2012-11-07 — /travelprnews.com/ — Shannon Airport is delighted today to announce another major boost on transatlantic services for 2013 with the return of the popular US Airways daily service to Philadelphia after an absence of four years.
The announcement reaffirms the steady recovery in demand for services between Ireland and the US and further underpins Shannon Airport’s status as the transatlantic gateway for the West of Ireland. The service, which will commence on May 22nd next, will generate an additional 30,000 passengers through the airport next year and provide a welcome boost for the West of Ireland in terms of business connections and increased tourism numbers. It is also timely in that it will open up another key inbound destination to the West of Ireland in support of overall efforts for The Gathering in 2013.The new flights to Philadelphia – the sixth most populous city in the US – will operate on a daily basis with a two-class 176 seat Boeing 757 aircraft. The service will run from May 22nd to September 3rd, departing Shannon at 11.35am daily, arriving in Philadelphia at 2.05 p.m. local time. The return flight leaves Philadelphia at 9.05 p.m., arriving in Shannon at 8.40 a.m. the following day. The US Airways service to the historic city and modern-day economic powerhouse will also use Shannon Airport’s US Preclearance facility, thus ensuring speedy access on arrival in the US for all passengers and those making connecting flights beyond Philadelphia.
Welcoming the news Mary Considine, Director of Shannon Airport said: “This is a great boost for Shannon as it adds another new transatlantic service for 2013. We are really pleased also to be welcoming US Airways back to Shannon and look forward to helping them build a strong base of business and leisure travellers to and from Philadelphia, as well as cities that they serve beyond the gateway. “Philadelphia is a major hub for US Airways and offers onward connections to 175 destinations in the USA, Canada and the Caribbean so this opens up huge opportunities in terms of markets to and from Shannon through Philadelphia. Said Andrew Nocella, US Airways Senior Vice President, Marketing and Planning. “As a popular destination in Europe, US Airways is thrilled to return to Shannon with seasonal service from our international gateway at Philadelphia International Airport. “Beginning next spring, our customers will again have non-stop access to both coasts of Ireland. Customers can begin their trip with the Cliffs of Moher outside of Shannon and end it with seeing all that Ireland has to offer. As an additional benefit, customers can clear U.S. customs and immigration before departing Shannon, allowing for a quick and efficient arrival experience at Philadelphia International Airport. Customers who receive pre-clearance at Shannon Airport arrive as domestic passengers, are able to check their baggage through to their final destination and ultimately reduce the amount of time needed to connect to their next flight. US Airways first began operations from Philadelphia to Shannon in 2003 and operated until the end of the summer season 2009. During this seven year period the airline carried over 320,000 passengers through Shannon Airport.
Declan Power, Senior Manager, Aviation Business Development at Shannon Airport, said that resuming Philadelphia services was very much a priority for Shannon, not least given the strong market for the service in the past. “We have been working hard over the last few years to secure the return of the Philadelphia service with US Airways and we very much appreciate all the hard work put into this by the International Planning team in Phoenix. We will be working closely with the Sales & Marketing team here in Ireland to ensure its success and that the route will grow over the coming years,” he said.
“The Gathering 2013 has set a target of an additional 325,000 visitors to Ireland and this new Philadelphia service to Shannon will no doubt assist in a significant way in helping the tourism agencies to promote Ireland in the US over the coming months as we gear up for a festival of all things Irish.”
The US Airways service to Philadelphia is now on sale at usairways.com or local travel agents.
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About Philadelphia
Philadelphia, one of the United States’ most historic cities and one-time US capital, was the meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the United States and where the US Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th, 1776. It remains today one of the most popular history tourism destinations in the US, with its Liberty Bell – the preeminent symbol of freedom to all Americans – receiving up to 2million visitors annually alone. The city has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American City and Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park is the largest landscaped urban park in the world.
Philadelphia is also the economic and cultural centre of the Delaware Valley, one the US’s strongest economic zones and one with a large concentration on information and service based sectors. Some 12 of the Fortune 500 have their headquarters based there. Philadelphia has the fourth highest GDP of cities in the US.
About US Airways
US Airways, along with US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express, operates nearly 3,200 flights per day and serves more than 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Central and South America. The airline employs more than 32,000 aviation professionals worldwide, operates the world’s largest fleet of Airbus aircraft and is a member of the Star Alliance network, which offers its customers more than 21,500 daily flights to 1,356 airports in 193 countries. Together with its US Airways Express partners, the airline serves approximately 80 million passengers each year and operates hubs in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Phoenix, and a focus city in Washington, D.C. at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Aviation Week and Overhaul & Maintenance magazine presented US Airways with the 2012 Aviation Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of the Year Award for demonstrating outstanding achievement and innovation in the area of technical operations. Military Times Edge magazine named US Airways as a Best of Vets employer in 2011 and 2012. US Airways was, for the third year in a row, the only airline included as one of the 50 best companies to work for in the U.S. by LATINA Style magazine’s 50 Report. The airline also earned a 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality index for six consecutive years. The Corporate Equality index is a leading indicator of companies’ attitudes and policies toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and customers. For more company information visit usairways.com, follow on Twitter @USAirways or at Facebook.com/USAirways. (LCCG)