Third_Echelon wrote: » I loved the new American livery! Very modern and striking bold colours. Looks nice!
kevinandrew wrote: » The CityJet/Aer Lingus London City route now appears to include a checked bag even on the lowest fare and you can't currently pre-select a seat during the booking process. It seems the CityJet full service offering could be continuing under Aer Lingus branded flying.
Karl8415 wrote: » Just wondering is anyone aware of how long 330’s can be in service for,I ask only because Ei-LAX will be 20 years old in a few months time and wondering will EI when it comes to redoing livery’s will (lax ) get done,considering that they said it will take approximately 3 years to have the entire fleet redone. Also what’s the outlook on the 321’s currently in the fleet as their are approaching similar age to ( lax ),I’m open to correction on this but I believe EI own the aircraft I’ve mentioned here so because of that will they continue to use them because of the fact that they are owned outright by EI
Kcormahs wrote: » Sad to hear the news about Primera but was wondering if IAG would look at their a321neo/LR lease and orders maybe to Aer Lingus or other member of the group?
kevinandrew wrote: » Aer Lingus hasn't publicly announced any intention to retire the original A321 fleet, if they're owned outright I'd say they've a few more years left in them yet. Ownership costs would be low and if well maintained as they should be with Aer Lingus, there's no reason to say goodbye to them just yet. They seem to have a much quieter work load in the winter, purposely rested? So life doesn't seem to harsh on them and I always find them lovely aircraft to fly on.
Locker10a wrote: » The EI-CV craft wouldn’t be much in the difference age wise, I flew one the other night and noticed what I’m guessing is the movable curtain rail from what must have been Premier Europe back in the day!? In fairness I found the cabin clean and comfortable and didn’t look aged, I reckon it’s had a interior refit in the last few years as the side panels and cabin lighting looked fresh and new.
kevinandrew wrote: » It appears to be end of summer crewing issues more than tech issues this time around, A330 crews maxed out over the peak summer and any sickness or holiday causes shortages. Similar to Ryanair's issues but on a much, much smaller scale. The winter schedule kicks in over the next few weeks which should ease issues. The fleet is quickly approaching a situation where economies of scale would justify a spare, it was seriously considered for this summer but sourcing the aircraft is the easy bit, it's having the crews and engineers to legally operate the aircraft that matter and that's where they fell short. Next summer there needs to be more flexibility within the fleet, crews and engineers, no airline can afford to have an A330 sitting around all day, everyday and crews/maintenance twiddling their thumbs at home while on the payroll but more than the obvious bare bones staffing we're seeing today is required.
Bussywussy wrote: » kevinandrew wrote: » It appears to be end of summer crewing issues more than tech issues this time around, A330 crews maxed out over the peak summer and any sickness or holiday causes shortages. Similar to Ryanair's issues but on a much, much smaller scale. The winter schedule kicks in over the next few weeks which should ease issues. The fleet is quickly approaching a situation where economies of scale would justify a spare, it was seriously considered for this summer but sourcing the aircraft is the easy bit, it's having the crews and engineers to legally operate the aircraft that matter and that's where they fell short. Next summer there needs to be more flexibility within the fleet, crews and engineers, no airline can afford to have an A330 sitting around all day, everyday and crews/maintenance twiddling their thumbs at home while on the payroll but more than the obvious bare bones staffing we're seeing today is required. There's no more flexibility available from engineering it's already at max flexibility,it's at full tilt and still being run on overtime..if that was pulled it would simply collapse in a day or two at peak
kevinandrew wrote: » A330 crews maxed out over the peak summer and any sickness or holiday causes shortages.
Karl8415 wrote: Just wondering is anyone aware of how long 330’s can be in service for,I ask only because Ei-LAX will be 20 years old in a few months time and wondering will EI when it comes to redoing livery’s will (lax ) get done,considering that they said it will take approximately 3 years to have the entire fleet redone. Also what’s the outlook on the 321’s currently in the fleet as their are approaching similar age to ( lax ),I’m open to correction on this but I believe EI own the aircraft I’ve mentioned here so because of that will they continue to use them because of the fact that they are owned outright by EI
kevinandrew wrote: » By more flexibility I mean more staff, not just the obvious legal minimum they're sticking too in order to save every cent they can. That goes for system wide and not just for engineering, new aircraft are great but not when there's nobody to fly them.
Tenger wrote: » I was told that the ex-Monarch and ex-Air Berlin flight crew have all departed .