[AMcWhirter]

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-and-tourism/aer-lingus-may-move-transatlantic-services-from-shannon-to-the-uk-1.4342317

Interesting news from Ireland today. The arrangement would depend on when the US opens it borders so is not expected to start until 2021.

It would utilise two of Aer Lingus’ long range A321s which remain grounded since March.

[pheighdough]

This is not a total surprise. If you study the strategy of IAG, the development of Dublin could be a key gateway to the N Atlantic, with immigration in Dublin making access to the USA easier. Whilst these routes are direct, missing the Dublin link, putting these A321NEOs at regional hubs, IAG can tackle United/Delta head to head on these thin routes.
It could become a battle between SkyTeam v Star Alliance v IAG

[canucklad]

Can only talk about Edinburgh, but I suspect that they’ve seen the success that Norwegian had with their routes to the North East, and possibly picking up the slack in the market .

And rather than heading off to a lovely town in the middle of nowhere, a direct flight to Boston would be nice. Always wondered why Halifax has never had a direct route from Scotland .

Although, picking up that slack might be sometime in 2023 !

[FrDougal]

Tragic news for SNN and the great staff it employs there however the airport itself is grossly mismanaged and has been for years, all political posturing and little business acumen in place. I’d say Aer Lingus would be delighted to be rid of having to deal with SNN.

[transtraxman]

The most obvious UK airport for Aer Lingus to use on direct non-stop transatlantic flights is Manchester because of its large catchment area for likely clients.
However, that does not mean that the other candidates should be ignored. I understand that the best UK airports for the idea are Birmingham, Glasgow, and Belfast. These could offer direct transatlantic flights via Shannon so the West of Ireland does not lose out. It surprises me that the airlines are reluctant to use one stop flights. They solve many a problem.
The added advantage of directing flights through Shannon would be to keep the US Immigration facilities there. Thus entry into the US would be simplified, just as it was by BA´s London City – Shannon – New York flights.
Connections via Shannon could be also offered from other cities such as Newcastle and Aberdeen, but would mean disembarking at Shannon and re-embarking on to one of the other flights. The numbers, of course, would have to make the services viable, and Aer Lingus does not want to cannibalise its flights from Dublin. However, it is worth looking at.

[Alistair]

Westjet have had a direct service from GLA to Halifax during the summer months for at least 5 years

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