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

European network is incredibly poor at this stage; it was poor pre-pandemic and worse now.

Before Norwegian's longhaul expansion, ARN was one of the top connecting destinations for long haul but now there's zero Scandinavian destinations; loads of other major cities are either gone or ridiculously seasonal (WAW for instance)

(EI-XLR) Could this be the launch aircraft after all? Seems like Iberia have delayed their inaugural flights with their frame as it's delivery has been delayed.

IND: good news. Hartford seems to be working so no reason why IND can't do similarly.

Euro-routes: might be time for EI to refocus on multi-daily euro-cities and always popular sun-routes and make dub-hub more resilient… sometimes less (in number) is more (in quality).

FR/Ei: first/second wave collaboration is needed if you want to fly 'everywhere' - dropping down to their level inside the cabin is just irksome. Be AerLingus again - more efficiently - but be true to the brand. Seating type (Aer Club/Space/Explorer using Recaro R2 and R1 seats) and cabin differentiation on SH needs to come back. Ironing boards throughout - may as well fly FR.

You can be FR in part of the cabin (50-80% - AerExplorer - slimline R1), but what EU airlines fail to realize is the 'seat' matters. The entire cabin doesn't have to be the same from row 1 to row 30+. KLMs new and first a321neo has the R2 in the first third'ish with empty seat, followed by a little extra space, followed by R1. I'm talking only about the seats, spacing, dressing etc. Buy-on-board throughout, No curtains or 'yeeesss me lady' shite, Aer Club access for Aer Club seats, grab and go some food there. All doable. LCCs in the US are all in trouble as people are sick of the cattle-cart cabins from head to tail - and the greyhound bus clientele causing hassle. The majors are coining it in by reintroducing differentiation in the cabin. Seats and comfort for extra cash matters. Lot's of people have lot's of money... Let them spend it. (Not me... I'd fly in my bike box if I could).

Honestly, from my perspective as a frequent flyer, the one thing that does my head in more than anything else on short haul in Europe is the sheer number of PA announcements – covering all manner of things that I really don't give a monkeys about, such as perfumes that are exclusive to Aer Lingus et al.

I'd gladly pay a decent premium on my short haul fare just to have them Sierra Tango Foxtrot Uniform beyond the legally required announcements.

I'd love to know what the operating cost of a DUB-IND flight is.

Based on four flights a week that amounts to a subsidy of $45K per one way flight, or just shy of $250 per seat. Mad money.

St. Louis disappointed they missed out! Perhaps they'll up the incentives to secure a route announcement next year?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/aer-lingus-again-bypasses-st-louis-with-new-route-from-dublin-to-indianapolis/ar-AA1sFruZ

In other news, paywall article but will EI target routes FR also fly or will they just focus on least profitable routes? I'd hate to see some continental routes only served by EI axed.

Aer Lingus assessing European route cuts as Dublin Airport cap bites

https://www.independent.ie/business/aer-lingus-assessing-european-route-cuts-as-dublin-airport-cap-bites/a1605159254.html

Appears EI will be making an announcement tomorrow, looks like it could be something related to their app, so nothing major but still could be interesting

https://www.instagram.com/stories/aerlingus/3484567834716036890?igsh=Z3pva2duZWk0dDRi

The self service machines are being upgraded.

The Indianapolis announcement was reported on all the Irish news media outlets, the aviation sites and lots of Indiana and US based and travel media sites. I've only heard about these other offerings on this Boards thread.

In fairness, Nashville is a far more familiar city from an Irish perspective from a music and tourism angle so naturally that route announcement would resonate more with the Irish public (similar to Vegas). Indianapolis would be treated the same way as Cleveland was.

Their social media/marketing team imo are pretty poor, i usually bypass the videos, either not engaging enough or boring. Don't like their adverts on TV also.

They strike me of someone who think they are a premium brand when they certainly are not. Even if i compare them to other airlines in the group, both BA and Iberia are far better imo

That’s the standard for every route announcement, media in both locations will always report it but outside of a single social media post, Aer Lingus have said relatively little. They haven’t even got a press release on their media site yet.

United created an entire treasure hunt style video from their head office littered with clues just to tease their new routes days before they were announced. It builds hype and helps attract public interest. My point is that Aer Lingus know how to do this, they just choose rather odd elements of the business to do it for.

I don't believe it was selected for its potential as a new holiday destination for Irish tourists. It was selected as part of EI's strategy to develop it as a 1 stop route gateway to rest of Europe for the millions of Indiana and adjacent state residents. There is currently no other competition on that route and stats showed over 500 pax fly daily from Indianapolis to Europe via indirect routes so there was an untapped market. There are some strong business links too between Ireland and Indiana, particularly with pharmaceuticals thstvwas a factor. Most importantly, there were very generous financial incentives provided by Ind that allowed the route to proceed.