Fáilte Ireland in partnership with Shannon Airport and Aer Lingus today launched a newly branded ‘Wild Atlantic Way’ Aer Lingus Boeing 767 aircraft. The plane, which will be branded for 12 weeks, will fly the Boston’s Logan International Airport / Shannon Airport route.

The aircraft itself, which has a capacity of 213 per flight, flies twice daily between Boston and Shannon and will fill an estimated 7000 seats in total inbound and outbound for the 12 weeks.

This partnership arises out of the increased transatlantic services from Shannon Airport and strives to build on the strong momentum achieved last year when passenger numbers on US services at Shannon grew steadily, with the latter half of the year showing a 22% rise on the same period in 2012.

Welcoming the initiative today, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD said:

“The Wild Atlantic Way has been a tremendous success story for the west and is creating extra business and employment all along the Atlantic coast. However, we can’t become complacent and it’s important that we use every trick in the book to raise the brand’s profile. I’d like to commend Fáilte Ireland, Shannon Airport and Aer Lingus for their joined-up approach to promoting tourism in the region. I hope everybody who sees this plane on the tarmac in Boston airport is inspired to find out more about the Wild Atlantic Way and, ultimately, are persuaded to jump on a plane and come experience it for themselves”. 

Speaking about this partnership, Fiona Monaghan, Head of Fáilte Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way said:

“We are delighted to partner with Shannon Airport and Aer Lingus to literally fly the flag for the Wild Atlantic Way and increase its brand awareness with our overseas visitors. The US is one of the most important tourism markets for Ireland and has been performing impressively over the last year. There is clearly an appetite for Ireland – and the Wild Atlantic way – in the US and today’s initiative provides even

greater visibility for the Wild Atlantic Way brand.”

The Boston flight was the first Aer Lingus’ inaugural commercial transatlantic flight with the Boeing B757 aircraft launched in February 2014.  This increased frequency significantly enhanced Shannon and the Wild Atlantic Way’s connectivity to almost 40 cities in North America.

Speaking about the new Wild Atlantic Way branding initiative, Neil Pakey, Chief Executive, Shannon Airport said:

“Shannon Airport is at the heart of the Wild Atlantic Way and the newly branded Aer Lingus Wild Atlantic Way plane is an exciting way to get our message into this key market. Last year’s launch by Aer Lingus of a daily, year-round Boston-Shannon service provided a significant boost to capacity and the introduction of the new larger 767 plane will further increase capacity on this route by almost 7,000 seats.

It’s great that the Wild Atlantic Way plane will be used on this service. We believe that collaboration is key when it comes to promoting tourism and we will continue to work closely with our partners, Fáilte Ireland and Aer Lingus to look at more and more new ways to promote the Wild Atlantic Way.”