Aer Lingus Fleet/Routes Discussion

kevinandrew

Third_Echelon wrote: »

I loved the new American livery! Very modern and striking bold colours. Looks nice!

I think the tail works well, especially in aircraft lineups despite inconsistencies with design. It's the logo and font they chose that cheapens the look, the font in particular is painfully bland in my opinion.

kevinandrew

The CityJet/Aer Lingus London City route now appears to include a checked bag even on the lowest fare and you can't currently pre-select a seat during the booking process. It seems the CityJet full service offering could be continuing under Aer Lingus branded flying.

Van.Bosch

kevinandrew wrote: »

The CityJet/Aer Lingus London City route now appears to include a checked bag even on the lowest fare and you can't currently pre-select a seat during the booking process. It seems the CityJet full service offering could be continuing under Aer Lingus branded flying.

Wonder what drove the change? Can’t imagine numbers moved to BA in huge numbers as most pax on that route are day trips.

L1011

The bins on the ARJ are so small you wouldn't want to encourage any more cabin bags, they end up putting most of them in the hold anyway

Karl8415

Just wondering is anyone aware of how long 330’s can be in service for,I ask only because Ei-LAX will be 20 years old in a few months time and wondering will EI when it comes to redoing livery’s will (lax ) get done,considering that they said it will take approximately 3 years to have the entire fleet redone.
Also what’s the outlook on the 321’s currently in the fleet as their are approaching similar age to ( lax ),I’m open to correction on this but I believe EI own the aircraft I’ve mentioned here so because of that will they continue to use them because of the fact that they are owned outright by EI

ohigg84

Karl8415 wrote: »

Just wondering is anyone aware of how long 330’s can be in service for,I ask only because Ei-LAX will be 20 years old in a few months time and wondering will EI when it comes to redoing livery’s will (lax ) get done,considering that they said it will take approximately 3 years to have the entire fleet redone.
Also what’s the outlook on the 321’s currently in the fleet as their are approaching similar age to ( lax ),I’m open to correction on this but I believe EI own the aircraft I’ve mentioned here so because of that will they continue to use them because of the fact that they are owned outright by EI

I think LAX was bought outright, but she's still a very capable and efficient aircraft.


Most of the other A330s are leased.


Not too sure in relation to the current A321's, but they are all 1998/99 models, EI-CPE is the oldest aircraft in the fleet.

Nijmegen

The Aer Lingus fleet has an average age of 12.8 years, which is better than BA (13.7).

Within the fleet, the 330s are only 9.8 years on average. Compare that to BA 747 (21.9); 767 (21.4) or 777 (16.1) and I'd say you get a view on how the IAG group views older frames.

alancostello

Karl8415 wrote: »

Just wondering is anyone aware of how long 330’s can be in service for,I ask only because    Ei-LAX will be 20 years old in a few months time and wondering will EI when it comes to redoing livery’s will (lax ) get done,considering that they said it will take approximately 3 years to have the entire fleet redone.
Also what’s the outlook on the 321’s currently in the fleet as their are approaching similar age to    ( lax ),I’m open to correction on this but I believe EI own the aircraft I’ve mentioned here so because of that will they continue to use them because of the fact that they are owned outright by EI

So there's two points to note here.
Retirement is mostly based on hours and cycles, not necessarily the age in years. Having been used almost exclusively transatlantic the cycles won't be as high as the A321s (though the Shannon stopovers in the first few years of its life may have had an impact), hours might be getting up there now given Aer Lingus' high utilisation of the long haul fleet. 
Very few A330s have been scrapped as of yet (EI-ORD was actually the first, although that was a problematic frame), in fact only 10 A330 total have been retired/scrapped and some of those were due to irreparable damage. The first two prototype A330s from 1992 went to Cathay Pacific and are still operating with Cathay Dragon some 26 years later, so there's still a lot of life in EI-LAX (and EI-EWR and EI-DAA) yet.

Kcormahs

Sad to hear the news about Primera but was wondering if IAG would look at their a321neo/LR lease and orders maybe to Aer Lingus or other member of the group?

alancostello

Kcormahs wrote: »

Sad to hear the news about Primera but was wondering if IAG would look at their a321neo/LR lease and orders maybe to Aer Lingus or other member of the group?

IAG wants standardised cabins, engines, and galleys across the fleet, so they're unlikely to go after 5 frames that would need to be entirely reconfigured (granted they are using LEAP engines as IAG are). No IAG airline has the 321neo in service yet, with BA set to launch it later this year, so they're likely not even ready for them as it stands.
For the orders they're likely all through leasing companies and will be redistributed within their current order list, IAG could I'm seek preference with the companies, but there's only one 321neo and two 321LR outstanding on order.

Locker10a

Is there any further word on this lease of 737s from ASL for next summer ? Assume one of them will be EI-STA, will they get any form of EI livery?

Karl8415

I remember working in cork airport when there was 321 on lhr and during the summer months come Friday it would do 3 returns runs to lhr and that night would go to fao,come back Saturday morning and do another 3 returns to lhr and out to lpa that night and I remember on a Sunday morning we would have 45 mins to 1 hr to get her back out to lhr,they really earned their keep back then

Karl8415

Absolutely perfect,thank you for explaining,I flew on EI-LAX back in 2000 when she brought me to lax for 8 days and EI-EWR brought me home and I remember in 2001 EI-DAA brought me to Boston,I’ll never forget broarding her in Shannon for Boston and noticing seat back screens,I was like a kid in a sweet shop and it really made a difference to the fight time passing away.
Can I just ask that other question I asked earlier does anyone know what’s going to happen to the 3 a321’s,will they be cut loose soon or will they continue to work for another few years as EI owns them because as was said their cycles would be quite high now

kevinandrew

Aer Lingus hasn't publicly announced any intention to retire the original A321 fleet, if they're owned outright I'd say they've a few more years left in them yet. Ownership costs would be low and if well maintained as they should be with Aer Lingus, there's no reason to say goodbye to them just yet. 

They seem to have a much quieter work load in the winter, purposely rested? So life doesn't seem to harsh on them and I always find them lovely aircraft to fly on.

Jamie2k9

kevinandrew wrote: »

Aer Lingus hasn't publicly announced any intention to retire the original A321 fleet, if they're owned outright I'd say they've a few more years left in them yet. Ownership costs would be low and if well maintained as they should be with Aer Lingus, there's no reason to say goodbye to them just yet. 

They seem to have a much quieter work load in the winter, purposely rested? So life doesn't seem to harsh on them and I always find them lovely aircraft to fly on.

They are owned, there isn't sufficient demand over winter to have them doing 85+ flights a week. Once ski season/rugby starts and Christmas they get busier. Its usually just ACE/TFS/FCO regularly over winter.

Locker10a

kevinandrew wrote: »

Aer Lingus hasn't publicly announced any intention to retire the original A321 fleet, if they're owned outright I'd say they've a few more years left in them yet. Ownership costs would be low and if well maintained as they should be with Aer Lingus, there's no reason to say goodbye to them just yet. 

They seem to have a much quieter work load in the winter, purposely rested? So life doesn't seem to harsh on them and I always find them lovely aircraft to fly on.

The EI-CV craft wouldn’t be much in the difference age wise, I flew one the other night and noticed what I’m guessing is the movable curtain rail from what must have been Premier Europe back in the day!?
In fairness I found the cabin clean and comfortable and didn’t look aged, I reckon it’s had a interior refit in the last few years as the side panels and cabin lighting looked fresh and new.

Nijmegen

Locker10a wrote: »

The EI-CV craft wouldn’t be much in the difference age wise, I flew one the other night and noticed what I’m guessing is the movable curtain rail from what must have been Premier Europe back in the day!?
In fairness I found the cabin clean and comfortable and didn’t look aged, I reckon it’s had a interior refit in the last few years as the side panels and cabin lighting looked fresh and new.

