New Route of the Day (1 December 2021): Aer Lingus between Manchester and New York JFK

Aer Lingus on Wednesday 1 December began daily service between Manchester in the UK and New York JFK. The 5,380-kilometre route will normally be flown using the Irish carrier’s A321LRs, but the inaugural service of flight EI45 was operated using an A330-300, registration G-EILA. This is the same aircraft that also launched service from Manchester to Barbados on 20 October, having previously been registered as EI-EILA. Competition on this new route comes from Virgin Atlantic, who also operate a daily service using their A330-300s. Virgin began serving the market in May 2017. In the past, Virgin has also served Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco from Manchester. Looking further back reveals that American (May 2010 to October 2017), British Airways (from before 2000 to October 2008) and Delta (June 2006 to May 2017) have all offered non-stop service between Manchester and JFK. In addition, Continental (until February 2012) and United (from March 2012 to March 2020) have flown between Manchester and New York EWR. This December, Virgin also serves Orlando in Florida with daily flights from Manchester and there is also a 3-weekly service to Atlanta, home of Virgin’s partner Delta. Meanwhile, Aer Lingus is planning to start a 4-weekly service to Orlando starting on 11 December. This route will be served using A330s.

What they said

Reid Moody, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, Aer Lingus, said: “Today marks a very important day for Aer Lingus, as we launch our first flights from the UK to the United States as we recover and expand our transatlantic network. It also marks another momentous moment for our new services from Manchester direct to the US, with flights to Orlando set to depart on their inaugural service on 11th December. Our New York and Orlando routes follow the launch of our new direct flights to Barbados on 20th October, which will run until April 2022, before returning the following winter”. Karen Smart, MD of Manchester Airport, said: “It’s incredibly pleasing to see Aer Lingus launch its New York service, which will give passengers more choice when looking to travel to what is one of our most popular destinations. The fact Aer Lingus has chosen Manchester Airport as its first UK base for transatlantic flights is a great boost for the region, creating hundreds of jobs in the process. Aer Lingus’ transatlantic routes will no doubt be hugely popular with the 22 million people that live in our catchment area, especially now the US has opened up to British travellers. I look forward to working closely with Aer Lingus as they grow from Manchester Airport.”