The Vice President of US Airways has told business leaders in Co Clare that lower operating costs, the drop in fuel prices, as well as encouraging demand are the main reasons why they have decided to return to Shannon.
The company is due to start a new daily service to Philadelphia on 22 May, continuing until October.
Suzanne Boda, Senior Vice President for US Airways, said there is a strong business market based in the west and mid-west with many of the Fortune 500 companies there and they would hope to attract them as customers.
She said there is also particularly strong demand from leisure travellers to travel to the west of Ireland from the United States this summer, and pre-bookings on the new service are encouraging.
The airline operated a service from Shannon for six years up to 2009, but withdrew the service after a global review of its costs, in particular fuel costs.
The airline carried over 315,000 passengers on the service during those years.
She said their daily service from Dublin to Philadelphia, and a new service from Dublin to their large hub at Charlotte in North Carolina, has proven to be a very successful source of revenue for them and had grown significantly since it was introduced in 2011.
They hope to replicate that success with the new Shannon to Philadelphia service.
The company announced a merger with American Airlines last February and that is expected to be completed by the summer, which will make it the biggest airline in the world in terms of sea miles.