As long as the interior gets refreshed (alongside top notch maintenance of the bits that keep you in the air and breathing) I'm not really sure what problem people have with older aircraft. I was sat on a 20 year old Delta ship a few weeks back with their latest domestic transcon config and it was a beautiful ride, great IFE, etc etc etc. You wouldn't know it's 20 years old but for FR24.

IQO

https://twitter.com/Michaelkelly707/status/1047800924327071744

What would this be about?

HiFly has more recently been operating many services for Norwegian,

Jack1985

Operating the EI101 to Newark, delayed departure to 18:45 (Scheduled 13:00).

Tabnabs

Just about to land in Munster Osnabruck.

ozzy jr

Pity it's not the HiFly A380

Kevski

HiFly A332 landing in Dublin now from BRU. Flying as EI993

JCX BXC

Surprise surprise, fleet issues causing mass cancellations and hire-ins

If this trend continues EI will quickly fall down the rankings of reliability, every summer season it inevitable happens and worse than the previous time. Reliability at Shannon is especially poor.

kevinandrew

It appears to be end of summer crewing issues more than tech issues this time around, A330 crews maxed out over the peak summer and any sickness or holiday causes shortages. Similar to Ryanair's issues but on a much, much smaller scale. The winter schedule kicks in over the next few weeks which should ease issues. 

The fleet is quickly approaching a situation where economies of scale would justify a spare, it was seriously considered for this summer but sourcing the aircraft is the easy bit, it's having the crews and engineers to legally operate the aircraft that matter and that's where they fell short. Next summer there needs to be more flexibility within the fleet, crews and engineers, no airline can afford to have an A330 sitting around all day, everyday and crews/maintenance twiddling their thumbs at home while on the payroll but more than the obvious bare bones staffing we're seeing today is required.

Bussywussy

kevinandrew wrote: »

It appears to be end of summer crewing issues more than tech issues this time around, A330 crews maxed out over the peak summer and any sickness or holiday causes shortages. Similar to Ryanair's issues but on a much, much smaller scale. The winter schedule kicks in over the next few weeks which should ease issues. 

The fleet is quickly approaching a situation where economies of scale would justify a spare, it was seriously considered for this summer but sourcing the aircraft is the easy bit, it's having the crews and engineers to legally operate the aircraft that matter and that's where they fell short. Next summer there needs to be more flexibility within the fleet, crews and engineers, no airline can afford to have an A330 sitting around all day, everyday and crews/maintenance twiddling their thumbs at home while on the payroll but more than the obvious bare bones staffing we're seeing today is required.

There's no more flexibility available from engineering it's already at max flexibility,it's at full tilt and still being run on overtime..if that was pulled it would simply collapse in a day or two at peak

kevinandrew

Bussywussy wrote: »

kevinandrew wrote: »

It appears to be end of summer crewing issues more than tech issues this time around, A330 crews maxed out over the peak summer and any sickness or holiday causes shortages. Similar to Ryanair's issues but on a much, much smaller scale. The winter schedule kicks in over the next few weeks which should ease issues. 

The fleet is quickly approaching a situation where economies of scale would justify a spare, it was seriously considered for this summer but sourcing the aircraft is the easy bit, it's having the crews and engineers to legally operate the aircraft that matter and that's where they fell short. Next summer there needs to be more flexibility within the fleet, crews and engineers, no airline can afford to have an A330 sitting around all day, everyday and crews/maintenance twiddling their thumbs at home while on the payroll but more than the obvious bare bones staffing we're seeing today is required.

There's no more flexibility available from engineering it's already at max flexibility,it's at full tilt and still being run on overtime..if that was pulled it would simply collapse in a day or two at peak

By more flexibility I mean more staff, not just the obvious legal minimum they're sticking too in order to save every cent they can. That goes for system wide and not just for engineering, new aircraft are great but not when there's nobody to fly them.

Jack1985

kevinandrew wrote: »

A330 crews maxed out over the peak summer and any sickness or holiday causes shortages.

