This article is from page 3 of the 2006-05-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
A NEW daily flight service from Shannon to New York will see an additional 283 passengers through the airport every day.
Delta Air Lines today announced it is adding a further 14 weekly flights from Ireland to the US, tripling the number of services it operates from Ireland.
As part of Delta’s international expansion, which will see Delta Air Lines launch 11 new transatlantic routes across six new markets to become the largest carrier across the Atlantic between Europe and the US, Delta today started daily services from Shannon and Dublin to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.
In addition, the airline is also increasing capacity on its services to Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Airport during the peak summer season.
From today, Delta will be the only US carrier to serve both the Southeast and the Northeast US from Ireland.
The good news for Shannon Airport comes just after Continental Airlines launched its new daily Shannon – Newark service, which began on Thursday, May 4.
This service is bringing an extra 25,000 seats annually and will provide a major boost to tourism and business activity in the region.
Loren Neuenschwander, Delta’s managing director for the Atlantic Region, said: “After 20 years, Ireland remains an important market for Delta, with particularly strong bilateral trade and industrial links, not to mention a thriving tourism industry between the two nations.
‘Over 900,000 visitors travel from the US to Ireland every year, with over 40 per cent coming from New York and the South-eastern states.
“Hence Ireland plays a key role in our major international expansion strategy.
“Demand for our new service between Shannon, Dublin and New York has been strong to date on both sides of the Atlantic and we are confident that this demand will continue.”
Delta’s new route between Ireland and New York-JFK forms an integral part in a series of 11 new transatlantic routes to be launched by Delta this summer, including six brand new markets – Kiev, Budapest, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv and Düsseldorf.
In total, Delta will offer non-stop service to more than 60 international destinations from Atlanta this summer, including 23 routes across the Atlantic. From New York-JFK, Delta will offer customers non-stop service to more than 28 international destinations with 18 routes across the Atlantic.