Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

208. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the expected number of air routes directly between Ireland and North America for 2024; if he will identify these routes and the airlines operating each; if they are seasonal or year-round; which routes are new for 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4942/24]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Scheduled air services between a point in Ireland and a point in North America are governed by two separate EU comprehensive air transport agreements, one with the United States and the other with Canada.

The operation of any scheduled air service is a commercial decision for airlines, in consultation with airports and other associated market actors, based on the commercial viability of the route in question and other operational factors. I do not have a role in such decisions.

Scheduled air services are planned around two scheduling periods: summer and winter. The summer period begins on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Saturday of October. The winter period begins on the last Sunday of October and ends on the last Saturday of March. Traditionally, the summer period is the busiest for airlines and often features the introduction of new routes.

My department operates a process whereby third country airlines make applications for authorisations under the comprehensive air transport agreements. This process is underway for the upcoming summer period, as such it is not yet clear how many transatlantic routes to North American points will be operated in the summer 2024 season.

The table below details the services operated during 2023. Accompanying the references to the airlines are (S) or (S&W), which serve to identify if the route that operated, by the particular airline, was summer only (S) or a year-round service, summer and winter, (S&W).

It is anticipated that a similar offering will be available this summer. In addition, I am aware of announcements made by some airlines regarding new routes they intend to operate in North America in 2024, for example;

• JetBlue announcing new services to Dublin from both New York JFK and Boston Logan, beginning in March of this year,
• Aer Lingus announcing a new service to Denver and the re-launch of a service to Minneapolis Saint Paul, both from Dublin, and
• Delta Air Lines re-launching a service between Shannon and New York JFK, last operated in 2019, to begin in May.

  Route	Airline(s)
  Dublin - Boston Logan	Delta Air Lines (S&W) and Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - Charlotte Douglas	American Airlines (S)
  Dublin - Chicago O'Hare	American Airlines (S), United Airlines (S), and Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - Cleveland	Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - Dallas Fort Worth	American Airlines (S&W)
  Dublin - Hartford Bradley	Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta	Delta Air Lines (S)
  Dublin - Los Angeles	Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - Miami	Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - New York JFK	Delta Air Lines (S&W) and Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - New York Newark Liberty	United Airlines (S&W) and Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - Orlando	Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - Philadelphia	American Airlines (S&W) and Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - San Francisco	Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - Seattle Tacoma	Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - Washington Dulles	United Airlines (S&W) and Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - Calgary	WestJet Airlines (S)
  Dublin - Montreal	Air Canada (S)
  Dublin - Toronto Pearson	Air Canada (S&W), Air Transat (S), and Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Dublin - Vancouver	Air Canada (S)
  Shannon - Boston Logan	Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Shannon - Chicago O'Hare	United Airlines (S)
  Shannon - New York JFK	Aer Lingus (S&W)
  Shannon - New York Newark Liberty	United Airlines (S)