Cleveland's connection to Europe will shortly be restored.
The Irish national airline, Aer Lingus, will begin service in May between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Dublin Airport (DUB), where it has a hub (CLE).
Airbus A321LR, a longer-range version of the A321neo, will be used by the carrier for the service, which will start on May 19.
The chief strategy & planning officer of Aer Lingus, Reid Moody, stated in a statement, "This is an important development for Aer Lingus as we execute on our objective to grow our transatlantic network."
"The launch of a new route, along with increased network connectivity, marks an important milestone for the airline at a crucial juncture in our company's recovery.
Through our Dublin Hub, the new service to Cleveland offers connections to over 20 well-known European cities in addition to a direct route to Ireland.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer stated that a $2.4 million incentive package was offered to Aer Lingus by a coalition of local business and governmental organizations to entice the airline to Cleveland.
These packages are widespread, especially for long-distance flights to regional markets.
As an illustration, the German flag airline Lufthansa, which started operations this past June, was attracted to St. Louis by a combination of local civic and corporate leaders.
Over the course of three years, that arrangement might be valued up to $5 million.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, Aer Lingus will fly.
All times are local for flight EI86, which leaves Cleveland at 8:20 p.m. and lands in Dublin at 8:50 a.m.
Returning passengers take flight EI87, which leaves Dublin at 3:30 and lands in Cleveland at 6:50.
New economy-class tickets start as low as $459 round-trip for flights from Cleveland.
Business-class tickets cost approximately $3,264 round trip for the same route.
The A321LR from Aer Lingus can accommodate 168 people in economy class and 16 people in lie-flat business class.
Following the summer of 2018, when both Icelandair and the now-defunct Wow Air served Cleveland from Keflavik Airport (KEF), Aer Lingus' flight will be the city's first flight to Europe when it takes off. This is based on Cirium scheduling data.
When Continental Airlines stopped operating between Cleveland and London Heathrow Airport in 2009, it marked the end of the final regularly scheduled full transatlantic flight (LHR).
Soon after, United Airlines and Continental combined, and United later closed its hub in Cleveland.
Serving secondary markets in the United States is nothing new for Aer Lingus; from 2016 to 2019, it operated flights to Bradley International Airport (BDL), which is close to Hartford, Connecticut.
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