Aer Lingus will commence daily services from Dublin to New York Newark and Hartford, Connecticut next September.

The Irish carrier will also relaunch its Dublin-Los Angeles route in May as a five-times weekly service, as reported earlier (see news, October 21).

The three transatlantic routes will result in a 17 per cent increase in the airline’s long-haul capacity.

The Newark and LAX services will be operated by A330s, while a B757 will be rostered on to the Hartford route.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG, which took over Aer Lingus two months ago (see news, August 19), said: “This is the first step in our plans to add North American destinations, bring new aircraft into the fleet, increase passenger numbers and create new jobs.”

He added: “We think Aer Lingus can really push the boundaries in terms of transatlantic growth, but we’re not going to do anything reckless.”

aerlingus.com

Graham Smith