Aer Lingus (Dublin) yesterday (April 14) recorded two firsts; the launch of its inaugural flight from Dublin to Toronto (Pearson) and the first operation from Dublin of the Boeing 757-200 aircraft recently added to its trans-Atlantic fleet.

The new service will operate year-round with a daily service between Dublin and Toronto during the summer season and up to four weekly services operating during the winter. This is the fourth trans-Atlantic route launch in recent months and forms part of Aer Lingus’ significant trans-Atlantic growth plan in 2014.

The 2014 growth plan includes;

· New routes from Dublin to Toronto and San Francisco
· The addition of three Boeing 757-200 aircraft to the long haul fleet
· Almost doubling of frequency on services from Shannon to Boston and New York
· The creation of more than 200 new jobs

Aer Lingus customers travelling from over twenty UK and European cities via Dublin to Toronto will also have the option to connect to eight key cities within Canada including Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary.

To support the operation of the new routes from Dublin to Toronto and from Shannon to New York and Boston, Aer Lingus has wet leased three Boeing 757-200 aircraft from ASL Aviation Group. The aircraft are configured with an economy and business class cabin. Business travellers will continue to enjoy the same great level of service; with gourmet meals, sleeper seats and an extensive in-flight entertainment selection.

The ASL Aviation Group, based in Ireland, is a well-established global aviation group providing an unrivalled array of aviation services. The group of aviation companies includes Irish airline Air Contractors and French based airline Europe Airpost as well as two support service companies – ACLAS Global and Air Contractors Engineering; and various leasing entities. The Group’s operations are worldwide with the airlines operating a mixed fleet of wide body, short haul and turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft under their own brands and for a number of leading airlines. ASL Aviation Group has a staff of 1,200, a fleet of ±80 aircraft. ASL is a joint venture between CMB (51%) and 3P Air Freighters (49%).

Copyright Photo: Michael Kelly/AirlinersGallery.com. Formerly operated by Finnair as OH-LBT, Boeing 757-2Q8 EI-LBT (msn 28170), operated by Aero Contractors for Aer Lingus, departs from Dublin on its inaugural flight to Toronto on April 14, 2014.

Aer Lingus: