SOUTH BEND ― Area Irish fans will have an easier time getting to the CFP National Championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes with the addition of a special flight to Atlanta.
United Airlines’ Flight 1941 will depart South Bend at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19 and leave Atlanta Hartsfield on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 10:20 a.m. The airline is using a 154-seat Boeing 737-800 scheduled for the service, but it will cost you more than $2,000 for an economy seat.
In addition, Delta Air Lines is adding a return flight from Atlanta to South Bend in addition to the regular three-roundtrips it offers each day with a 76-seat regional jet, said Julie Curtis, vice president of marketing and development at South Bend International Airport.
The line to go through the TSA security checkpoint Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, at South Bend International Airport.
Additional flights are also being added to Atlanta in other cities with a high concentration of Notre Dame and Ohio State fans. Over the past several years, airlines have been offering more special event flying opportunities to make it easier for fans to reach their destinations.
This past season, airlines offered service from New York, Washington and other cities with Irish fans and cities from visiting teams outside the region with a traveling fanbase, Curtis said.
Though the airport doesn’t keep track of the additional passengers it picks up because of game weekends, it does make a difference in its annual totals, said Mike Daigle, executive director and CEO of the airport.
When the final numbers are tallied, the airport expects that about 886,000 passengers will have flown in and out of South Bend in 2024, a total that would break the 15-year record set in 2019 when 832,445 flew out of the airport.
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And like many involved in the business community, Daigle pointed out that the success of the Irish this season will pay dividends next season because of the excitement surrounding the football team.
““People travel for Notre Dame football games,” Daigle said. “The better their season, the more visitors we get.”
Soon to have 17 direct flights, airport officials are aiming to reach the 1 million passenger mark in 2025, a milestone last achieved in 1997.
Email Tribune staff writer Ed Semmler at esemmler@sbtinfo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: United Airlines adds flight to Atlanta for South Bend Notre Dame fans