Bono, Farrell and Keating* help celebrate new Southend-Dublin route launch
Above: Aer Lingus cabin crew with Irish celebrity look-a-likes, Colin Farrell, Ronan Keating and Bono.
Music from traditional ceilidh band Wraggle Taggle, Black Velvet cocktails and a huge plane shaped cake were all part of the celebrations marking the launch of a new link between Essex and Ireland.
Daily flights to and from London Southend Airport and Dublin with Aer Lingus Regional, will be operated by Aer Arann. A total of fifteen Aer Lingus Regional staff - including pilots and cabin crew – are now permanently located at London Southend.
Travellers will also be able to take advantage of connecting Aer Lingus transatlantic flights via Dublin to New York, Boston, Chicago and Orlando. Not only that, passengers on these flights can also take advantage of the unique US Customs and Immigrations pre-clearance facilities at Dublin Airport, allowing them to arrive in the USA as domestic passengers.
With direct morning, mid-afternoon and evening flights between London Southend Airport and Dublin, Aer Lingus Regional is offering a new competitive choice for both the day return business passenger and the longer-stay leisure passenger. Passengers flying out from London Southend will wait for a maximum of four-minutes for security, whilst those arriving with just hand luggage can expect to travel from plane to train within 15 minutes of their aircraft doors opening. The new railway station is less than 100 paces from the terminal and has up to eight services per hour to and from London – the airport is the only one in the UK with a direct mainline rail connection with the Olympic Games at Stratford.
Sean Brogan, Interim Chief Executive, Aer Arann, said: “We are delighted to commence our new Aer Lingus Regional Dublin to London Southend service today. We are confident that there will be strong demand for these services and that our passengers will benefit from the unique convenience and direct access to central London that London Southend Airport has to offer. We look forward to welcoming more and more passengers on board our Aer Lingus Regional flights to London Southend today and into the future.”
Welcoming the new services, Stephen Kavanagh, Chief Commercial Officer, Aer Lingus, said: “Aer Lingus welcomes the introduction of the new service from Dublin to London Southend which enables us to not only expand our route network between Dublin and the UK but will also help to boost traffic on our transatlantic service from Dublin to the USA.”
Alastair Welch, Managing Director London Southend Airport said: “Dublin is a welcome addition to the services we offer, especially with the very exciting potential for convenient onward journeys to the USA. We look forward to welcoming Aer Lingus passengers for both Dublin and America to our brand new passenger terminal and redeveloped airport.”
Above: (left to right) Alastair Welch Sean Brogan celebrate the route launch.
London Southend Airport will become a fully operational international gateway during 2012. A new Control Tower, extended runway, airport railway station providing fast and frequent train services direct to Stratford (site of the 2012 Olympic Games) and London Liverpool Street, a new passenger terminal and Holiday Inn hotel, make up the key developments taking place under Southend Airport's Stobart Group ownership.
With headquarters located in Dublin, Aer Arann is Ireland’s regional airline, operating 550 flights a week across almost 30 routes throughout Ireland, the UK and France under the Aer Lingus Regional brand, as part of a franchise agreement with Aer Lingus. The airline’s fleet currently consists of four ATR 42s and eight ATR 72s.
