Aer Lingus has signalled “significant” transatlantic expansion next year with new routes from Dublin to San Francisco and Toronto.
The Irish carrier’s first route to the US west coast will see year-round flights operate five times a week by Airbus A330s from March 2014.
Daily Toronto flights will be run by a Boeing 757, reducing to four flights a week in the winter.
A further two 757s will be based in Shannon to increase frequency on existing services to Boston and New York. The 757s are being leased from ASL Aviation Group.
The growth plan will bring the airline’s long-haul schedule to 10 daily transatlantic services, connecting Ireland and Europe with cities throughout North America.
Aer Lingus chief executive Christoph Mueller said: “Our transatlantic business goes from strength to strength. This expansion is extremely positive news for Aer Lingus and for the broader economy in terms of business, tourism and employment.
“Our transatlantic capacity will increase by 24% in 2014, following on from the 13% additional capacity in our 2013 transatlantic schedule. Very importantly, this expansion will directly support more than 200 new jobs within Aer Lingus and our partner airline ASL Aviation Group.”
The expansion plans came as the carrier announced June carryings up by 3.1% to more than 1 million, including a 17.2% year-on-year rise in long-haul numbers to 116,000.
The airline claims Dublin recently overtook Amsterdam Schiphol as the preferred hub for UK passengers wanting to avoid flying via Heathrow to North America.
Passengers are avoiding high Air Passenger Duty rates by booking single tickets to Dublin and separate long-haul tickets from Ireland. APD is levied on all departures from UK airports and varies in price depending on the distance flown.
“The further north you live [in Great Britain], the more benefit you have going via Dublin to the US because you save so much time avoiding Heathrow,” Mueller told the Daily Telegraph.