By Chase Hagl
Aer Lingus Continues Rebuilding Transatlantic Network
Earlier this week, Aer Lingus announced that it will begin a new nonstop service from Dublin, Ireland to Cleveland, Ohio. Service between the city pair is set to begin next summer on May 19, 2023. The announcement makes Aer Lingus the only carrier offering direct service to Europe from the city of Cleveland.
The Irish flag carrier will offer four nonstop flights weekly, with flights falling on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
With a scheduled block time of 8 hours and 20 minutes, Flight El87, originating from Dublin, will take off from Ireland at 15:30 and land in the states at 18:50.
Heading back east to Dublin, Flight El86 will depart at 20:20 and arrive in Ireland the following day at 08:50, a total block time of 7 hours and 30 minutes.
| Flight | Origin | Destination | Departure | Arrival | Block |
| El87 | Dublin | Cleveland | 15:30 | 18:50 | 8:20 |
| El86 | Cleveland | Dublin | 20:20 | 08:50+1 | 7:30 |
The new service will bring Aer Lingus’ total transatlantic routes between Dublin and the United States to 16. Following the very impactful Covid-19 Pandemic, Aer Lingus continues to rebuild and grow its transatlantic network. The carrier claims that moves like this one are “critical to Aer Lingus’ long-term growth strategy.”
“This is a significant announcement for Aer Lingus as we deliver on our ambition to grow our transatlantic network,” stated Reid Moody, Aer Lingus Chief Strategy & Planning Officer. “The commencement of a new route, accompanied by further network connectivity, is an exciting milestone for the airline during a critical time of recovery for our business. The new service to Cleveland not only provides a direct connection to Ireland but connections to over 20 popular European destinations via our Dublin Hub.”
Passengers originating in Cleveland will have the option to connect through the Dublin hub, to upwards of 20 separate European cities on the carrier. Some of these popular destinations include places like Paris, London, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Lyon, Amsterdam, Edinburgh.
“We are truly excited for the opportunity to have nonstop service for travelers to connect to Ireland and the many other European destinations,” Interim Airport Director, Dennis Kramer, said. “Our team has worked for years to bring this route to Cleveland for our community.”
Aer Lingus will utilize its “most versatile” aircraft, the Airbus A321neo LR on the Cleveland-Dublin route. Currently, with seven 321neo LRs in its fleet, the aircraft utilizes a 184-seat configuration, featuring a business and economy class cabin. Business includes 16 fully lie-flat business class seats with 168 seats in its economy cabin.
In its business class cabin, guests are treated to a 6.5ft long bed with a width of 22 inches for increased comfort. At each seat are a 16-inch multi-touch HD Panasonic screen and noise-canceling headphones. Guests have up to 120 hours of the latest movies and tv-shows to choose from.
Economy-class cabin seats are fitted with a 31” pitch and each includes an inflight entertainment screen allowing guests to access inflight entertainment throughout the flight.
The 321neo LR is the perfect aircraft for Aer Lingus’s transatlantic offerings with a range of up to 4000nm and a 20% reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions and close to 50% reduction in noise footprint when compared to previous generation aircraft.
Chase Hagl grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho. His love and passion for Aviation landed him in Orem, Utah where he obtained a B.S. in Aviation Management with a minor in Business Management from Utah Valley University. Chase currently works as a flight attendant in Charleston, SC and is also the primary Inflight ASAP ERC representative for startup airline, Breeze Airways. His experience in the aviation industry spans back four years, working in areas including agriculture application, customer service, maintenance, and flight ops. In his free time, Chase enjoys road biking, astronomy, and flying.
