This article is from page 56 of the 2005-10-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 56 JPG
IN THE MIDST of news that the Shannon stopover is to end, there was good news for the airport.
Delta airlines have announced that they are planning a major expansion of its services out of Ireland, a move which will see 100,000 extra seats for Shannon on Transatlantic routes.
As well as a new scheduled daily
service between New York’s JFK and Dublin and Shannon from May 15 and there will also be expanded summer services between Atlanta and Shannon and Dublin.
Shannon management said the ex- panded routes will be a major boost for the West of Ireland gateway and the region in general.
“As we approach the end of a record-breaking year for Shannon,
Delta’s plans to add a New York serv- ice and a dedicated Atlanta-Shannon service in 2006 will help ensure and even better traffic performance next year.” said Airport Director martin Moroney.
He added that it is “estimated that capacity on the Shannon-Atlanta service will double to 120,000 seats and that the airline will add 45,000 seats to the Shannon-New York ca-
pacity.”
Delta has also announced new routes between the US and Edin- burgh, Venice and Budapest in an effort to overtake British Airways, American Airlines and Continental Airlines as the biggest Transatlantic operator.
The announcement marks one of the most significant expansions by a US airline since the September 11
attacks on New York and Washing- Keer
US airlines have seen domestic profits fall by 1 per cent so far this year, while profits on Transatlantic routes have increased by 6 per cent.
The figures suggest that while Delta may be the first operator to switch the emphasis to Transatlantic business, they will probably not be the last.