Aer Lingus is bolstering its transatlantic network with a new service from Dublin to Seattle.
Flights to the carrier’s 13th destination in North America will run four times a week from May 18, 2018, with connections from 12 UK cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Seattle adds 50,000 additional seats to the airline’s transatlantic schedule for summer 2018, with total capacity now reaching more than 2.75 million seats.
The Irish carrier’s summer 2018 schedule includes 3.7 million seats between the UK and Ireland, including Aer Lingus Regional services operated by Stobart Air.
Mainline services flying from London, Manchester and Birmingham will see 41,000 additional seats.
Routes from London to Ireland and Northern Ireland – Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Knock – will have 1.7 million seats for summer 2018.
Last month saw the start of a recruitment drive to hire 200 pilots over the next three years and almost 3,000 applications were received for the first wave of 100 positions in October.
The airline’s fleet and employment will expand over the next five years with the acquisition of Airbus A321neo long-range aircraft from 2019.
The aircraft will open up new markets, expand the network and enable a new growth phase for the airline.
Aer Lingus chief executive, Stephen Kavanagh, said: “We are delighted to announce our 2018 UK summer schedule which includes Seattle as our latest new transatlantic route.
“We believe this service will offer great value choices to our UK guests which boasts connections from 12 key cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“Since joining International Airlines Group two years ago we have grown and strengthened our Dublin gateway to North America and we look forward to continuing this development in the years to come.
“Our short haul schedule highlights our commitment to the UK serving 25 routes including key cities such as London, Manchester Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newquay.”