International budget airline Norwegian Air has announced plans to provide inexpensive flights to Ireland this coming July, with initial fares at $69 for a one-way ticket, though round trip rates will eventually settle at approximately $300.
The proposed service will be running to Dublin, Shannon, and Belfast airports, and depart from Stewart Airport (60 miles outside Manhattan) and a smaller airport in the Boston area, with three more airports – T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, RI; Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT; and Portsmouth International Airport in Portsmouth, NH – currently under consideration.
“These are the routes that will launch with $69 fares and have average return fares of $300 – $350, including taxes. In order to operate such flights profitably, they need to be served by medium-sized/smaller airports within the Greater Boston and NYC areas,” director of Norwegian Air’s U.S. communications Anders Lindström told Lohud.com. “We will be offering the most affordable transatlantic flights America has ever had.”
The Stewart-Belfast Airport link especially will be cause for much celebration after the termination of the United Airlines Belfast to Newark route in early January, Belfast’s only direct flight to the U.S., which increased anxiety about Belfast’s future in the international economy. ♦
Irish America
Irish America
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