=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2007/10/27/BU14T1N85.= DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday, October 27, 2007 (SF Chronicle) Aer Lingus starts nonstop service SFO-Dublin on Monday George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer After some five years of planning and delays, Aer Lingus, the airline of Ireland, will begin nonstop service Monday between San Francisco International Airport and Dublin International Airport. San Francisco has long sought the route because Irish American cultural links are strong between the Bay Area and Ireland and because Ireland is a major high-tech region, with many Bay Area corporations operating plants in the country. Establishing the route was complicated in part because it had to be negotiated under an "open skies" bilateral agreement between the United States and Ireland, in which rules for international aviation markets were liberalized. There was also a debate over whether there was an obligation for the Aer Lingus flight to stop at Shannon Airport in Ireland, said Emer Deane, consul general of Ireland in San Francisco. In the end, it was determined there was no obligation, she said. Both the Bay Area and Ireland are very popular tourist destinations, whi= ch makes the route necessary, said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. He added, "In finance, services and high tech, our commercial links with Irish industry are strong and growing." There is a long history of Irish immigrants in the Bay Area. About 2.7 million people in California claim Irish ancestry, said Deane. In the 2000 U.S. Census, more than 650,000 people in the Bay Area reported Irish as their first ancestry, she said. Business ties between the Bay Area and Ireland are particularly strong, Deane noted. Fourteen of the top 15 biopharmaceutical companies operate in Ireland, as do nine of the 10 software companies and five leading Internet-based companies, including Google, eBay and Yahoo. Ireland is the largest exporter of software in the world. Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Cisco Systems, eBay, Adobe Systems, Cadence Design, Xilinx, Oracle and other major firms have operations in Ireland. Apple iPhones are manufactured in County Cork and sent back to the United States. Intel, Oracle, Sun Microsystems and other major Bay Area firms also have= a presence in Ireland. Moreover, Ireland is the 10th largest investor in the United States. "Wh= at used to be one-way is now two-way traffic," with investments flowing between Ireland and the United States, said Deane. She said at least 5,000 jobs in California were created by Irish compani= es investing in the state. There will be four Aer Lingus departures each week from San Francisco - Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday - at 2:15 p.m. The flight, EI146, will arrive in Dublin the next day at 8:15 a.m. local time. The flight from Dublin, EI147, will depart at 9:15 a.m. and arrive in San Francisco at noon the same day. Aer Lingus was founded by the Irish government in April 1936. It became a publicly traded company on the Irish and London stock exchanges Oct. 2, 2006. The carrier serves nearly 70 destinations across Ireland, the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the United States and the Middle East. There are three weekly flights between Los Angeles and Dublin, and Aer Lingus also has nonstop service between Dublin and Boston, Chicago (O'Hare), New York (Kennedy), Washington (Dulles) and Orlando. Aer Lingus has a low-cost, low-fare business model. On transatlantic flights it has "premier business class" and economy. The carrier said San Francisco service will launch with introductory fares as low as $288 each way. The name Aer Lingus is derived from the Irish aer loingeas, which means air fleet. E-mail George Raine at graine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -------------------------= --------------------------------------------- Copyright 2007 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".