United Airlines has announced it will operate a daily non-stop Shannon Airport-Chicago service from next summer.
The new route will commence on 26 May 2023, departing Shannon Airport daily at 9:30am for Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
United previously operated a Shannon-Chicago service five times per week from 2013 to 2017. The new service will use a Boeing 757-200 aircraft and fly seven days per week.
It is expected that the new service will see an additional 30,000 passengers travel through Shannon Airport next year. The return flight will depart O'Hare at 6:20pm local time daily from 25 May.
"Today’s announcement by United Airlines that they plan to expand their network at Shannon with a new daily service between Shannon Airport and its hub at Chicago O’Hare airport next year is fantastic news for our customers and for our staff at The Shannon Airport Group," said Mary Considine, CEO of the Shannon Airport Group.
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"Chicago is a really important U.S. gateway and is a positive addition to the daily services we already offer from Shannon to New York, Boston and Newark/New Jersey."
Considine added that flights to and from North America had boosted tourism and benefitted the business community in the region, and that the Shannon aviation development team had worked hard over the past few years to secure the return of United's Chicago service.
“United Airlines are a valued airline partner at Shannon. They began operating from our airport in 1998, and since then have carried over 2.2m passengers," she said.
“With our US preclearance facilities, passengers flying from Shannon can arrive in the U.S. as domestic passengers, saving them considerable time. This, combined with our new security screening system will cut the journey time for passengers and delivers on our promise to make it easy for them.
“This announcement is proof that United Airlines sees further opportunities for growth at Shannon and we look forward to working closely with them on delivering those extra passengers."
Commenting on the new service, Martina Coogan, United sales manager for Ireland, said: “As the only US airline to offer direct flights from Shannon, we are excited to announce this further expansion of our route network from Ireland to the US.”
“We expect another busy summer for international travel in 2023 and are proud to build on our industry-leading global network to offer our customers in the west of Ireland even greater travel choice and the possibility to connect via our U.S. hubs to other destinations across the Americas."
This new daily Chicago service will be an addition to the daily service to Newark New Jersey that United operate at Shannon, and which is set to return on 8 April.
Photo: Pictured at the 2013 inaugural launch of United’s new seasonal non-stop service between Shannon and its Chicago's O’Hare International Airport (ORD) were James Sexton's Blues Brothers Jake and Elwood. (Pic. Brian Arthur)
