Delta Air Lines will go head to head with Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus on a new route between Minneapolis-Saint Paul and Dublin beginning next summer. Delta’s new route announcement came just a few hours after Aer Lingus made its plans public, putting the two carriers in direct competition with one another.
Aer Lingus not only made its announcement first, but it will also start the route first, beating Delta by a few days when the first flight departs Dublin for MSP Airport on April 29, 2024.
Delta will offer a summer seasonal service between Minneapolis-Saint Paul and Dublin beginning May 9 and will operate the route on one of its ageing Boeing 767s.
Meanwhile, Aer Lingus will initially operate its year-round service on an Airbus A330 before switching to a new single-aisle A321XLR in October 2024 – a fuel-efficient aircraft that will give the airline a significant operational advantage over Delta.
And while Aer Lingus isn’t a member of an airline alliance, it is part of a transatlantic joint venture which includes American Airlines, British Airways and Finnair.
In contrast, Delta has a transatlantic joint venture with the Air France-KLM group and Virgin Atlantic.
For Joe Esposito, Delta’s SVP of network planning, the decision to begin service between Dublin and Minneapolis-Saint Paul is just another sign of the airline’s commitment to the Twin Cities and the Emerald Isle.
“Delta continues to build on its longstanding No. 1 position in Minneapolis with another nonstop option for customers traveling overseas,” commented Esposito on Thursday.
“With nearly 10 trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific flights flying direct from the Twin Cities, customers have the utmost choice, coupled with our award-winning customer service, when traveling with us,” he continued.
In fact, Delta already offers flights from MSP to 120 destinations, including Amsterdam, Paris, Keflavik, London, and Cancun.
The outbound flight will depart MSP at 9:20 pm and arrive in Dublin at 10:50 am, while the return flight will leave Dublin at midday and arrive in Minneapolis at 2:25 pm.
Delta will operate the service five days per week, whereas Aer Lingus will initially only operates the flight four times per week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The Aer Lingus service will increase to daily from October 2024.
