AER LINGUS is to acquire a fifth Airbus A330 for its transatlantic fleet next year, the company announced yesterday. It is to double its services to Chicago, a route reopened this year, and operate a new route to Newark, New Jersey, during the summer.
An Aer Lingus spokesman said it expected to have carried 600,000 passengers across the Atlantic this year, 10 per cent up on last year.
The extra aircraft next year increases Aer Lingus's Ireland-US capacity by 16 per cent, indicating even greater ambitions in that market.
The airline's marketing director, Mr David Bunworth, said the additional capacity and the introduction of Newark as a new gateway provided real opportunities to increase tourism into Ireland next year.
Though it is close to New York, he said Newark is expected to open new markets. Research had shown that travellers from Philadelphia and even as far west as Ohio were prepared to take surface transport to Newark, but not to Kennedy International.
Newark's catchment area is estimated to have five million homes and a population of 13 million. The service will operate from May to October with a leased Lockheed Tristar. It will be an all economy class service, aimed primarily at tourists.
The service to Chicago opened in May with three flights a week. "There could not be a better vote of confidence in Chicago than doubling the flights to six a week," the spokesman claimed.