Inaugural Dublin to Newark Aer Lingus flight takes off

The first Aer Lingus flight between Dublin and Newark took off yesterday from Dublin Airport, commencing a new, year-round, daily service between Ireland and New Jersey.

The inaugural Aer Lingus flight EI101, an Airbus A330-202 named St. Caoimhe, took off from Dublin on September 1 at 12.55pm, with over 50 percent of the guests on board beginning their journeys to the US from outside of Ireland, from destinations such as Paris, Brussels, Hamburg, Manchester, London and Edinburgh.

Located just 40 minutes from downtown Manhattan, Newark will offer a new option for those traveling in between the Big Apple and Europe, adding to the well-established Dublin and Shannon to JFK routes. Aer Lingus now flies up to four times daily from Ireland to the New York area.

Fares from Dublin to Newark start from $234 (€209) for travel between November 2016 and March 2017.

In the largest expansion of the Aer Lingus Transatlantic network since they first commenced the service in 1958, the new Dublin-Newark route is just the second of three brand new routes to be unveiled this summer. There are just a few short weeks to wait before the inaugural flight between Dublin and Hartford, CT which will begin with a four-times weekly service. A direct Dublin - Los Angeles route was launched last May.

Thanks to the ease at which travelers to the US can pass through U.S Customs and Border Protection services at Dublin Airport, Aer Lingus has continued to grow its transatlantic operations, adding three new transatlantic aircraft to its fleet this summer with two more promised for 2017.

“We are delighted to commence our new direct service from Dublin to Newark, New Jersey,” said Declan Kearney, Director of Communications at Aer Lingus.

“Together with our daily services to JFK from Dublin and Shannon, Aer Lingus now offers customers a choice of up to four flights to New York each day and by the end of this month, Aer Lingus will operate 28 daily services across the Atlantic.

“While we continue to connect Ireland to the world, we now play an increasing role in connecting Europe to North America and aim to be the number one value carrier across the North Atlantic. On today’s inaugural to Newark, more than half our guests began their journey outside of Ireland, starting out from UK cities such as Newcastle, Edinburgh, London as well as European cities like Brussels, Paris, Dubrovnik, to name but a few.”

“We have been growing our transatlantic traffic strongly at Dublin Airport and passenger numbers have grown by 62% on these routes between 2010 and 2015,” added Vincent Harrison, Dublin Airport Managing Director.

“We look forward to welcoming Aer Lingus’ new route to Hartford, Connecticut at the end of the month, providing further choice and flexibility for both business and leisure customers.”