Aer Lingus Fleet Discusion

jamo2oo9

EIN147 has landed in SFO on its inaugural flight from DUB. Should we expect a water cannon welcome?

Preset No.3

Patrickheg wrote: »

Incorrect. Owenc posted as if he was a regular business class flyer which according to his regular utd posts he is not.

At no stage was it an invitation for you to quote my post and relate a personal experience of zero interest to me!

Don't let it upset you that much!

GTE

I hope you had a great Aer Lingus Day everybody!

https://twitter.com/AerLingus/status/451507976948686850/photo/1/large

Do airports/cities normally make such a fuss over a new airline route? The A330 had the Irish flag out the window in SF, Aer Lingus day and the SF airport twitter page was tracking the flight from Dublin. Was it a new short haul airport which gave Aer Lingus the water canon salute?

It is nice to see such a fuss.

Tenger

jamo2oo9 wrote: »

EIN147 has landed in SFO on its inaugural flight from DUB. Should we expect a water cannon welcome?

Water shortages in California meant no water cannon salute.

lord lucan

bbk wrote: »

Was it a new short haul airport which gave Aer Lingus the water canon salute?

It is nice to see such a fuss.

I think it was Hanover the other day that had a salute for the inaugural EI arrival.

relaxed

bbk wrote: »

I hope you had a great Aer Lingus Day everybody!

https://twitter.com/AerLingus/status/451507976948686850/photo/1/large

Do airports/cities normally make such a fuss over a new airline route? The A330 had the Irish flag out the window in SF, Aer Lingus day and the SF airport twitter page was tracking the flight from Dublin. Was it a new short haul airport which gave Aer Lingus the water canon salute?

It is nice to see such a fuss.

Pity they didn't arrange it for St. Patricks day for the first flight to land.

Mc Love

delthedriver wrote: »

The Aer Lingus 757 operating on Shannon Boston is cramped claustrophobic and narrow for Trans Atlantic Crossings, It is like travelling in a Ryanair plane for 6.5 hours


There is only a centre aisle and cabin crew of 4. There is no room to move about in flight. Cabin crew work in cramped conditions , pushing their carts up and down the aisle.


Passengers who need to use the bathrooms, the three of which are at the middle of the plane have to negotiate their way down the aisle against the oncoming steward pushing their cart.


As there are only 4 flight attendants, they are working long hours, flat out without a break in order to look after their passengers. This cannot be good for the cabin crew nor passengers. Dread to think what could happen if either a member of cabin crew or passenger should take ill mid flight.


This new arrangement of ASL operating flights on behalf of AER Lingus , with some of the cabin crew also contracted to Aer Lingus is unacceptable.


Christoph Muller , Aer Lingus CEO needs to relook at this new arrangement. If this is his best offering for the Shannon routes he needs to treat his passengers with the respect and loyalty they have shown Aer Lingus. My guess he is trying to run down the Shannon route while at the same time trying to please Minister Varadkar and Government by offering something out of Shannon


I will not be flying 757 out of Shannon again. My wife was ill during our stay in the US and could not face travelling back on the same plane. As a result we upgraded to business class and were extremely well looked after by Senior Cabin Crew , Ms Lesley Murphy, It was obvious Ms . Murphy was a Real Aer Lingus staff member. Her professionalism certainly showed her apart from the new look budget bin operation which is operating on Shannon Boston Route.


By the way the 757 I understand will also operate on Shannon New York and Dublin Torronto!


For one I will be making alternative arrangements. The 757 is nothing more than cattle class

Nail on the head there! The space for crew is so small that if they need a trolley, they have to pull out two of them to get one of them out. Its ridiculously small and really inefficient. They cant get any break as the area is too small and of the flights they have been flown so far, I believe not one crew member was able to take a break which they are entitled to.

I also believe that having one crew member man a trolley each is unsafe, particularly when they have to bring a fairly heavy trolley all the way up to row 4. Also having one crew member per trolley isnt as good as having two, and god forbid if you need to use the restroom and you are stuck between two trolleys.

All crew bar the pilots are AL staff members. But you should definitely submit your comments above to AL customer service

Locker10a

Mc Love wrote: »

Nail on the head there! The space for crew is so small that if they need a trolley, they have to pull out two of them to get one of them out. Its ridiculously small and really inefficient. They cant get any break as the area is too small and of the flights they have been flown so far, I believe not one crew member was able to take a break which they are entitled to.

I also believe that having one crew member man a trolley each is unsafe, particularly when they have to bring a fairly heavy trolley all the way up to row 4. Also having one crew member per trolley isnt as good as having two, and god forbid if you need to use the restroom and you are stuck between two trolleys.

