On May 25, United reactivated its nonstop flights between Chicago O’Hare and Shannon after a six-year absence. The service’s 42,000-seat capacity is expected to generate new business and tourism opportunities. The U.S. airline is the only foreign air carrier to offer transatlantic service at Shannon.
UA Flight 288 was operated on a Boeing 757 registered N12125, which took off from O’Hare International Airport (ORD) at 18:56 local time and landed at Shannon International Airport (SNN) at 07:42 the following day, after six hours and 42 minutes.
“This is a significant boost for Shannon Airport, and we are delighted that this daily seasonal direct service to Chicago will once again serve the transatlantic market. United Airlines is a valued airline partner at Shannon and this service shows the continued attractiveness of Shannon and the west of Ireland“, said Mary Considine, chief executive officer of The Shannon Airport Group.
The U.S. airline’s last service between Chicago and Shannon was on September 6, 2017 and in that same year it moved 24,818 passengers on this route according to data obtained from the Central Statistics Office of Ireland. For the 2023 summer season, United will have a 4,732-seat weekly offering between the U.S. and Shannon.
United flight schedule between Chicago and Shannon
- Chicago O’Hare – Shannon Flight UA 288 ORD 18:20 – SNN 07:30+1 daily flights.
- Shannon – Chicago O’Hare Flight UA 289 SNN 09:30 – ORD 11:45 daily flights.
The route is operated by Boeing 757-200 aircraft with 169 seats in three classes (16 Business Class/45 Economy Plus/108 Economy). This route is seasonal and the last seasonal flight is scheduled for September 4.
“Chicago is an important gateway to the U.S. and is a really positive addition to the daily services we already offer from Shannon to New York, Boston and Newark. With a capacity of over 42,000 seats, this strategic Chicago route not only benefits leisure and tourism travelers, but this direct service also provides important additional business connectivity for our customers“, Considine added.
Transatlantic market recovery at Shannon
Shannon’s pre-COVID transatlantic traffic was affected by the grounding of Boeing 737 MAXs, as a result Norwegian ceased flights to New York – Stewart and Providence and Air Canada did not resume its seasonal route from Toronto – Pearson. In the post-COVID era, American and Delta have not resumed their seasonal routes from Philadelphia and New York respectively.
Currently, United has seasonal services from Newark and Chicago and Aer Lingus operates year-round to New York and Boston. According to data obtained through Cirium Shannon’s transatlantic capacity has recovered by 61.3% compared to summer 2018 seasonal levels.
United’s Ireland schedule
The carrier has a 16,688 weekly seat offering and six daily flights between the U.S. and Ireland, it is the third largest airline in this segment in terms of offered seat kilometers (ASK), behind only Aer Lingus and American Airlines.
Dublin (DUB)
- Newark: twice daily flights on Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 757-200.
- Washington – Dulles: daily flight on Boeing 767-400ER.
- Chicago: daily flight on Boeing 757.
Shannon (SNN)
- Newark: daily flight on Boeing 757.
- Chicago: daily flight on Boeing 757.
