Tag Archives: Aer Lingus

Stobart Air sets new passenger records for the Aer Lingus Regional operation in May

Stobart Air (formerly Aer Arann) (Dublin) has issued this statement for its expanding Aer Lingus Regional operation:

Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Stobart Air, has announced a 35% increase in passenger numbers for the month of May 2014 compared to the same month last year. It represents the eleventh consecutive month of passenger growth for the airline.

May 2014 was a record breaking month for the airline as it flew 122,079 passengers, 31,589 more than May 2013 and 1,191 more than the previous record set in August 2013.

Total passenger numbers for the year to date are up 23% compared to this time last year. Passenger numbers on the airline’s Dublin routes were up 49%, with the Dublin-Kerry route seeing an increase of 21% in May. The Dublin–Bristol route saw an increase of 22% due to the deployment of new aircraft on the route and an increase to three daily flights for the summer months.

Aer Lingus Regional passenger numbers from the UK connecting to trans-Atlantic flights has more than doubled in the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2013. This was due to Aer Lingus’ new San Francisco and Toronto services. Boston and New York bound passengers from Birmingham and Manchester via Shannon Airport has proven to be very popular

Passenger numbers on the airline’s Cork services saw a second consecutive month of growth with an 11% increase from the same month last year. The Cork-Bristol route increased by 14%, while the Cork-Manchester route saw a 17% increase in May.

A focus on providing services for major sporting events continued to be a key driver in passenger growth for the airline. May’s Heineken Cup Final in Cardiff contributed a 44% monthly increase in passenger numbers on the airline’s services to the Welsh capital alone.

Routes from Shannon Airport also saw a significant growth with a 15% increase in May compared to the same month last year.

‘May 2014 was a record period for us and our eleventh successive month of passenger growth. New and expanded routes, along with our investment in new aircraft are resonating with passengers. It is notably that growth is occurring across the network and at each of our bases in Dublin, Shannon and Cork.’

Aer Lingus Regional:

Aer Lingus launches Shannon-Faro flights today, reports a first quarter operating loss of $67.2 million

Aer Lingus’ (Dublin) inaugural flight today (May 1), from Shannon to Faro took to the skies as planned. The three times weekly service will operate until the end of October, giving customers in the West of Ireland direct access to the ever-popular holiday resort of the Algarve.

In addition, Aer Lingus operates daily flights between Shannon and London Heathrow, three flights a week to New York and four flights a week to Boston. Aer Lingus Regional operates daily flights between Shannon and Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester.

This brings the total number of weekly flights with Aer Lingus from Shannon to 58 with over 8,000 seats available each week, from May through to October.

On the financial side, for the first quarter the company reported an operating loss of €48.5 million ($67.2 million) which was €3.0 million ($4.1 million) or 6.6% higher than the first quarter of 2013. This result reflects the later timing of Easter in 2014 and the negative effect of threatened industrial action on booking volumes in March 2014. This threatened action resulted in the cancellation of flights in advance of St. Patrick‟s weekend as well as the forced re-booking and re-accommodation of a significant number of passengers.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 EI-DVN (msn 4715) arrives in the photogenic Tenerife Sur (South).

Aer Lingus Aircraft Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Aer Lingus launches its inaugural flight to Toronto and its first Boeing 757 from Dublin

Aer Lingus (Dublin) yesterday (April 14) recorded two firsts; the launch of its inaugural flight from Dublin to Toronto (Pearson) and the first operation from Dublin of the Boeing 757-200 aircraft recently added to its trans-Atlantic fleet.

The new service will operate year-round with a daily service between Dublin and Toronto during the summer season and up to four weekly services operating during the winter. This is the fourth trans-Atlantic route launch in recent months and forms part of Aer Lingus’ significant trans-Atlantic growth plan in 2014.

The 2014 growth plan includes;

· New routes from Dublin to Toronto and San Francisco
· The addition of three Boeing 757-200 aircraft to the long haul fleet
· Almost doubling of frequency on services from Shannon to Boston and New York
· The creation of more than 200 new jobs

Aer Lingus customers travelling from over twenty UK and European cities via Dublin to Toronto will also have the option to connect to eight key cities within Canada including Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary.

To support the operation of the new routes from Dublin to Toronto and from Shannon to New York and Boston, Aer Lingus has wet leased three Boeing 757-200 aircraft from ASL Aviation Group. The aircraft are configured with an economy and business class cabin. Business travellers will continue to enjoy the same great level of service; with gourmet meals, sleeper seats and an extensive in-flight entertainment selection.

The ASL Aviation Group, based in Ireland, is a well-established global aviation group providing an unrivalled array of aviation services. The group of aviation companies includes Irish airline Air Contractors and French based airline Europe Airpost as well as two support service companies – ACLAS Global and Air Contractors Engineering; and various leasing entities. The Group’s operations are worldwide with the airlines operating a mixed fleet of wide body, short haul and turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft under their own brands and for a number of leading airlines. ASL Aviation Group has a staff of 1,200, a fleet of ±80 aircraft. ASL is a joint venture between CMB (51%) and 3P Air Freighters (49%).

