"Minneapolis-St. Paul "

Irish carrier Aer Lingus celebrates a significant milestone as its Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) route takes flight. The relaunch from Dublin Airport marks the first time the carrier has flown the route since March 2020.

This marks the full restoration of Aer Lingus’s pre-pandemic North American network. The renewed network provides even more U.S. travel options for passengers across Britain.

Four weekly flights will now connect Dublin and Minneapolis-St. Paul, operated by Aer Lingus’s comfortable Airbus A330 widebody aircraft.

Flight timings ensure seamless connections to and from the airline’s 15 destinations in mainland Britain. This includes key regional hubs, including London Heathrow, Manchester, and Edinburgh.

Passengers seeking a taste of Minnesota can secure one-way fares from the UK starting at an attractive £279 (including taxes and charges).

A Return to the Twin Cities

This relaunch goes beyond simply restoring a paused service. The Minneapolis-St. Paul route, nicknamed the “Twin Cities,” offers a captivating blend of business and leisure opportunities.

The city boasts a thriving business scene with strong connections to Ireland, particularly in the healthcare and biomedical sectors.

Beyond business, Minneapolis-St. Paul is renowned for its vibrant art, music, and culinary scene. Whether your visit is for work or pleasure, you’ll find a plethora of attractions to explore.

Visitors can take in sights from the iconic Mall of America to the beauty of nearby lakes and parks.

Complete Restoration of North American Network

Aer Lingus Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, Reid Moody, expressed the airline’s delight at reintroducing Minneapolis-St. Paul to their network.

He highlighted the strong passenger demand for the route’s return and Aer Lingus’s dedication to providing seamless connections between North America, Ireland, and the rest of Europe.

This relaunch signifies the airline’s complete restoration of its pre-pandemic network and reinforces their commitment to their Dublin Hub strategy.

Minneapolis-St. Paul plays a significant role as a U.S. business hub, and Aer Lingus looks forward to facilitating strong corporate links and connectivity through Dublin.

Popularity of Onwards Connections

Aer Lingus’s strategic network expansion reflects their dedication to the Dublin Hub strategy, offering seamless connections beyond Ireland to Europe.

Data shows that nearly half of passengers flying from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Dublin plan to connect onwards. Popular destinations include London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Barcelona, and Berlin.

Upgrades to Long-Haul Flight Program

The return of flights to the Twin Cities coincides with exciting upgrades to the Aer Lingus long-haul flight program.

A brand-new Business Class menu, inspired by the best of Irish cuisine and curated based on customer feedback, focuses on seasonal, local, and sustainably sourced ingredients.

This ensures a hearty and healthy dining experience for Business Class passengers, featuring dishes like skin-on thyme and parsley chicken supreme, herb-infused roasted pork, flaky pan-fried hake, and citrus-marinated salmon.

Vegetarian and lighter options are also available, including a new rich root vegetable and pearl barley stew served with a seasonal salad. These additions, along with many more, are now available for Business Class passengers on long-haul flights.

All passengers can enjoy the benefits of Aer Lingus’s newly enhanced Wi-Fi, which now utilizes next-generation satellites for improved coverage across transatlantic routes.

The in-flight entertainment library has also been expanded by a third, offering a wider selection of movie blockbusters, documentaries, and the latest TV shows to keep you entertained throughout your journey.

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Irish carrier Aer Lingus is gearing up to enhance its North American network with the recent announcement of two new direct transatlantic routes – Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Starting as part of its summer 2024 program, travelers can look forward to convenient connections between Dublin and Denver, Colorado, as well as the re-launch of the Minneapolis-St. Paul route.

This latest expansion underscores Aer Lingus’ commitment its strong transatlantic network, and connectivity with Europe.

Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul

The introduction of the Dublin-Denver route, scheduled to commence on May 17 2024, is set to open up new avenues for travelers seeking the allure of Colorado’s breathtaking landscapes.

Flights will operate four times a week, providing passengers with a gateway to the Rockies’ outdoor wonders, including world-class skiing and hiking.

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On the other hand, the Minneapolis-St. Paul route, set to take off on April 29 2024, will offer travelers daily year-round service starting from the following October.

This route will be serviced by the airline’s Airbus A321XLR aircraft from Winter 2024.

Both routes will initially operate four times per week throughout summer 2024, with the Minneapolis – St. Paul route increasing to a daily, year-round service from October 2024 onwards. Each route will be served by the Airbus A330.  

Dublin: The Hub of Transatlantic Travel

With Dublin’s strategic geographical location as the gateway to Europe and its pre-clearance facilities at the airport, Aer Lingus is optimally positioned to facilitate seamless connections across the Atlantic.

Lynne Embleton, Aer Lingus Chief Executive, highlighted the airline’s role in fostering connections and shared experiences between people and places on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Denver and Minneapolis-St Paul are significant business destinations within the US and the new Aer Lingus routes facilitate corporate links and connectivity between Europe and North America, through our Dublin Hub,” Embleton said.

“Denver’s position as the ‘Gateway to the Rockies’ and its outdoor appeal, from world class skiing to hiking, opens up a whole new US experience to leisure travellers from Ireland and Europe.”

Gateway to Europe

The new routes from Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul offer more than just transatlantic connections – they effectively serve as gateways to Europe.

Passengers departing from these North American cities can enjoy the convenience of onward connections to 20 European cities via Dublin.

This expansion aims to provide travelers with versatile options for both business and leisure travel, creating new opportunities for cultural exploration and economic engagement.

