Aer Lingus Fleet/ Routes Discussion Pt 2 (ALL possible routes included)

Murph85

The quicker JetBlue start ops from Dublin the better !

HTCOne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118028020#Comment_118028020

They’d only be serving either BOS or JFK, already competition on both routes, especially on NYC.

Murph85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118028612#Comment_118028612

Yeah I get that. Just want to be able to avoid aer lingus if the route isnt direct from Dublin...

HTCOne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118029214#Comment_118029214

Delta fly to BOS and JFK, UA fly to EWR so you can do that already should you so choose.

donkey balls

Noticed the 321neo doing a flight to the canaries, What's the chances of trying to upgrade your seats for a flight like that?

Shamrockj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031796#Comment_118031796

The cost is €90 to select the business seats

Shamrockj

Passed Shannon airport today and noticed EI-LRF parked up with its engines covered. Anyone know why it’s being stored in Shannon ?

EchoIndia

No but 'LRF was ferried DUB-SNN on 25 September and has been parked there since. The other seven 321NEOs are in service and that appears to be more than enough to cover the schedule.

HTCOne

Cheaper than storing it in DUB too. In general the busier the airport, the more they charge for parking.

ongarboy

https://www.google.com/amp/s/simpleflying.com/europe-us-most-profitable-operations/amp/

Interesting article that details the most profitable transatlantic operations among airlines in the year to March 2020. Aer Lingus ranks 5th and has the lowest cost per passenger of all airlines on the TA routes. The article gives a good analysis on why EI is so cost effective.

Mebuntu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118027300#Comment_118027300

According to FR24 this flight was operated by A320 EI-DVH and, as you say, returned to LIS. This aircraft's next flight was due to depart LIS today at 12.00 but was delayed to 15.36. The flight no. is EI991 (positioning?) and is shortly due to land at DUB.

kevinandrew

G-EIDY is due to position to MAN this evening. G-EILA also performed a test flight from MAN earlier this afternoon. The inaugural Aer Lingus UK flight to BGI is scheduled for tomorrow morning

goingnowhere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118037597#Comment_118037597

EI99x is non revenue, so no passengers, had it carried passengers it would be EI1487

Went tech again it appears, returned to DUB this morning half way to LHR

Jack1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118025346#Comment_118025346

These are very valid points. I'm still annoyed to see the loss of Market share in Cork which really I don't see being recovered.

I can see EI returning to growth from 2023, the XLR's arrive at that point, in the meantime fleet renewal plans are afoot. I'm hoping to see an order for the A220-300, max out capacity to 150 with 2/3 crewing and with the range it offers would be a fantastic way for EI to operate cheaper, boosting margins and LF's in the process. I do believe it's the best A/C on the market for EI. It would give much more opportunity to send A/C to different locations around Europe to further offload cost and improve scheduling for TA's by offering much better connections. It's the type of aircraft particularly best suited to operate ex-ORK (excluding the LHR route).

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118027694#Comment_118027694

I have no idea being honest, once demand catches up though they'll deploy the capacity. The plan when BOS/JFK resume is one of the NEO's will do the early 380 and the later two LHR's will operated by W pattern services from LHR.

mr.anonymous

A220s look like they'd be a good choice, but what will IAG decide? That's the level where the big fleet decisions are made now. Perhaps some more routes could be operated by regional partner aircraft and keep the EI fleet to just A320&A330.

MICKEYG

Hi all, looking to go to Scotland in late November and on most days there is only a single flight to each of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Do you know if the timetable is fixed at this stage or is there a chance they could increase flights?

Jack1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118048848#Comment_118048848

IAG will indeed have input, but they went along with EI regarding the NEO/XLR order so I'd be confident they'd commit to an A220 order too. EI have shown they'll deliver the best ROC. As MOL has shown, great time to be looking for new assets.

Jack1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118048867#Comment_118048867

Fixed at this point, 2x services operate to EDI/GLA on Mon/Thu/Fri/Sun though, 1x service to each on Tue/Wed/Sat.

revelman

How long have people waited for vouchers? EI moved my flight to another day and notified me in early September. The new day does not suit so I requested a voucher. I’m still waiting (almost two months now).

NH2013

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118048877#Comment_118048877

Indeed a fleet of 12-15 A220s with 150 seats I’ve long thought would be the perfect aircraft for EI on their euro-city routes and on the routes out of BHD/SNN/ORK where the right sized aircraft would be best placed to compete on frequency and price.

Glad to hear they’re finally actively considering ordering them now for future needs.

kevinandrew

Very pleased to hear fleet renewal plans are now on the agenda. The A320 is a fine aircraft, no doubt about it, but it isn’t getting any younger and there are a number of compelling new products on the market.

As mentioned, the A220 seems like a perfect fit, much like the A321LR/XLR was. The question is how IAG will see matters, convincing the suits at headquarters to invest in a brand new type won’t be easy, especially for part of the business they show very little interest in; Aer Lingus short haul.

Aer Lingus management will need to be robust in their pitch to IAG, short haul from Irish airports isn’t high on their list of priorities, they likely couldn’t care less if Aer Lingus slog it out with Ryanair on low yielding routes for another 10 years with rapidly ageing A320s but the European carriers are now a major threat and leveraging their own hubs as attractive options to Irish based passengers, something they never really did before. So a strong Aer Lingus with the right type of aircraft is essential to keep those Lufthansa Group carriers or AF/KL fighting for every last passenger.

