Summary
- Aer Lingus removed its preliminary flights between Dublin and Minneapolis from its schedule, indicating the plans have been abandoned.
- The airline had planned to resume the route in 2024 with 4 weekly flights, but no further details were provided.
- While Aer Lingus has not served Minneapolis since 2020, Delta Air Lines has since considered a nonstop flight between the 2 cities.
Aer Lingus’ initial plans to bring back service between its hub at Dublin Airport (DUB) and Minneapolis, Minnesota, was short-lived as its latest flight schedule update indicates the flights were removed. Last week, Ireland’s flag carrier reportedly filed the flights between the 2 cities, with a start date in 2024.
While the service was never officially announced, it might signify the airline’s return to the Minneapolis market after an prolonged hiatus. Moreover, the service would reportedly be the last international path to be reinstated at the dual cities airport after the pandemic.
What is going on on?
In response to AeroRoutes, an airline schedule and network changes provider, Aer Lingus removed its preliminary flights to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) from its schedule this week. The carrier planned to resume the route on April 29, 2024, with 4 weekly flights on an Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
Photo: Aer Lingus
The initial flight data revealed that EI089 would depart DUB at 14:20 and arrive at 16:55. The return flight, EI088, would depart MSP at 18:45 and land at DUB the following morning at 08:25. No further information, resembling the times the flights would operate or how long the service would last was made available. The flights were also never available to buy through the airline’s website.
Easy Flying contacted the carrier for comment, but a representative couldn’t be immediately reached. In response to Thrifty Traveler, the airports had no details about Aer Lingus’ plans either.
History of the route
The route was launched in the summertime of 2019 and reportedly received great fanfare in Minnesota because the state’s business community had racked up considerable demand for a nonstop flight to the Emerald Isle.
Due to the increased demand for business travel, MSP was introduced to 2 other international routes in 2019, featuring service to Mexico City, Mexico, and Seoul, South Korea. In response to Thrifty Traveler, airport officials that yr teamed up with Minnesota’s businesses, including its wealth of Fortune 500 corporations, to collect details about where they desired to send their employees over the following several years, which might often be in an expensive business class seat.
Officials used the info to present airlines insight and supply an in depth have a look at where demand lies amongst a few of the region’s most lucrative travelers. It proved effective with Aer Lingus launching its service.
What about MSP’s largest carrier?
When the pandemic snubbed many of the industry, the airline needed to shelve flights to MSP. Still, as air travel has roared back, exceeding pre-pandemic levels in some markets, Aer Lingus has not returned to MSP but as an alternative resumed several routes to the US and introduced latest cities to its route network, resembling Cleveland.
As demand has boomed, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has reportedly mulled a nonstop flight between MSP and DUB since last yr. The airline has a major presence at MSP because the airport is a hub inherited from Northwest Airlines.
Photo: Lukas Wunderlich/Shutterstock
Ishrion Aviation indicated last November that Delta initially planned to introduce service to DUB in the summertime of this yr on a Boeing 767-300ER. Nevertheless, since that timeframe has passed, it’s unclear whether Delta will follow through with its plans, which might essentially take over Aer Lingus’ capability if the Irish airline fails to resume its service.