Nashville International Airport (BNA) is celebrating a new transatlantic flight announcement for the second time in a week.
Just last week, BNA officials announced that Icelandair would commence European service from Music City in 2025. Aer Lingus is following in Icelandair’s footsteps, announcing it will begin nonstop flights to Dublin Airport (DUB) in Ireland next April.
Aer Lingus and Icelandair Join British Airways at BNA
Dublin-based Aer Lingus and Icelandair will complement BNA’s existing (and only) transatlantic service offered by British Airways.
BNA-DUB flights will begin on 12 April 2025. The carrier will fly the route four times weekly: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Flights will be operated by a narrowbody Airbus A321neo, which features 168 seats in economy and 16 lie-flat seats in Business Class.
A quick search on the Aer Lingus website shows Flight 76 departing from BNA at 1840 and arriving in DUB the next morning at 0850. For the return trip, Flight 77 departs DUB at 1405 and arrives back at BNA at 1710.
Aer Lingus will join Icelandair as BNA’s newest European airline. On 26 September, BNA officials announced Icelandair will begin service to Keflavík International Airport (KEF) in Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavik on 16 May 2025. Icelandair will operate the flight four times weekly (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday) with a Boeing 737-800 MAX. The seven-hour flight will feature 144 economy seats and 16 seats in Icelandair’s business class product, Saga Premium.
Currently, only British Airways offers transatlantic flights from BNA, with daily service to London Heathrow Airport (LHR). The carrier recently upgauged from a Boeing 787-8 to the larger capacity Boeing 777-200, which features 272 seats and its Club Suite premium product.
British Airways first began flying out of BNA in 2018. However, the carrier suspended operations twice between 2020 and 2022 before what appears to be a permanent stay in Music City. Prior to British Airways’ arrival in 2018, BNA had been without transatlantic flights for 22 years.
Southwest Adds International and Domestic Routes from BNA
Not to be outdone, Southwest is also adding international capacity at BNA. The carrier announced in late August that it will begin nonstop service between BNA and Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Service to both cities will begin on 8 March 2025.
Southwest’s international expansion at BNA comes amid domestic expansion for the carrier. On 25 September, Southwest unveiled six new destinations from BNA, including:
- Albuquerque, N.M. | Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ)
- Albany, N.Y. | Albany International Airport (ALB)
- Jackson, Miss. | Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN)
- Memphis, Tenn. | Memphis International Airport (MEM)
- Providence, R.I. | Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport (PVD)
- Tulsa, Okla. | Tulsa International Airport (TUL)
In addition, Southwest recently announced new service to Indianapolis International Airport (IND) from BNA starting on 6 March 2025.
Southwest’s robust Music City expansion comes on the heels of the opening of its 12th crew base at BNA in May 2024.
Canada and Mexico Are In, Germany Is Out
Other international service at BNA includes routes to six Canadian destinations operated by WestJet, Flair, or Air Canada. BNA also boasts nonstop flights to Cancun, Mexico (CUN) with Southwest, American (seasonal), and VivaAerobus (seasonal).
BNA appeared to be on the cusp of announcing service to Frankfurt, Germany, with German carrier Discover Airlines. However, plans for this service came to an abrupt halt last month.
Nashville is Part of Aer Lingus’ North American Expansion Plan
Aer Lingus’ plan to serve Nashville follows its continued North American expansion into mid-sized cities such as Cleveland (CLE), Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), Denver (DEN), and Hartford (BDL).
Including Nashville, Aer Lingus will serve 17 US destinations and one Canadian destination from either Dublin, Shannon (SNN), or Manchester, England (MAN). The list of North American destinations include:
- Boston (BOS) *from DUB and SNN
- Chicago (ORD)
- Cleveland (CLE)
- Denver (DEN)
- Hartford (BDL)
- Las Vegas (LAS)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Miami (MIA)
- Minneapolis (MSP)
- Newark (EWR)
- New York (JFK) *from DUB, SNN, and MAN
- Orlando (MCO) *from DUB and MAN
- Philadelphia (PHL)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Seattle (SEA)
- Toronto (YYZ)
- Washington Dulles (IAD)
Globally, Aer Lingus serves 97 destinations with a fleet of Airbus A320s, A321s, and A330s.