Aer Lingus Positioning

Having turned in a sound set of financials for the first half of 2024, Aer Lingus continues to solidify its position as a prominent player in the aviation industry.

With a total of 18 routes operated between Ireland and North America, the airline stands as a vital bridge connecting the two continents.

Ranked fourth globally in terms of the breadth of its longhaul network to key US gateways, and fifth largest European carrier based on seats offered between the US and Europe, Aer Lingus embodies a commitment to excellence and connectivity.

As the world navigates dynamic market conditions, Aer Lingus remains committed to its growth strategy. The successful addition of Cleveland, Ohio to its network this summer demonstrates the airline’s confidence and determination.

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Last week saw Aer Lingus carry its major milestone two millionth transatlantic passenger in 2023 on a flight to Orlando, Florida.

This article will cover the details surrounding the Irish carriers’ two millionth transatlantic passenger for 2023 and what this means for the Irish flag carrier.

Aer Lingus’ Two Millionth Transatlantic Passenger for 2023

On September 29, 2023, Aer Lingus carried its two millionth transatlantic passenger on flight EI 121 between Dublin (DUB) and Orlando (MCO) in Florida.

Natasha Doherty from Kilmacrennan Co. Donegal in Ireland was the lucky passenger, who was travelling to Orlando with her husband, Redmond Doherty.

So far 2023 has been the Irish carriers’ best year for transatlantic services with 2.25 million seats on sale to 19 destinations in North America from Dublin, Shannon and the carriers’ UK base in Manchester.

Next year for the 2024 summer season, will see the Irish carrier add Denver, Colorado and Minneapolis-St. Paul to its North American destinations bringing the total count to 21.

The carrier has a total long-haul fleet of 21 aircraft, broken down as, eight Airbus A321LRs, three Airbus A330-200s, and 10 Airbus A330-300s. They also have on-order six Airbus A321XLRs.

Alongside its long-haul fleet, the carrier also operates a short to medium-haul fleet of 29 Airbus A320ceos and three Airbus A320neos with a further five Airbus A320neos on order.

Comments

Commenting on this major milestone for the carrier, Aer Lingus’ Chief Customer Officer, Susanne Carberry, says, “We are delighted to welcome Natasha and Redmond on board Aer Lingus and celebrate our two millionth transatlantic passenger so far this year.”

“This represents a significant milestone for Aer Lingus, following our largest-ever transatlantic schedule this summer. Over the past 10 years, we have grown our transatlantic network from 6 routes to 19 in 2023, including adding new direct services from Manchester to North America.”

Adding to Carberry’s comments, Natasha Doherty has said, “It was such a dream come true to find out at check-in that we have been upgraded to Business class on our flight to Orlando! We’re off on our honeymoon and this is the perfect start. Thanks so much Aer Lingus for this wonderful memory!”

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It was recently announced by major US carrier Delta Air Lines that the carrier will pursue it plans for services between Minneapolis-St. Paul, USA, to Dublin, Ireland.

The launch date of Delta’s new Dublin-bound service is set to late spring of next year, with the exact date being May 9, 2024.

With the launch of this route, Delta continues to claim their number 1 position on transatlantic options for customers out of Minneapolis.

Minneapolis-St. Paul is Dublin-bound

Delta will be connecting the cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul and Dublin, Ireland, from May 9 next year, the airline announced in a recent statement.

The new route will be operated by Delta’s Boeing 767-300 fleet, which features four cabin classes, being Delta One, Delta Premium, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin.

The route will also be served on a five-times weekly schedule, and will be just one of the three U.S. hubs to serve Dublin once active. The other cities serving Dublin will be Boston, Atlanta and New York.

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Delta Statement

On the new route’s announcement, Delta Senior Vice President, Joe Esposito, said the following: “Delta continues to build on its longstanding No. 1 position in Minneapolis with another nonstop option for customers traveling overseas,”

“With nearly 10 trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific flights flying direct from the Twin Cities, customers have the utmost choice, coupled with our award-winning customer service, when traveling with us.” he concluded.

Flight Schedule

Delta has released the following flight schedule, subject to changes if required. The flights and times are as follows:

Latin American & Caribbean Increase

At the start of August, the carrier announced it would also see an increase in capacity on its Latin American and Caribbean network, with 35,000 posted additional seats.

Such growth represents a 30% increase in available seats compared to the last winter season and is mainly reflective of Saturday frequencies.

As per Delta’s advice, the following Saturday frequencies will be boosted within the Latin America & Caribbean areas:

From Atlanta: 

• Three times to St. Thomas 
• Twice to St. Maarten 
• Twice to Guatemala  
• Three times to San José 
• Three times to Liberia  
• Six times to San Juan  

From New York-JFK: 

• Three times to Cancun 

From Detroit: 

• Twice to Punta Cana 
• Twice to Montego Bay 
• Twice to San Juan  

From Minneapolis: 

• Twice to Punta Cana 

• Twice to Montego Bay 
• Twice to San Juan  
• Added Liberia service (currently four times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday) 

From Boston: 

• Twice to San Juan  

Delta said the following on the expansion in frequencies to Latin America & Caribbean: “It creates a crucial gateway to the U.S. for customers, providing them with seamless onward connections to as many as 100 U.S. cities through Delta’s largest hub in Atlanta.”

Overall, this is significant news for those markets and will benefit travelers who wish to get away from the harsh winter months in the U.S.

All eyes will be on Delta to see whether they choose to expand into any more markets ahead of the Winter 2023/24 season.

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