Norwegian unveils cheap flights to U.S. from Irish cities

Low-cost airline Norwegian on Thursday announced a series of groundbreaking new transatlantic flights from three Irish cities, offering passengers low-cost travel to the United States from just 69 euros (73 U.S. dollars).

Starting from July 1, Norwegian will operate the first ever transatlantic flights from Cork with a service to Providence Airport, Rhode Island, together with new U.S. routes from Shannon and Dublin to New York's Stewart International Airport and Providence, the airline said, adding that fares start from 69 euros one way.

The flights will serve two destinations on the U.S. east coast, with a focus on smaller U.S. airports, which offer access into New York, Boston areas, Norwegian said.

The new transatlantic routes will be operated on brand new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, it said.

Norwegian is Europe's third largest low-cost carrier, carrying 30 million yearly passengers to more than 140 global destinations.

Shane Ross, Irish minister for transport, tourism and sport, said that while Irish tourism had a record breaking year in 2016, with exceptional results from North America (up 19.4 percent on 2015), Norwegian's new services will ensure that 2017 will be even better.

He said this will allow Irish tourism to build on its upward curve, leading to more jobs and economic growth in the regions as well as Dublin.

After a number of years of declining passenger numbers, Cork Airport is now back on the road to growth and expansion with passenger numbers growing by 8 percent to more than 2.23 million last year.

Shannon Airport has also seen strong growth with a 24 percent increase in passenger numbers.

Dublin Airport is experiencing the most significant growth levels with a record 27.9 million passengers using the airport in 2016. Dublin Airport is one of the busiest of its size in Europe and the fifth biggest airport in Europe in terms of connections with North America. (1 euro=1.06 U.S. dollar) Endit