All crew bar the pilots are AL staff members. But you should definitely submit your comments above to AL customer service

Ya 4 crew is very short staffed but we have already discussed this acknowledged it!
Just one point comparing a Ryanair service to the canaries to a transatlantic flight service is Apples and oranges !! The service is totally different on a buy on board service all cabin crew can be in the cabin doing the service! With transatlantic you would need at least one person to man the galley I.e. cook all the meals in rotation and prepare all the trolleys while others do the drinks service also there are businesses class customers who have paid a lot of money and expected decent service! How 4 people are supposed to manage this is beyond me! But anyway re:breaks inflight, crew will eventually figure out how to sort that out when they do more flights and get into a routine that works !

galwayjohn89

I'm guessing Aer Lingus have less crew then the American carriers on the b757

Locker10a

Vuzuggu wrote: »

I'm guessing Aer Lingus have less crew then the American carriers on the b757

Yep American carriers have a minimum of 6 as far as I know!

Preset No.3

Mc Love wrote: »

Nail on the head there! The space for crew is so small that if they need a trolley, they have to pull out two of them to get one of them out. Its ridiculously small and really inefficient. They cant get any break as the area is too small and of the flights they have been flown so far, I believe not one crew member was able to take a break which they are entitled to.

I also believe that having one crew member man a trolley each is unsafe, particularly when they have to bring a fairly heavy trolley all the way up to row 4. Also having one crew member per trolley isnt as good as having two, and god forbid if you need to use the restroom and you are stuck between two trolleys.

All crew bar the pilots are AL staff members. But you should definitely submit your comments above to AL customer service

I think the 2 of you have rose tinted glasses on and have been spoiled by offerings of nice shiny new A330s on routes across the Atlantic.

Continental/United
Delta
American Airlines
US Airways

They have all been operating the 757 on TA ops for years, opening up smaller thinner routes for year round service with zero complaints. The crew are able to work within the space.

Would it please you more if EI did not explore new routes with smaller aircraft and just let staff go? The fact of the matter is this, the airline industry has changed over the past 10 years. You can either adapt or move on.

relaxed

Just stick on the seat belt sign for half an hour mid flight and the cabin crew get their break.

Tenger

Vuzuggu wrote: »

I'm guessing Aer Lingus have less crew then the American carriers on the b757

All US carriers use 6 crew on their international B757's, 5 crew on Domestic flgihts.

United for example have 2 crew for Business class with the other 4 looking after Economy.

As for the set up in the galley. Well if the US airlines can do it then perhaps EI just need to shuffle their stowage to make it a little more efficient. I'm sure the SNN crew will refine it as they go.

GTE

Tenger wrote: »

I'm sure the SNN crew will refine it as they go.

That is the key point to most problems with anything ever. Chances are rarely given and expectations are that systems run as best as they ever could from day 1.

Mc Love

Preset No.3 wrote: »

I think the 2 of you have rose tinted glasses on and have been spoiled by offerings of nice shiny new A330s on routes across the Atlantic.

Continental/United
Delta
American Airlines
US Airways

They have all been operating the 757 on TA ops for years, opening up smaller thinner routes for year round service with zero complaints. The crew are able to work within the space.

Would it please you more if EI did not explore new routes with smaller aircraft and just let staff go? The fact of the matter is this, the airline industry has changed over the past 10 years. You can either adapt or move on.

There's rose tinted glasses then there's the way the above airlines work, with 6 crew as opposed to 4. Surely having two extra would allow crew members to get a break.

Preset No.3

EI cabin crew refused to work 4 to a flight. They had their training cancelled.

Management went to ACL and got 4 numpties who want to fly at any cost across the pond at any cost. They knew what they were getting into and NOW they complain?

They knew exactly what they were getting into.

calibratedtool

Preset No.3 wrote: »

EI cabin crew refused to work 4 to a flight. They had their training cancelled.

Management went to ACL and got 4 numpties who want to fly at any cost across the pond at any cost. They knew what they were getting into and NOW they complain?

They knew exactly what they were getting into.

Not what happened at all.
The unions eventually agreed to 4 crew with certain conditions.
ACL haven't supplied any of the cabin crew.

bkehoe

Did they not agree to fly with 5 for the initial few months after which a review would be conducted to reassess the possibility of 4? Or did I completely loose track of things?

Bessarion

Aer Lingus announced they were introducing the B757 into SNN in Jan 2014. Last summer the unions asked for discussions around the operation. It wasn't until Aug/Sept that EI told them they wanted 4 crew on the aircraft.

