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Direct international flights will return to Indianapolis International Airport next year through a new transatlantic route to Dublin, airport, city and state officials announced Monday morning.
Beginning May 3, the airport will see direct flights four days a week through Irish airline Aer Lingus to Dublin Airport. Flights will be offered year-round except in January and February. The route will be offered on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Indianapolis International hasn’t offered a direct transatlantic route since 2020, when flights by Delta Air Lines to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport were called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic and never resumed.
Attracting the flight to Indiana involved a state, airport and city incentives package approaching $20 million per year.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the new flight on Facebook from Ireland.
“Reopening a much needed and frequently requested transatlantic route to our dear friends in Ireland will once again open new opportunities for business and leisure alike,” Holcomb said. “It’s important that Indiana always keep investing in itself, by letting the world know we’re open for business and not even the sky’s the limit to our cultivated connections.”
Indianapolis will become the 18th U.S. destination for Aer Lingus. The airline will offer passengers connections from Dublin to 20 other European destinations.
The flight will travel 3,718 miles and use an Airbus A321LR with 184 seats (16 business-class seats and 168 economy-class seats), according to travel news site One Mile at a Time.
Economy roundtrip fares for the route are expected to cost about $800, a savings over most indirect flights from Indianapolis to Dublin, which usually cost more than $1,000.
“This a great amalgamation of a low-cost carrier and a business carrier,” Indianapolis Airport Authority Executive Director Mario Rodriguez told IBJ. “It democratizes the ability of people to get to Europe, and it also gives the business community what they need.”
According to Aer Lingus, flights from Indianapolis will depart Indianapolis at 7:55 p.m. and arrive at Dublin Airport 7 hours and 55 minutes later, at 8:50 a.m. Dublin time.
Flights from Dublin to Indianapolis will take 8 hours and 35 minutes, departing at 2:50 p.m. Dublin time and arriving at 6:25 p.m. Indianapolis time.
Rodriguez estimates the route will fly at 80% to 90% capacity once demand stabilizes after launch.
By offering the flight, Aer Lingus will receive an incentive package with contributions from the Indianapolis Airport Authority, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the city of Indianapolis.
The IEDC will provide $17 million in annual support, while the airport, over a two-year period, will provide about $2 million a year in credits and advertising, Rodriguez said.
The city’s stake in the contract was not immediately available.
The incentives, Rodriguez said, are small in comparison to the airline’s operating costs (estimated between $60 million to $80 million a year) and provide the support needed for the connection to get off the ground financially.
The airport authority estimates the new air service could have an annual impact on Indiana’s economy of more than $50 million.
Multiple large Indiana companies have offices and facilities in Ireland, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. The country is one of the world’s top producers of pharmaceuticals and is highly regarded among drugmakers for its favorable business environment due to its low corporate tax rate, skilled workforce and business-friendly policies.
The business community is in part responsible for this new connection, Rodriguez said. A group of local businesses and agencies were involved in hashing out direct-flight locations that best serve industry needs. Currently, an average of 545 passengers fly out of the airport daily to European destinations using connecting flights.
Dublin Airport is one of only two airports in Europe that provides U.S.-bound travelers with preclearance services. Those traveling on nonstop flights to the United States complete immigration and customs procedures in Dublin prior to their departure and are treated as domestic passengers in Indiana on arrival.
Ireland is Indiana’s top goods importer with $20.9 billion in 2023, according to Department of Commerce data.
Indiana is home to operations from 52 Ireland-based businesses, including Accenture, Allegion, Eaton Corp., Ingersoll-Rand, Johnson Controls, Medtronic, Ostoform, Praxair, Schlage Lock Co., Trane and Wiistream. Ireland hosts 11 Hoosier businesses, including Eli Lilly and Co., Cook Group, Cummins, Elanco, Fort Wayne Metals and Co., and Zimmer Biomet.
Eli Lilly and Co. is the largest Hoosier companies doing business in Ireland, employing 3,000 people across three locations in the country. The company announced a $1.8 billion investment in two manufacturing sites, including its Limerick biopharmaceutical facility that is under construction.
“Indiana’s economy has been on an unprecedented trajectory of growth,” Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg said in a statement. “Our partners in Ireland and Europe have been a significant part of the growth we’ve experienced. This new transatlantic route will only add to that growth and open up Indiana to vast new opportunities.”
Since losing its direct Paris connection during the pandemic, airport authority leaders have sought to establish a new direct line to Europe, including renewing the Paris route or debuting a flight to London or Japan.
This new flight offers the connection to Europe the region is looking for, Rodriguez said, and makes it easier for passengers to travel to other European hotspots. Connections from the Irish airline include a host of English cities such as Berlin and Barcelona among others.
And as the need grows, the airport authority will look at different locations.
“We’re going to continue looking at it,” Rodriguez said. “But when it comes to the economics, just on the exports and imports, I doubt you will get another bigger economic sort of push than Dublin. That’s the biggest one.”
Ireland and Indianapolis have also become some of the fastest-growing markets for sports technology. Since 2017, Dublin has hosted the One-Zero Summit with a focus on strengthening the network for sports tech, demonstrating new products and tackling big industry topics like advancements in ticketing, fitness, betting and fan engagement.
One-Zero has hosted a second event in Indianapolis since 2022, with the next iteration scheduled for Dec. 12-14. The partnership also involves SportsTech HQ, an IEDC initiative that is housed by the Indiana Sports Corp. with a focus on making Indianapolis one of the world’s biggest sports technology hubs.
