Aer Lingus Fleet/Routes Discussion

GFrye · 05-08-2019 02:34PM

Tenger wrote: »

I was reading the SamChui blog yesterday, it says A321LR will be doing IAD from 29th Oct.
DUB-PHL from Nov 1st, SNN-BOS from Jan 6th, DUB-EWR Feb 13th-Mar 10th.

Yup, the A321LR operates DUB-IAD 3 times a week until January, and then daily.
I changed my dates to fly the A321LR to avoid flying on an A330 and risk ending up on EI-GEY.
I have already reserved my throne seat.

kevinandrew · 05-08-2019 07:10PM

Aer Lingus website and app has been down all day, social media channels telling people to check in at the airport which I imagine will be a nightmare with their staffing levels or lack thereof.

balkanhawk · 05-08-2019 07:49PM

Hey All,
How many A321LRs are on order? I have seen between 8 and 14 mentioned on various sites or did the 6 XLRs recently announced replace 6 of the LRs ordered?

kevinandrew · 05-08-2019 07:59PM

balkanhawk wrote: »

Hey All,
How many A321LRs are on order? I have seen between 8 and 14 mentioned on various sites or did the 6 XLRs recently announced replace 6 of the LRs ordered?

A321LR - 8
A321XLR - 6

The original order was for 7 but that was increased to 8 shortly after. A lot of media outlets mistakenly reported 14 from the very start because Aer Lingus management and Willie Walsh both publicly said there was a business case for that many right away but they waited until the XLR was launched to order the remaining frames brining the final total we have today to 14 aircraft.

Noxegon · 06-08-2019 12:40AM

Flew TXL-DUB tonight.

Six flights trying to depart at around the same time from a hall with nowhere near enough seating.

Flight ready to “board” when inbound aircraft was on finals according to FR24.

Priority boarding got me on the same bus as the non-priority people.

I wish EI didn’t always use the cheap terminals.

mwrf · 06-08-2019 12:44AM

Noxegon wrote: »

Flew TXL-DUB tonight.

Six flights trying to depart at around the same time from a hall with nowhere near enough seating.

Flight ready to “board” when inbound aircraft was on finals according to FR24.

Priority boarding got me on the same bus as the non-priority people.

I wish EI didn’t always use the cheap terminals.

TXL is a dump. Must be one of the worst airports in Europe

Dardania · 06-08-2019 02:47AM

mwrf wrote: »

TXL is a dump. Must be one of the worst airports in Europe

It’s better than BER

goingnowhere · 06-08-2019 07:19AM

Thats the routine in TXL, its gotten worse it used to be walk to the aircraft for departure but now its bus both ways.

SXF was bad but it was never that bad, could rely on getting a jet bridge most of the off season

Noxegon · 06-08-2019 11:49AM

mwrf wrote: »

TXL is a dump. Must be one of the worst airports in Europe

Terminal A/B is not great but it’s vastly superior to the shed Aer Lingus uses.

I noticed the same thing in MRS recently; there’s a decent airport, then there’s a converted warehouse nearby where the Irish flights go.

Jamie2k9 · 06-08-2019 11:52AM

Only thing that matters at TXL is getting out before the curfew, EI have been caught a few times there.

Cookiemunster · 06-08-2019 12:07PM

Noxegon wrote: »

Terminal A/B is not great but it’s vastly superior to the shed Aer Lingus uses.

I noticed the same thing in MRS recently; there’s a decent airport, then there’s a converted warehouse nearby where the Irish flights go.

I find that that's the same in most airports I've flown from for ex Schengen EU flights. Ireland and UK flights are segregated from everywhere else.

LXFlyer · 06-08-2019 12:10PM

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I find that that's the same in most airports I've flown from for ex Schengen EU flights. Ireland and UK flights are segregated from everywhere else.

In TXL it is purely down to the airline.

BA use the main terminal.

Most European hub airports will have segregated Schengen and non-Schengen sections within each terminal.

aaronm13 · 06-08-2019 12:49PM

Noxegon wrote: »

Flew TXL-DUB tonight.

Six flights trying to depart at around the same time from a hall with nowhere near enough seating.

Flight ready to “board” when inbound aircraft was on finals according to FR24.

Priority boarding got me on the same bus as the non-priority people.

I wish EI didn’t always use the cheap terminals.

Was on this flight myself, terminal is an absolute joke. Thought SXF was bad but nothing compared to that cow shed. Only good thing about it is that it's such a quick spin into the city.

cson · 06-08-2019 01:50PM

Same experience here. So much for German efficiency!

lufties · 06-08-2019 01:52PM

Any plans for routes to SNN. I live in Leeds and it would be great.

Locker10a · 06-08-2019 04:18PM

lufties wrote: »

Any plans for routes to SNN. I live in Leeds and it would be great.

I doubt SNN- LBA is top of any airlines network plan

lufties · 06-08-2019 04:20PM

Locker10a wrote: »

I doubt SNN- LBA is top of any airlines network plan

Well unfortunately, anywhere to SNN is not popular.

Lapmo_Dancer · 06-08-2019 06:25PM

LXFlyer wrote: »

In TXL it is purely down to the airline.

BA use the main terminal.

Most European hub airports will have segregated Schengen and non-Schengen sections within each terminal.

Probably different costs for each terminal? Would Irish passengers pay a premium for a swankier terminal. Not so sure that they would.

Locker10a · 06-08-2019 06:35PM

Lapmo_Dancer wrote: »

Probably different costs for each terminal? Would Irish passengers pay a premium for a swankier terminal. Not so sure that they would.