We’re also entering a new era in passenger experience. New aircraft are an opportunity for new on board products and amenities. With smart phones and tablets now entrenched in our daily lives, passengers expect some form of on board feature to assist in their usage; smart phone display holders, USB ports, universal power, entertainment apps, WiFi, at seat ordering etc.

I was surprised Ryanair didn’t do anything with their MAX aircraft cabin, at the very least I expected in seat USB ports. Aer Lingus could leapfrog Ryanair and some other rivals with the simple introduction of power ports and smart design seat backs which feature phone and tablet holders. Go one step further and install WiFi, at seat ordering via app on flights over 3 hours, entertainment options, digital reading material.

Not all of that will be cost effective or practical for Aer Lingus but everything needs to be on the table when thinking about new aircraft. SAS did a great job with their A320neo cabins, similarly AirBaltic did pretty well with their A220 so it could be something similar for Aer Lingus.

Locker10a

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118051478#Comment_118051478

To be honest as nice as the A220 would be in the fleet, wouldn’t it cause complexity for pilot training and rostering!? It would be a 3rd aircraft type which would mean 3 pilot rosters?! I can’t see EI being too keen on that? But maybe I’ll be surprised.

I reckon 320neos

NH2013

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118052426#Comment_118052426

I think once you have a certain number of aircraft the economies of scale kick in. I don’t know where it lies with a short haul aircraft but I’d imagine 10+ aircraft should be enough to be as efficient as needs be from a crewing point of view.

I believe Aer Lingus operate the A320 from ORK as a separate crew base so that would mean that even with only 4 aircraft they’ve met the economies of scale.

12-15 ATR 72s

12-15 A220s,

12-15 A320s + 12-15 A321LR/XLRs,

12-15 A330s

I think this would make a decent fleet going forward with the ability to right size capacity on routes and have competitive frequencies for routes where competing against the likes of both AF/KLM/LH/LX/SAS etc and RYR and other holiday carriers in Europe and AA/DL/UA/B6 and others on the North Atlantic.

Jack1985

In a sign of the pent up demand (before the recovery of Biz Travel really even begins), all EI flights bound for the States on 8th of November are over-booked.

Shamrockj

EI-FNH today operated DUB-FCO-DUB

EI-EAV today operated DUB-LIS-DUB

Also most days next week FCO is operated by A330 and on the 31st BCN is operated by the A330 also

Shamrockj

A variety of flights also operating on the A321NEOLR to fill the demand over the mid-term

23/10

NAP, CDG FCO, VCE, ACE, LHR, SNN

24/10

BCN, CDG, LHR, LIS, AMS, SNN

30/10

AGP, CDG, VCE , FCO, TFS, ACE, LHR, SNN

31/10

TFS, ACE, LHR, CDG

Also some days with very high frequencies for example

23/10 AMS X 3, CDG X 3, ACE X 3, LGW X 3

30/10 ACE X4, AGP X4, CDG X 3

31/10 CDG X 3, ACE X 3, TFS X 2

x567

“Aer Lingus management will need to be robust in their pitch to IAG, short haul from Irish airports isn’t high on their list of priorities, they likely couldn’t care less if Aer Lingus slog it out with Ryanair on low yielding routes for another 10 years with rapidly ageing A320s but the European carriers are now a major threat and leveraging their own hubs as attractive options to Irish based passengers, something they never really did before. So a strong Aer Lingus with the right type of aircraft is essential to keep those Lufthansa Group carriers or AF/KL fighting for every last passenger.”

Interesting discussion; and I think one of the more important points is inferred in the KA quote above. Aer Lingus will never out-compete Ryanair on price and volume and are vulnerable to increased competition from the large network providers on core routes and for global connectivity. Whilst keeping fares as competitive as they sensibly can, they therefore ought to align much more with IAG and Oneworld to offer a comparable service to BA, IB,AA and others and integrate with and serve and take ‘captive’ feed from their networks and CIPs; particularly for as long as the DUB/SNN US pre-clearance advantage persists. In this scenario where quality and route/service offer on thinner routes are important factors you can see the 220 pitch gaining traction, otherwise I can’t see it happening and we’ll be flying on ageing 320s for a good while yet.

Given that EI and BA are co-owned, it’s a bit pathetic that if you book a BA Club class ticket originating out of Ireland with onward connections in London, you don’t get basic seat assignment, or even a free coffee on the Ireland to/from LON legs when operated by EI - whatever your CIP status. These would be small, low cost improvements. Joining OneWorld and moving into T5 at LHR might cost a little more, but in my view are well worth considering…

Locker10a

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118060305#Comment_118060305

Is this demand drive ? Pax or cargo ?

Shamrockj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118061920#Comment_118061920

Passenger demand. Very high loads and over bookings on lots of routes over the mid term break

cson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118051478#Comment_118051478

Excellent and somewhat overlooked point that EI are now going to have really compete with TAP and KLM for transatlantic connections, the frequencies to LIS and AMS aren't for the craic.