- Minneapolis St Paul service frequency reduced
- Montreal postponed until next summer
- Reduced frequencies to Philadelphia & Hartford
- A321LR not ready for summer, two due in autumn
- Reduced frequency Shannon to JFK
- B757-200 likely to remain in service
Aer Lingus is blaming aircraft delivery delays for the postponement of their new Montreal service until next summer.
The airline is still expecting to take delivery of their first four A321LRs in 2019, as originally scheduled) but two are now due in “late summer,” while the other two are expected in autumn.
The A321LR was supposed to debut between Dublin and Hartford on July 1, 2019, and a second aircraft was scheduled to operate Aer Lingus’ new route between Dublin and Montreal as of August 8, 2019.
Aer Lingus says that all guests on affected flights are being accommodated on alternative flights.
The airline has eight A321LR on order, and is talking to 15 cities in North America about expansion of their trans-Atlantic networkr. The A321LRX, with an even longer range than the A321LR, will be capable of reaching some US west coast destinations in addition to the already served San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle.
Willie Walsh said last week that “we need to do is to ensure Aer Lingus’s ability to expand is with the right assets. We identified that the Airbus A321LR was the right asset for Aer Lingus, and that only becomes available this year.”
“The pace of expansion is dictated by the delivery of aircraft than it is by the ability of the airline. Aer Lingus would be capable of expanding faster. But there’s no point in locking ourselves into an inefficient asset.”
The Dublin to Hartford flight continues to show the A321LR as operating starting in July but the flight is more likely to continue to be operated by a 757-200.
A written statement said: Aircraft delivery delays have necessitated Aer Lingus make the following changes to our summer 2019 schedule:
- Postponement of the commencement of the Dublin to Montreal service, due to start on 8th August, to summer 2020
- Temporary reduction in frequency on four transatlantic routes (Dublin-Philadelphia, Dublin-Minneapolis St Paul, Dublin-Bradley, Shannon–JFK) during July
All guests booked to fly on affected flights are being accommodated on alternative flights. Aer Lingus wishes to apologise for the inconvenience caused.
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