Lingus celebrates 60 years of transatlantic flights with summer sale
Aer Lingus’ four-star transatlantic guest experience
Aer Lingus transatlantic guests experience Dublin Airport as a leading transatlantic gateway boasting US Preclearance. Unlike at any other European capital, guests travelling from and connecting via Dublin Airport preclear US Customs and Immigration before stepping on board their transatlantic flight, ensuring a speedy exit upon arrival to the United States.
Alaska Airlines partnership
The commencement of Dublin Seattle will also mark the beginning of Aer Lingus’ recently announced partnership with Alaska Airlines. Both carriers will operate as part of an interline agreement with that will enable Aer Lingus travelers to connect onwards via Seattle to a wide range of destinations up and down the West Coast including Alaska and Hawaii; while loyal Alaska flyers will gain the opportunity to fly transatlantic to Ireland and further into Europe. As part of this they can check bags through to their final destination when traveling on Alaska and Aer Lingus and also earn and redeem miles/AerClub points on both carriers.
Read more: Northern Ireland and Game of Thrones tours
“More than 800,000 Washingtonians claim “Irish” as their primary ancestry, making this new connection a value in that regard but also creating links to booming tech industries in both countries and an additional choice to travelers coming and going to Ireland,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Stephanie Bowman. “This can be seen as a prize at both ends of the rainbow!”
"We're thrilled to welcome Aer Lingus to our hometown airport and portfolio of Alaska Global Partners," said Andrew Harrison, Chief Commercial Officer for Alaska Airlines. "Europe is the top choice among Mileage Plan™ members to earn miles on our airline partners. Having nonstop service from Seattle to Dublin means our members have a new option for earning miles on flights to more than 70 European destinations.”
Read more: Dublin is the cheapest European destination for these ten US states
Fares to Seattle start from €219 each-way including taxes and charges, when booked as a return trip. Visit aerlingus.com for further information.
