Aer Lingus, the Irish airline, is expected to reduce the frequency of its Dublin-London Heathrow flights from this winter, even though it might acquire up to six new aircraft to expand its presence in North America. This decision follows last month’s agreement to raise pilots’ salaries by 17.75% in response to a fierce disagreement which lead to industrial action and flight cancellations.
On Monday, the airline’s management informed employees about their intention to decrease Dublin-London Heathrow flights by approximately two a day from the upcoming winter. This decision was influenced by unsatisfactory passenger recovery following the removal of Covid-19 travel restrictions, particularly due to a decrease in business travel. Another factor was a contentious planning condition which restricts the passenger count at Dublin Airport to 32 million annually.
Aer Lingus plans to adjust its winter schedule to 9 or 10 daily flights from the current 11 to 12 by 2023/24. In summer 2025, the airline foresees operating 11 or 12 trips instead of 2025’s 13 or 14 daily services. Flights from Cork, Shannon and Knock airports to London won’t be impacted.
Separately the company revealed that it could receive two Airbus A321 extra-long-range (XLR) jets from its parent company International Airlines’ Group (IAG) this year. These aircrafts, while more cost-effective than most long-haul jets, have the ability to complete Ireland to North America journeys, potentially bringing new transatlantic routes for Aer Lingus.
It’s suggested that IAG may provide up to six XLRs in total to Aer Lingus, with the remaining four planned for next year. During the pilots’ dispute this summer, XLRs originally intended for Aer Lingus were reassigned to Spanish carrier Iberia, another member of IAG.