Aer Lingus are expanding their transatlantic routes out of Dublin and Shannon. From next year Shannon will have year round flights to New York and Boston while there will be two new direct flights to San Francisco and Toronto from Dublin.

This expansion will directly support more than 200 new jobs.

Aer Lingus will also begin direct year-round service to Canada from April 2014. It says a daily direct Boeing B757 service between Dublin and Toronto will operate during the summer season, with up to 4 weekly services operating during the winter.

The airline says that the new San Francisco route also represents a business opportunity for Aer Lingus Cargo.

The carrier adds that customers travelling from UK and European cities via Dublin to Toronto will also have the option to connect to 8 key cities within Canada, including Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary.

This plan will bring the Aer Lingus long-haul schedule to 10-daily transatlantic services.

To support the operation of the new routes, Aer Lingus will wet lease three Boeing 757 aircraft from ASL Aviation Group.

Commenting on the announcement, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar said "I know that the business and tourism sectors are delighted with this news. More than 40% of Ireland’s total foreign direct investment comes from Silicon Valley alone. The return of the direct air service to the US west coast is particularly important and I'm very happy to see the route being filled by an Irish airline".

Chief Executive Christopher Mueller says the new routes also mean the creation of new jobs.