Weeks after announcing a Nashville service set for take off in 2025, Aer Lingus will also fly to Indianapolis next year
It will operate four times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturday, the airline said, with fares from €499 return.
It follows news earlier this month that Aer Lingus will fly to Nashville next year, and with direct flights to Las Vegas scheduled to begin this week.
Similar to Nashville, the Indianapolis flights will be operated on new, single-aisle Airbus A321XLR aircraft, as opposed to the double-aisle, widebody A330s that serve mainstay transatlantic routes like New York and Chicago.
The latest route announcement will bring to 24 the transatlantic services operated by the airline from Ireland and the UK, which also began flying to Denver, Colorado, and the twin cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul in Minnesota, this year.
Despite ongoing debates on the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, Aer Lingus has also scheduled new short-haul services to Malta, Marrakech and Seville this winter.
It has, however, reduced its Dublin-London Heathrow service, for the same season, operating between nine and 10 departures a day compared with the 11 to 12 it had last year.
Indianapolis comes as a surprise, but the new service will be the only direct route to Europe from the city, Aer Lingus said, feeding into its strategy of growing Dublin Airport as a transatlantic hub.
The airline offers onward connections to 20 destinations across Europe, and Dublin Airport also has the benefit of US Customs and Border Protection’s Preclearance facilities.
The US city is also a gateway to the mid-west, home to hundreds of events every year (including, famously, the Indianapolis 500), and will be welcomed by the Irish tourist industry as another departure point for the lucrative North American tourist market.
“With Indianapolis’ vibrant industries and rich cultural heritage, and Dublin’s strategic position as a gateway to Europe, this new route will facilitate partnerships and opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Lynne Embleton, Aer Lingus’ Chief Executive Officer.
“Reopening a much needed and frequently requested transatlantic route to our dear friends in Ireland will once again open new opportunities for business and leisure alike,” said Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb.
“Indiana is home to 52 Ireland-based business, and Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Company recently invested $1.8 billion in two Irish facilities,” the airline said.
In tourism terms, Indianapolis is home to the Indianapolis Colts football team, the world’s largest children’s museum in Newfields, an urban state park, the ten-mile-long Indianapolis Cultural Trail, and Indianapolis Museum of Art.