Aer Lingus "Planning New Dublin-Las Vegas Service"

Aer Lingus is planning to launch a new direct service between Dublin and Las Vegas next winter, chief executive Stephen Kavanagh has said.

 The airline is initially planning it as a seasonal service, but he said this could be extended depending on how the route performs.

“We are working to build a business case to operate a seasonal service to Las Vegas,” Mr Kavanagh said in an Irish Independent interview.

“We need to find a balance to the peak summer months, where the US consumer is the main source of our traffic and where Ireland is the destination.”

He added that a winter service to Las Vegas would complement the seasonality Aer Lingus sees on its transatlantic services.

“We think there's demand there,” said Mr Kavanagh, adding that the planned service will probably operate two or three times a week.

“We can see from our own traffic data that for the Irish consumer Las Vegas is very attractive. We think there's an opportunity around Las Vegas. Whether it's year-round or just tactically in the winter months, that's what we're looking at.”

The Aer Lingus boss said that many Irish people and UK residents typically travel to Las Vegas from Manchester or London Heathrow.