Shannon airport

Shannon Airport has welcomed today's Aer Lingus announcement that it is to increase it's existing Boston and New York flights to daily services next year as a significant early boost for 2014.
The Boston service will go daily from January 6, with New York from end of March.
Welcoming the announcement, SAA plc Chief Executive Neil Pakey said the decision confirms the very strong market there is for transatlantic services at Shannon.
"2013 is proving a very good year on transatlantic already at Shannon as summer services will see an increase of up to 25% in passenger numbers. To have Aer Lingus make this early commitment for 2014 is another hugely positive development for Shannon and, particularly, for passengers seeking access on transatlantic services.
"Shannon Airport, which is one of only two airports in the country with flights to and from the US and Canada, services a region from Cork right up to the North West so this is a very significant announcement. It will see Aer Lingus carry up to 50,000 additional passengers on transatlantic in 2014 so we thank them very much for this commitment," said Mr Pakey.

Shannon Airport's passenger numbers increased by 8% during June

18 July 2013

Shannon Airport’s passenger numbers have turned a significant corner, with figures for June showing an 8% increase on the same month last year.

The hugely positive development has seen month-over-month passenger numbers grow for the first time in five years at the airport and comes just six months after Shannon set out on life as an independent entity.

The increase has been most pronounced in US passenger numbers, which have shown a massive 38% hike on the same month last year, largely due to the commencement of a new Philadelphia service with US Airways on May 22nd and United Airlines Chicago service on June 6th.

It is the latest in a series of positive developments on transatlantic operations this year at Shannon. It follows the announcement two weeks ago by Aer Lingus that it is to increase frequency on its existing Boston and JFK New York flights next year, resulting in a 25% increase (50,000 passengers) on its transatlantic passengers at Shannon in 2014.

Overall, passenger numbers grew to 160,573 in June, from 148,531 last year. European services also contributed significantly to the increase, up by 18% on the same month last year. Major contributing factors here were the return of the popular Ryanair Alicante service, the airline’s additional frequencies on Palma and the commencement of Aer Lingus flights to Faro in the Algarve.

Meanwhile, 2012 Red C market research illustrates Shannon’s importance in terms of delivering US tourists, and, therefore, spend in counties from the West down to the South West and even up as far as the capital.

The research shows that of the US transatlantic passengers who arrived through Shannon last year, 46% holidayed in Clare, 43% in Kerry, 30% in Galway, 26% in Dublin, 24% in Cork and 17% in Limerick.

Welcoming the June passenger numbers increase, Shannon Airport Chief Executive Neil Pakey said: “We are very encouraged by this increase. It is down in no small way down to the hard work of our team in securing a range of new services and is a really good start to life as an independent airport.

“The growth in US passenger numbers is particularly encouraging for the regions we provide services for as tourism estimates are that US visitors spend, on average, 60% more than other tourists in Ireland.

“Our catchment includes some of Ireland’s leading tourism counties, so having a significantly improved range of services this year, especially on transatlantic routes, is extremely important to these counties.

“We are also encouraged by the number of Shannon passengers now visiting Dublin. The regions we serve offer a distinct Irish holiday experience but the quality of our road and public transport network now also enables visitors to easily access Dublin for one or two-night stays while basing themselves here.”