The staff were unhappy with this and requested 5 (still less than what the US carriers have onboard) The company refused to discuss the matter any more. In Dec when new crew were hired to operate out of SNN talking had resumed. Both sides stuck to their positions. EI then announced to the new trainees that they were being let go and made a announcement in the media that SNN base crew were all being let go and ACL would be hired to operate on behalf of EI.

The LRC got involved at this point, (EI seem to keep them in business!) mainly as EI were reducing jobs in SNN but also as legally EI cannot fire then hire another company to do the job of the fired staff.



The LRC decision was that the flight would operate with 4 crew, however the crew would receive an extra payment. (think it was 25-30 Euro pre tax per flight...personally I'd prefer to not be knackered) EI stated that for the first 2-3 months their would be 5 crew onboard as part of the process to get everyone fully trained up and licencesed.

The LRC also recommended that EI conduct a review in June/July as regards the operation so far and whether 5 crew would be preferable.
However the staff in SNN have no confidence in that review ever being carried out, EI have yet to carry out a review in circumstances such as this. The LRC have no binding control over EI actions.

EI have publically stated that the cost diference between 4 and 5 crew would make the operation unviable...I counter that if its that close to unviablity then EI shouldn't be doing it.

Declan Kearney from EI was interviewed on radio and stated "4 cabin crew on our B757 is comparable to a similar capacity aircraft operating on US Domestic routes" He didn't even have the conviction to mention the 6 crew that all US airlines have on their B757 or the 5 crew they have on internal B757 routes.

Mc Love

Crew have been reporting said disadvantages since the flights started, but as they know it's Aer Lingus, they aren't confident in the least bit that anything will be done.

basill

Until there is a mountain of complaints from the punters and/or a noticeable drop in bookings then I cant see much changing. Even then I doubt much will happen as middle management will dive for cover and find someone to blame.

omega man

basill wrote: »

Until there is a mountain of complaints from the punters and/or a noticeable drop in bookings then I cant see much changing. Even then I doubt much will happen as middle management will dive for cover and find someone to blame.

This absolutely. 4 is perfectly legal so it can only change for commercial reasons.

KarlFitz01

I'am just wondering the new A350s Aer Lingus have ordered when will they be getting deliveries? And will they replace the current A330 fleet?

L1011

KarlFitz01 wrote: »

I'am just wondering the new A350s Aer Lingus have ordered when will they be getting deliveries? And will they replace the current A330 fleet?

Pushed to 2016 at earliest (I've seen 2018 mentioned more recently) and its possible they won't replace all the 330s 1 for 1 - 9 craft might not be enough for all future expansion.

Current summer schedule requires 10 longhaul craft although its unlikely all the 757 services would be replaced with widebodies

Jack1985

EI want to replace the B752s with the A321NEOs, that's if Airbus give it the range and it would be a logical choice. They have hinted, service from ORK to JFK would be possible with the 321NEO and JetBlue want it. I believe the A350s would be about 40% replacement and 60% expansion medium-term going by the statements from Mueller, so all going well in EI and the economy we should expect further US expansion and possibly Eastern expansion too.

jamo2oo9

Jack1985 wrote: »

EI want to replace the B752s with the A321NEOs, that's if Airbus give it the range and it would be a logical choice. They have hinted, service from ORK to JFK would be possible with the 321NEO and JetBlue want it. I believe the A350s would be about 40% replacement and 60% expansion medium-term going by the statements from Mueller, so all going well in EI and the economy we should expect further US expansion and possibly Eastern expansion too.

For the eastern expansion, I'm thinking codeshares to ME and maybe a route to China seeing that we have a lot of Chinese minority in Ireland plus we are business partners with China economically.

kub

Jack1985 wrote: »

EI want to replace the B752s with the A321NEOs, that's if Airbus give it the range and it would be a logical choice. They have hinted, service from ORK to JFK would be possible with the 321NEO and JetBlue want it. I believe the A350s would be about 40% replacement and 60% expansion medium-term going by the statements from Mueller, so all going well in EI and the economy we should expect further US expansion and possibly Eastern expansion too.

When are the A321NEO 's due to be delivered?

Jack1985

When are the A321NEO 's due to be delivered?

None ordered by EI yet, they still want clarification on the range - which Airbus have yet to declare. If they do order, we can expect delivery sometime after 2018 or even after 2020.

donvito99

jamo2oo9 wrote: »

For the eastern expansion, I'm thinking codeshares to ME and maybe a route to China seeing that we have a lot of Chinese minority in Ireland plus we are business partners with China economically.

Any expansion East has been categorically shot down by Mueller and others.

I think we can also say that Aer Lingus won't take delivery until 2018 - again Mueller said this recently speaking to George Hook in SFO.

dukedalton

Is it just me or would you feel really short changed being flown across the Atlantic on an A321?