United to suspend Shannon-Newark flights for winter

A fall in demand from passengers has prompted US airline United to suspend flights from Shannon Airport to New York/Newark during the winter.

United confirmed on Wednesday that it would stop flying from the mid-west airport to Newark, New Jersey, which serves New York, between November 26th next and March 9th 2018.

The airline blamed a “seasonal reduction in market demand” for its decision. It will begin flying from Shannon again from March 10th.

“We will contact customers with bookings for flights during the service suspension to either offer them alternative travel plans or provide refunds,” a spokeswoman said.

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The move means that Shannon will be left with just one year-round transatlantic service between January and March: Norwegian Air International's recently launched flights to Stewart International Airport in New York state.

Bookings slowdown

The Scandinavian-owned, Irish-based carrier launched the route this month and plans to fly twice a-week from Shannon to Stewart over the winter months.

United did not say if Norwegian’s launch was responsible for the slowdown in bookings that led the airline to suspend its service.

Aer Lingus halts its Shannon-New York flights between January and March, generally the slowest time of year for airlines.

Shannon said United’s decision was disappointing. “We remain very committed to working with them and other airline partners to continue to provide services and access to key markets,” the airport added.

“This year Shannon has its largest number of transatlantic destinations for 17 years as five airlines operate to seven destinations.”

Shannon’s statement added that the airport was confident it would improve on its 2016 performance, which was its four successive year of growth.