Aer Lingus to launch flights to Indianapolis

Airlines tend to make a song and dance about new routes. This is especially the case when a route represents the first flight from anywhere in Europe to a certain city.

And yet …. Aer Lingus quietly added flights from Dublin to Indianapolis to its website over the weekend without any promotional activity at all.

The route will launch on 3rd May.

Flights will operate four days per week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

It is scheduled to take 8hr 35mins outbound and 7hr 55mins inbound.

The route will use a brand new Airbus A321XLR, taking advantage of the extra range offered by this newly launched narrow body aircraft which comes with additional fuel tanks.

Indianapolis is the second new Aer Lingus A321XLR route to be announced following Nashville which we covered here although the aircraft will debut on Minneapolis in April.

Business class is pictured below and is the usual Aer Lingus configuration with alternating rows of one seat and two seats. Even if you are travelling with your partner, it’s quite cool if you both have a ‘throne’ solo seat to yourselves on opposite sides of the aisle.

It is likely that Aer Lingus will be receiving direct or indirect US subsidies to launch these flights. Apparently research has found that over 500 people per day are currently flying to Europe from the Indianapolis area, all of whom currently have to transit in the United States.

Delta Air Lines used to fly from Indianapolis to Paris but this was suspended during the pandemic and never relaunched.

Flights are bookable with Avios. You can see pricing on this page of the Aer Lingus website – it will be a Zone 5 service.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

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Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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British Airways American Express

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You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

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There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.