There are have been no incidents of maxed out crews or holidays shortages causing problems for EI Crew, lack of redundancy in reserves might be going in the right direction.

flange888

Karl8415 wrote:

Just wondering is anyone aware of how long 330’s can be in service for,I ask only because Ei-LAX will be 20 years old in a few months time and wondering will EI when it comes to redoing livery’s will (lax ) get done,considering that they said it will take approximately 3 years to have the entire fleet redone. Also what’s the outlook on the 321’s currently in the fleet as their are approaching similar age to ( lax ),I’m open to correction on this but I believe EI own the aircraft I’ve mentioned here so because of that will they continue to use them because of the fact that they are owned outright by EI

Most aircraft are intended to reach what the manufacturer call DSG (Design Service Goal) for example 60000FH or 30000FC but Airbus offer a service called ESG (Extended Service Goal) which can substantially increase the operating life of the aircraft...at a cost!Normally includes structural modifications and assessment of repairs.

Tenger

kevinandrew wrote: »

By more flexibility I mean more staff, not just the obvious legal minimum they're sticking too in order to save every cent they can. That goes for system wide and not just for engineering, new aircraft are great but not when there's nobody to fly them.

From what I’ve read here and been told this seems like the root cause; the minimum required staffing levels are great for the financials. But this system is always going to be caught short by any level of disruption (weather, tech, sickness, diversions etc)
In addition to numbers you also need incentive to stay. I was told that the ex-Monarch and ex-Air Berlin flight crew have all departed (not sure if this is due to short term contracts or conditions/rosters) I would have thought that keeping experienced F/Os during a time of expansion would be a priority.
We also read here about engineers leaving for other Irish employers due to salary differences. And on the ground this summer they were recruiting 20 hour a week short term shift work contracts. I can’t see then attracting quality individuals to such an unattractive job offer. In my opinion School leavers and nomadic workers would be the pool for such a position.

California Dreamer

Tenger wrote: »

I was told that the ex-Monarch and ex-Air Berlin flight crew have all departed .

The lull of WOW and the time to command and move to the 330 is very attractive. Although I hope those guys didnt move to Primera! :eek:

Tenger

California Dreamer wrote: »

The lull of WOW and the time to command and move to the 330 is very attractive. Although I hope those guys didnt move to Primera! :eek:

Good point. A couple of years to command on TA routes is definitely more attractive than multi sector shorthaul for a UK based person.

Jack1985

Tenger wrote: »

I was told that the ex-Monarch and ex-Air Berlin flight crew have all departed (not sure if this is due to short term contracts or conditions/rosters)

Not all ex-ZB/AB staff have departed, a lot remain, some did leave even jumping over into work with Primera and we know how that ended. Another fanciful rumor being floated.

mx5ire

Does anyone have any idea whats up with EI 123 to Chicago today - meant to go at 11:30 - seems like its still there. This flight has had varying degrees of lateness for each of the past 10 days now. I assume some technical issue today. My wife is on it on Monday, with a shortish connection onto United - she is now very concerned about missing the connection. 

Seems to be a few others late yesterday and today as well. 
EI 101 to Newark also 2 hours late today, and it was a complete disaster yesterday.

Jack1985

123 is about to be canned..

MICKEYG

Was traveling a lot this week and saw a few A350's. Absolutely beautiful airplane. Would love to see in the green of EI but very unlikely now.

Shame about all the delays to the transatlantic flights. People will think twice about booking with EI again. Those in charge will need to take responsibility just like they took the praise with the good figures.

Took the E175/190 with KLM to Dublin on the trip. Hadnt been on it since LOT flew it here. Lovely and comfortable even in ecomony with big windows at the right height for nerds like me. Can't help but feel it would be perfect for EI.

ISOP

mx5ire wrote: »

Does anyone have any idea whats up with EI 123 to Chicago today - meant to go at 11:30 - seems like its still there. This flight has had varying degrees of lateness for each of the past 10 days now. I assume some technical issue today. My wife is on it on Monday, with a shortish connection onto United - she is now very concerned about missing the connection. 

