2012-11-22 — /travelprnews.com/ — Shannon Airport has today received another significant boost for its 2013 schedule with the announcement by Aer Lingus that it will have three weekly services to one of the most popular European summer sun destinations, the Algarve. The new flights to Faro will operate three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, commencing on the 1st May. Flights go on sale on aerlingus.com on Thursday 22nd November. Fares start from €59.99 one-way. It is envisaged that this new service will generate an additional 20,000 passengers through the airport next year and provide a welcome boost for sun seekers and holidaymakers from the West of Ireland.
Welcoming the announcement Shannon Airport Director Mary Considine said: “This is excellent news for Shannon Airport and more so for the many thousands of people from the West of Ireland that travel to the Algarve every year, be it for annual sun holidays, short leisure breaks or golf trips.
“2012 has been challenging for Shannon in terms of airline services and passenger traffic volumes but we are finishing out the year on a really positive note with recent announcements, not least the addition of this extremely attractive Faro service with Aer Lingus. It is also a clear indication by Aer Lingus that it has potential for growth at Shannon, particularly on European routes.”
In addition to the Faro service, Aer Lingus has also brought forward the recommencement of services to New York and Boston to March 11th after a short winter break and just in time to meet the strong demand for St. Patrick’s weekend.
Aer Lingus will generate an estimated 570,000 plus passengers through Shannon in 2013 on key destinations such as New York, Boston, London-Heathrow, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Faro.
Commenting on the announcement, Aer Lingus Director of Communications Declan Kearney said: “We are delighted to launch a new service from Shannon to the popular holiday destination and gateway to the Algarve, Faro. We look forward to welcoming customers on board the new service.”
While Shannon will continue to have a weekly charter flight to Faro with Thomas Cook Holidays, the scheduled services to Faro were last operated at Shannon in March 2010 and since then over 100,000 passengers from the Shannon catchment area have had to make their way to Portugal via other airports, an inconvenience that can now be rectified according to Declan Power, Aviation Business Development at Shannon who stated “We have been working to secure the return of the Faro route so that customers in our region can avoid the inconvenience and additional costs of driving and parking their cars at other airports and on occasion incurring additional accommodation costs. Customers can now avoid this inconvenience with more direct services on the doorstep of their local airport. We will be working closely with Aer Lingus to ensure its success and continued operation over the coming years and restoring growth and services for Shannon and the West of Ireland”.
This new service follows hot on the heels of further good news for Shannon over the last few weeks with United Airlines to commence a new Chicago service, US Airways to serve Philadelphia and WingsAbroad doubling their number of flights to Turkey for Summer 2013.
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