US carrier United Airlines has resumed its daily non-stop seasonal service between Dublin and its Washington DC hub as the international tourism industry begins to shake off the shackles of the Covid-19 pandemic.
United’s Dublin to Washington DC flight joins the existing year-round daily service from Dublin to New York/Newark, which is set to increase to twice daily from April 24th.
United is also set to recommence its daily non-stop seasonal service from Dublin to Chicago from March 27th, as well as its Shannon to New York/Newark route from March 28th.
The changes will bring the total number of daily flights offered by United Airlines from Ireland to the US to five this summer.
“We are excited to be flying once again from Dublin to our Washington/Dulles hub and to be able to offer our customers in Ireland even greater travel choice when flying United Airlines,” said Martina Coogan, United’s country sales manager for Ireland.
“Along with our non-stop year-round service to New York/Newark, as well as our seasonal flights from Dublin and Shannon, this addition means that our customers can connect to over 125 destinations across the Americas from our hub cities.”
United’s service from Dublin to Washington DC will be operated with both Boeing 757-200 and Boeing 767-300 aircraft.
The move comes as the international tourism industry continues its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic which saw it largely shut down for almost two years. Recent data from the Central Statistics Office also suggests Irish people have begun to holiday abroad again.
There were 585,000 outbound overnight trips undertaken by Irish residents in July, August and September last year, which was up 10.3 per cent when compared with 2020, but almost 80 per cent lower than the same period in 2019.
Those trips accounted for almost 4.6 million bed nights and spending of almost €557 million. By contrast, the number of people who opted for staycations last summer was down by a third compared to the previous summer.