In March, Ireland-based startup Wiistream announced plans to establish its U.S. headquarters in Indianapolis, with the goal of having up to 20 people based here within the next few years.
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That subsidy is ridiculous The IEDC is out of its mind. $17M for a middling TALT connection from IND using a narrow-body jet. $5M earlier this year to restore a connection between Evansville & Chicago….
Any airline looking to launch a new service to/from Indiana has an incentive to bully the IEDC, whether incentives are truly needed or not.
B-I-N-G-O!
But we can’t afford the $3M subsidy for trains to Chicago, our nearest and largest metropolitan neighbor and economic partner…
A R., who wants to take train to Chicago when it takes twice as long as a car???
The whole point is that the State failed to invest in the line in the way that they are in air travel and highways. It takes twice as long not because trains are inherently slower (they very much are not) but because the State has made a policy choice to not act to improve track conditions and operating schedules, despite the return on investment that it would bring.
We get this but no good train to Chicago? This decision by Indiana leadership is based on corporate needs versus those of us who would like an alternative to the death trap of I65 going to Chicago.
A R., the problem with trains in America is that, with the exception of the Northeast Corridor serving Washington DC/Boston and a few other regions, passenger trains in the US have to use freight rails. And freight trains have the right-of-way, which means passenger trains cannot control their own schedules in a reliable or fast manner. Given the vast majority of Hoosier want to control their own destiny, they will drive the three hours and then complain about congestion in the loop and having to pay for parking. Rational? Hardly. But it is the reality.
Actually people were taking the slow train to Chicago that once was subsidized by the state. Amtrak tri-weekly service still exists. The US is a third world country for passenger rail outside the Northeast Corridor that Amtrak owns. Some states — Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina, California, Oregon, and Washington— have invested to improve tracks to allow 80 to 110 mph service. While far short of 150 – 190 mph train in Europe and Japan, it’s a good start.
The Indiana replacement buses for the former Hoosier State train are subpar and roiled in Chicago traffic and continuous so-called roadway improvements along I-65 (ahem, why isn’t it at least 3 lanes in each direction for the entire distance to the Chicago area?)
An international flight is great. And Indianapolis, far from being an attractive vibrant international hot spot, should be thrilled. Perhaps Delta may resurrect the IND-CDG connection with the right subsidy. So, after several months of service, one should consider the subsidy per passenger and also identify [positive] economic impacts for the central Indiana region.
Excellent news. Great for the city and the state.
Great news for Indiana in so many different ways…..regardless of the incentives! Will be pay for itself many times over. Hopefully this is just the beginning and Paris or Germany will be next!
“Incentives will pay for themselves many times over” is as bad as the “It’s for the children”.
Looks like I’ll be DUBLIN the amount of trips I take to Ireland
I see what you did there.
I’ve been wanting to visit Ireland and now it will be affordable and quick to get there.
Exciting news! Too bad it’s on a narrow-body jet… A quick price check shows tickets at about $1,000 for steerage. Maybe they’ll come down as the article quotes? Biz class for almost $4K….
Nice to see direct flight to Europe but Dublin is hardly suitable for the majority of travelers. So don’t buy the hype about connections elsewhere given its peripheral location. Amsterdam or Frankfurt would be much preferable. But this is about the pharma execs and their interests. Why doesn’t Eli Lilly cover the $17 million subsidy? After all, they just invested nearly
$2 billion in Irish production plants, and who knows how many millions they and the other medical or pharma companies save by locating operations in the EU’s most notable tax haven.
I’m pretty sure Lilly and Lilly Endowment pay hundreds of millions for the betterment of Central Indiana. So, I wouldn’t be too hard on them.
From Dublin you can catch flights to Amsterdam and Frankfort, along with most other major cities in Europe. Honestly, Dublin would be a more convenient airport for connections than Heathrow or Paris.
👍🏽 Perfect connection for Indy! Looking forward to booking a flight for early May🙏
This is 3x the incentive similar or smaller cities paid Aer Lingus. For a flight.
Is there really that large of a demand to get to Ireland?
Why not a direct flight to San Diego, Cancun, Ft Lauderdale, etc? You know, places real people want to go, outside of low-service airlines once a week.
Fantastic news for the city and for the diverse set of business opportunities these types of direct flights open up. Also great for attracting talented to Indy across all sectors, as direct access to Europe is a huge plus for the “quality of life” considerations of young professionals.
This is a home run for Mario and his team, and for the city and State. The naysayers would still be riding in horse and buggies if it wasn’t for forward thinking leaders.
Love it! I hope the subsidy pays for itself in ways that may be a little more difficult to measure. Yes Dublin may not be top of mind when it comes to European connections. Would love to see Delta restore its non-stop to Paris. Took that, once, loved the ease and time it saved. I’m sure market and demand are the real drivers of international service, but in looking around at competitor cities, Nashville has a non-stop now to London, and Cincinnati has non-stops to both London AND Paris. That gives them a leg up on some of those benchmarks and benefits that are a little more difficult to measure.
Indianapolis should target expanding direct routes with Aer Lingus Codeshare Partners. Especially Air Canada which has pre clearance status at 9 Canadian airports. (Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria, and Winnipeg in Canada)
Aer Lingus Regional
Air Canada
Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
British Airways
Iberia
JetBlue
United Airlines
Air Canada is dropping service to Indianapolis,
The article mentions connections to “a host of English cities such as Berlin and Barcelona . . .” This sentence missed an edit. Berlin is in Germany and Barcelona in Spain — neither is an English city.