By Barry Coughlan
Shannon Airport and Irish tourism received another boost in the last few days with the news that United Airlines is to operate a new daily non-stop seasonal service from Chicago next summer.
This decision by United turns the clock back five years to a time when the airline operated five times a week but the clock forward to an expanded service.
It is envisaged that this new route has the capacity to generate an additional 30,000 passengers through Shannon Airport next year, supporting the West of Ireland economy in terms of business connections and an increase in tourism numbers.
Welcoming the news Mary Considine, CEO, The Shannon Airport Group said: “This announcement is fantastic news for our customers and for staff at the Shannon Airport Group. Chicago is a really important US gateway and is another positive addition from services already through Shannon to New York, Boston and Newark/New Jersey.
“Over the years Shannon has performed strongly supporting the local economy with flights to and from North America, boosting tourism and benefitting the business community.
“Our aviation development team have been working hard over the last few years to secure the return of this popular service.
“United Airlines are a valued airline partner at Shannon. They began operating from our airport in 1998, and since then have carried over 2.2 million passengers.
“With our US pre-clearance facilities, passengers flying from Shannon can arrive in the US as domestic passengers, saving them considerable time. This, combined with our new security screening system will cut the journey time for passengers and it delivers on our promise to make it easy for them.
“This announcement is proof that United Airlines sees further opportunities for growth at Shannon and we look forward to working closely with them on delivering those extra passengers,” she concluded.
Commenting on the new service Martina Coogan, United Country Sales Manager Ireland said: “As the only US airline to offer direct flights from Shannon, we are excited to announce this further expansion of our route network from Ireland to the US.
“We expect another busy summer for international travel in 2023 and are proud to build on our industry-leading global network to offer our customers in the west of Ireland even greater travel choice and the possibility to connect via our US hubs to other destinations across the Americas.”
This new daily Chicago service will be an addition to the daily service to Newark/New Jersey that United operate at Shannon and which is set to return in April next year.
The United Airlines services to Chicago and Newark/New Jersey for 2023 are now on sale at www.united.com. To book holidays or city breaks from Shannon Airport visit www.flyshannon.ie.
United is the largest carrier operating out of O’Hare International Airport (ORD). The airline currently operates nearly 450 daily flights to over 150 destinations across the United States and around the world from its Chicago hub.