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Yet another new nonstop destination arrived to Nashville International Airport Friday morning. Aer Lingus will begin service to Dublin, Ireland, out of BNA on April 12.
This is the eighth new nonstop flight in the last two weeks and the second international destination. Last Thursday, BNA welcomed Icelandair officials to announce a direct flight to Iceland’s capital city Reykjavík.
“We live in a great state. We live in a great city, and we have a lot of great international business leaders that have helped us, propelled us to this day,” BNA President and CEO Doug Kreulen said. “The investments that we’ve made over the last seven years and the investments that we’ll make over the next 15 years will only serve to continue expanding this opportunity.”
Kreulen said the estimated economic impact of the partnership with Aer Lingus is about $66 million.
In the spring, Aer Lingus will launch its Nashville service with four weekly 8.5-hour flights and the opportunity for connections to Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, London and at least 17 other European cities. Initial ticket prices are as low as $499 roundtrip to Dublin and $599 to the U.K. and other European cities, according to Aer Lingus Director of Sales Bill Byrne.
“For 65 years, Aer Lingus has connected Ireland with the U.S. That is longer than any other carrier by decades, and now, Nashville,” Byrne said.
Aer Lingus is the fifth largest European carrier between Europe and the U.S., and Nashville is the 17th U.S. city on Aer Lingus’s flight schedule. Also, Byrne said that on return flights, passengers will have U.S. Customs Preclearance, meaning they will go through the customs process prior to boarding and be treated as domestic travelers when arriving back in Nashville.
Tennessee Commissioner of Tourism Mark Ezell said Tennessee is leading the country in recovering to pre-pandemic levels of international visitation and he expects the new Dublin flight to increase the city’s international connectivity even more.
“Our goal is to reach $1 billion in international spending in 2025,” Ezell said. “We know that the U.S. is Ireland’s number one long-haul destination and that Tennessee is 15th in that ranking. That’s before your flight.”
Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. President and CEO Deana Ivey said city and airport leaders “aggressively pursued” getting a nonstop service to Dublin out of BNA for the last year.
“This new Aer Lingus route will continue to open access to other key European markets,” she said in a statement.
Two weeks ago, BNA only had one airline flying to Europe, British Airways, and now, it has three.
As far as future flights coming to Nashville International Airport, Kreulen said he believes there will be “more opportunities next year and the year beyond.”
Hadley Hitson covers trending business, dining and health care for The Tennessean. She can be reached at [email protected]. To support her work, subscribe to The Tennessean.
Source link : https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2024/10/04/new-nonstop-flight-from-nashville-to-europe-announced/75501718007/
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Publish date : 2024-10-04 14:00:20
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