Nope they certainly wouldn’t, and I think the whole thing is made worse due to the fact nothing was ever done in the Berlin airport to improve/expand as the new airport was supposed to take over, obviously it never happened

kevinandrew · 06-08-2019 06:45PM

Aer Lingus have gone back to using the old white head rest covers on the A321LR, old logo included! I'm guessing they didn't have enough of the new style in stock which doesn't say much for their forward planning.

Tenger · 06-08-2019 07:44PM

Did they have the new colours just for the first few days? Or did did they ever have them?
That video online looks very over processed to me, maybe the coloured geadrest were added in post production.

Stephen Strange · 06-08-2019 07:47PM

Locker10a wrote: »

I doubt SNN- LBA is top of any airlines network plan

Funnily enough, there is quite a lot of onward connections from US airports onwards to LBA. If you could get them through SNN instead, there may be enough traffic to justify it on an ATR, well timed to connect with JFK and BOS.

Karl8415 · 06-08-2019 08:23PM

Just wondering now that EI are reintroducing premier on Europe does anyone now will the 3 older 321’s be getting the upgraded seats,I only ask because the youngest of the 3 is 20 years old in December

sdanseo · 06-08-2019 08:33PM

Karl8415 wrote: »

Just wondering now that EI are reintroducing premier on Europe does anyone now will the 3 older 321’s be getting the upgraded seats,I only ask because the youngest of the 3 is 20 years old in December

No, they can't be used on transatlantic and their European routes alone would not justify business class seating with all the bells and whistles. Lie flat seats even on the new aircraft are unlikely to be used for much more than the novelty on routes like LHR. You'd get a 30 minute nap if even that.

All aircraft should get the Euro Business treatment in my view, relaunching the product on the 321LRs seems a great time to do it and it's inexpensive and flexible. But seems unlikely for the immediate future at least.

Tenger · 06-08-2019 08:57PM

Karl8415 wrote: »

Just wondering now that EI are reintroducing premier on Europe does anyone now will the 3 older 321’s be getting the upgraded seats,I only ask because the youngest of the 3 is 20 years old in December

I wouldnt say that they are "reintroducing premier on Europe".
AerSpace certainly isnt, and the J Class seats will be on 1, maybe 2 departures per day on 3-4 routes. (CDG, LHR, FRA, AMS, FCO?)

As for the old A321s. I would expect them to be replaced within 3-4 years by A320/321neo's from the outstanding IAG order.
(2019/20 is LR delivery window, then the XLRs in 2023. Leaves a gap in 2021/22 for A330/A320neo?)

Cloudio9 · 06-08-2019 09:09PM

Tenger wrote: »

I wouldnt say that they are "reintroducing premier on Europe".
AerSpace certainly isnt, and the J Class seats will be on 1, maybe 2 departures per day on 3-4 routes. (CDG, LHR, FRA, AMS, FCO?)

As for the old A321s. I would expect them to be replaced within 3-4 years by A320/321neo's from the outstanding IAG order.
(2019/20 is LR delivery window, then the XLRs in 2023. Leaves a gap in 2021/22 for A330/A320neo?)

How much life is potentially left in the A321's ? They seem to be lightly used and certainly feel very fresh.

Noxegon · 06-08-2019 09:17PM

Locker10a wrote: »

Nope they certainly wouldn’t

How precisely are you coming to that conclusion?

kevinandrew · 06-08-2019 09:20PM

Aer Lingus are *not* reintroducing Premier Europe on short haul. What has been announced is a new enhanced economy offering marketed as 'AerSpace' with an empty middle seat, a complimentary snack from the standard Bia menu and extras like priority boarding, lounge access etc. which essentially covers the basics of euro business without the fuss.

There will be no permanent physical change to aircraft cabins and no new seats, they will simply block the middle seat of the first row. All the marketing material clearly shows the same standard short haul seats but with middle kept free.

The introduction of the A321LR on some select short haul routes appears to be confusing people, it does not represent the standard 'AerSpace' product and instead, the flatbeds should be seen as an coincidental bonus of the A321LR operating within Europe.

kevinandrew · 06-08-2019 09:23PM

Tenger wrote: »

Did they have the new colours just for the first few days? Or did did they ever have them?
That video online looks very over processed to me, maybe the coloured geadrest were added in post production.

The aircraft featured them on the first few days of service and they were most definitely real.

Someone actually filmed a walkthrough of the cabin just before its first revenue flight and even paused to focus on the new headrest to show the detail. Seems the airline either hasn't got replacements available thanks to poor planning or they've discovered a problem which seems unlikely.

It just seems a shame that Aer Lingus has hyped up the A321LR for years, at the launch of the brand refresh they described the aircraft as the centre of the new look and that it would be the first aircraft to feature the new brand throughout but now its flying around with the old logo on every seat and not a word from the company about its supposedly much anticipated arrival. It shows lack of planning and from a marketing point of view, a complete missed opportunity.

podgeandrodge · 06-08-2019 09:58PM

kevinandrew wrote: »

What has been announced is a new enhanced economy offering marketed as 'AerSpace' with an empty middle seat, a complimentary snack from the standard Bia menu and extras like priority boarding, lounge access etc. which essentially covers the basics of euro business without the fuss.

There will be no permanent physical change to aircraft cabins and no new seats, they will simply block the middle seat of the first row. All the marketing material clearly shows the same standard short haul seats but with middle kept free.

On their webpage today for fares to a few UK/European destinations from 1st September. As you said, the first row. I wonder if you would be tempted to purchase the aisle seat of 1st row (at little higher cost) in knowledge that the window might be taken as an Aerspace, giving you the middle seat free too by default..

Aer Lingus Fleet/Routes Discussion

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