Aer Lingus has relaunched direct service to Minneapolis-St. Paul in Minnesota four years after being halted due to the pandemic, operating four times weekly, with the first flight departing yesterday.
The flight initially used an A330 with the A321XLR due to operate on the route when available. It is the last of the pre pandemic routes to be restored by Aer Lingus. Delta will commence a service on the same route next week.
Aer Lingus has 1,196 roundtrip flights to the United States in May and 310,000 seats according to data from Cirium. Currently, almost half of booked passengers from Minneapolis St. Paul to Dublin plan to connect at Dublin, with top destinations including London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Barcelona, and Berlin.
The new inflight Business Class menu on the airline has been curated based on customer feedback, focusing on seasonal, sustainably sourced, and local produce to provide hearty and healthy meals to passengers.
Business Class passengers on long-haul flights can now enjoy dishes such as skin-on thyme and parsley chicken supreme, herb-infused roasted pork, flaky pan-fried hake, citrus-marinated salmon, and a rich root vegetable and pearl barley stew with a seasonal salad.
Enhancements for all passengers include improved Wi-Fi speeds through next-generation satellites, offering better coverage across transatlantic routings, and an expanded entertainment library with a third more movie blockbusters, documentaries, and TV shows.
Return flights are priced at €520 with an introductory offer of €100 off return flights and €200 off return Business Class fares.
In a press release, the airline saidt “flights to the Twin Cities are not only back, but better than ever, due to recent upgrades to the Aer Lingus long-haul flight programme.”
Reid Moody, Aer Lingus Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, said: “there has been a noticeable demand from our passengers for the reinstatement of this route following the temporary pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are dedicated to offering passengers seamless connections between North America and Ireland, and onward from Ireland to the rest of Europe. The re-introduction of this route marks the airline’s full restoration of our pre-pandemic North American network and serves as testament to this commitment. Minneapolis-St Paul is a significant business destination within the US and we look forward to once again facilitating corporate links and connectivity between Europe and North America, through our Dublin Hub.”
Dublin Airport Managing Director Gary McLean said: “the return of this route will further enhance tourism and trade between Ireland and the US. We have been working closely with Aer Lingus to grow its North American business, and the reintroduction of this route is a testament to that partnership.”
