While there has been no official confirmation yet, Aer Lingus is believed to be set to restore direct flights to San Francisco, California. The airliner cancelled the direct flights to San Francisco in 2009 in response to the economic downturn, despite the fact that 40pc of multinationals based in Ireland are headquartered there, particularly in major hubs like Silicon Valley.
Rumours of Aer Lingus’ restoration of the San Francisco route emerged in April but a spokesman at the time dismissed the rumour and said nothing would be decided until the airline worked out its transatlantic schedule for 2014 by June “at the earliest.”
A report on the Irish Times website yesterday suggested the airliner has bowed to calls from senior management at Facebook, Apple and Google, as well as Taoiseach Enda Kenny, TD, and industry groups like the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) to restore the flight to San Francisco.
The airline is understood to be ironing out details before going public.
Air Lingus has a partnership in place with Jet Blue for serving locations in the US beyond New York, Boston and Chicago.