Copyright Photo: Michael Kelly/AirlinersGallery.com. Formerly operated by Finnair as OH-LBT, Boeing 757-2Q8 EI-LBT (msn 28170), operated by Aero Contractors for Aer Lingus, departs from Dublin on its inaugural flight to Toronto on April 14, 2014.

Aer Lingus:

Aer Lingus launches its new route to San Francisco

Aer Lingus (Dublin) yesterday (April 2) launched its inaugural flight to San Francisco. The flight, flight EI 147, was assigned to an Airbus A330-200 (EI-DUO) named St. Columba,

Aer Lingus will operate five flights per week from Dublin to San Francisco as part of its significant trans-Atlantic growth plan in 2014.

The 2014 growth plan includes:

· New routes from Dublin to San Francisco and Toronto (Pearson)
· Almost doubling of frequency on services from Shannon to Boston and New York (JFK)
· The addition of three Boeing 757 aircraft to the long haul fleet

Top Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-202 EI-DUO (msn 841) taxies at Shannon.

Bottom Copyright Photo: Mark Durbin/AirlinersGallery.com. EI-DUO arrives at SFO on the inaugural flight.

Aer Lingus:

Aer Lingus’ 2013 operating profit drops by 12% to $83.8 million

Aer Lingus Group (Aer Lingus) (Dublin) today announced its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended December 31, 2013. The group reported a 12 percent drop in its operating profit for 2013, before net exceptional items, of €61.1 million ($83.8 million).

Read the full report from Aer Lingus: CLICK HERE

Read the analysis from Independent.ie: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-302X EI-DUZ (msn 847) lands back at the Dublin hub. Aer Lingus has now settled on a long-haul fleet around the new Airbus A350. The airline has nine A350-900s on order.

Aer Lingus:

Aer Lingus threatens to go to court if the SIPTU union strikes

Aer Lingus (Dublin) is threatening legal action if the SIPTU union goes ahead with its strike plans against the carrier according to the Irish Times. The union is unhappy with the shortage in the pension fund.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A321-211 EI-CPE (msn 926) climbs gracefully away from Geneva, Switzerland.

Aer Lingus:

Aer Lingus to start Shannon-Malaga service next summer season

Aer Lingus (Dublin) will start twice-weekly Shannon-Malaga flights on March 30, 2014 according to the Limerick Leader.

Read the full story: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 EI-DEB (msn 2191) is pictured on the runway at the Dublin hub.

Aer Lingus:

Virgin Atlantic to cut back on the “Little Red” London Heathrow-Manchester service

Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) will cut one of four London Heathrow-Manchester “Little Red” Airbus A320 flights next year according to TheBusinessDesk.com. The airline explained the reduction was not due to decreased demand but rather having to give back one LHR slot to another unnamed carrier.

However The Independent reported last month the “Little Red” feeder flights were experiencing low sales.

Read the full report from The Independent: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Terry Wade/AirlinersGallery.com. The “Little Red” domestic flights are operated by Aer Lingus in full Virgin Atlantic colors. Airbus A320-214 EI-DEO (msn 2486) arrives at London (Heathrow).

Virgin Atlantic Airways:

Video: Virgin Atlantic ad:

Aer Lingus reports a third quarter operating profit of $126.8 million

Aer Lingus Group (Aer Lingus) (Dublin) for the third quarter reported an operating profit of €94.9 million ($126.8 million) which is 4.4% ahead of last year.

Read the full financial report: CLICK HERE

Read the analysis by Irish Times: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Stephen Tornblom/AirlinersGallery.com. Aer Lingus’ Airbus A330-302X EI-ELA (msn 1106) lifts off the runway at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Aer Lingus:

Ryanair carries over 9 million passengers in August, the first European airline to do so

Ryanair (Dublin) celebrated a milestone in August and issued this statement (while taking a swipe at Aer Lingus):

Ryanair released its passenger and load factor statistics for August 2013:

Traffic increased by 1% to over 9 million passengers.
First European airline ever to carry 9 million passengers in one month.
Annual traffic to end August grew 2% to over 80 million passengers.
Load factor increased 1% to 89%.
Ryanair carries 9 million passengers in a month, Aer Lingus carries 9 million in a year!

	Aug 12	Aug 13	Change	Yr to Aug 13
Passengers	8.90M	9.02M	+1%	80.2M (+2%)
Load Factor	88%	89%	+1%	82%

Ryanair 9m passengers in Aug

Ryanair celebrated its first ever 9 million passenger month by releasing 900,000 seats for travel in October and November at fares starting from just €14.99 one-way.

Ryanair: