From May 10 Aer Arann will offer services from Southend to Dublin under a franchise agreement with Aer Lingus, with onward connection possibilities to the US from the Irish capital.
Southend airport officially opened its new terminal this week (see online news March 5), with Easyjet launching services from the facility in April.
Aer Arann currently offers daily flights from Southend to Waterford, operating as Aer Lingus Regional, and from May 10 will launch a three times-daily service to Dublin, using ATR72 and ATR42 aircraft.
Flights will depart Southend at 0700, 1255 and 1710, landing into Dublin at 0845, 1440 and 1855 respectively.
Southend airport is keen to promote the possibility of onward connections from Dublin to US destinations including New York, Chicago and Boston with Aer Lingus, pointing to the “the unique US Customs and Immigrations pre-clearance facilities at Dublin Airport” which allows passengers to arrive in the US as domestic passengers.
As an example of connecting flights in May when the new Southend-Dublin route launches, Aer Lingus services to New York depart Dublin at 1045 and 1710, while those to Chicago leave at 1250.
In other news, Holiday Inn is set to unveil a 129-room hotel with a sound-proofed rooftop bar and restaurant later this year – click here for more information.
Visit aerarann.com, aerlingus.com, southendairport.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