Seems to be a few others late yesterday and today as well. 
EI 101 to Newark also 2 hours late today, and it was a complete disaster yesterday.

I'm sitting here waiting to find out what the hell is going on. We we on the plane on the tarmac for four and a half hours whilst they tried to deal with a problem with the navigation system. Now we have disembarked and no one is telling us anything. Horrendous treatment of passengers

Tenger

ISOP wrote: »

I'm sitting here waiting to find out what the hell is going on. We we on the plane on the tarmac for four and a half hours whilst they tried to deal with a problem with the navigation system. Now we have disembarked and no one is telling us anything. Horrendous treatment of passengers

The lack of info is pretty bad. But a malfunctioning aircraft is an unforeseen and unusual indigent. I though there was a limit on how long you can remain onboard (I really should remember this stuff)

Edit; Just looking at aerlingus.com, I see it didn’t operate. Some serious compensation/rebooking/hire in costs incurred this week at EI.


Thanks Jack for the rebuttal to the info I had been given. Feel bad for those who went to Primera in the hope of better options.

kona

Tenger wrote: »

From what I’ve read here and been told this seems like the root cause; the minimum required staffing levels are great for the financials. But this system is always going to be caught short by any level of disruption (weather, tech, sickness, diversions etc)
In addition to numbers you also need incentive to stay. I was told that the ex-Monarch and ex-Air Berlin flight crew have all departed (not sure if this is due to short term contracts or conditions/rosters) I would have thought that keeping experienced F/Os during a time of expansion would be a priority.
We also read here about engineers leaving for other Irish employers due to salary differences. And on the ground this summer they were recruiting 20 hour a week short term shift work contracts. I can’t see then attracting quality individuals to such an unattractive job offer. In my opinion School leavers and nomadic workers would be the pool for such a position.

"4 star"

Nibs05

I counted 3 EI A330’s parked up this evening... it’s a mess alright.

Jamie2k9

Tenger wrote: »

The lack of info is pretty bad. But a malfunctioning aircraft is an unforeseen and unusual indigent. I though there was a limit on how long you can remain onboard (I really should remember this stuff)

If you have cleared US Immigration it complicates things, you will be on board if they expect to operate even if its means hours.

ISOP

Replacement flight at 16:00 tommorrow. I pulled the plug on this trip. Gutted

Jack1985

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

If you have cleared US Immigration it complicates things, you will be on board if they expect to operate even if its means hours.

Precisely. A lot of the issues since yesterday which will now it seems continue for the next few days as a result are down to lack of reserve planning with cockpit crew on the 330 primarily. Similar issues are happening in Engineering as well as within the Cabin Crew section. Money can be offered until the cows come home for people to work days off but alas they can't be forced and they are not heeding to it.

mikel97

Nibs05 wrote: »

I counted 3 EI A330’s parked up this evening... it’s a mess alright.

No crew and this is the begin. Smart allrite

joeysoap

You know the jokes about your credit card limit not being a target. I heard that AL nearly always run the 900 flying hours for cabin crew to the limit each year. Even in cases where someone has been sick for a few months, the 900 hours is stilll expected.

Jack1985

joeysoap wrote: »

You know the jokes about your credit card limit not being a target. I heard that AL nearly always run the 900 flying hours for cabin crew to the limit each year. Even in cases where someone has been sick for a few months, the 900 hours is stilll expected.

It's similarly done to both Pilots and Cabin Crew, although sick leave varies greatly (in numbers) between the two (Pilots either Short-Haul or Long-Haul/Cabin Crew operate both). Not all crew will reach the 900 mark, but some do. You can't bust 100 block hours in any rolling 28 day period.

The rostering and ''doubling'' of duties and there pairings is questionable at times. Rostering at EI is and for some time now has been laughable.

Bussywussy

ISOP wrote: »

mx5ire wrote: »

Does anyone have any idea whats up with EI 123 to Chicago today - meant to go at 11:30 - seems like its still there. This flight has had varying degrees of lateness for each of the past 10 days now. I assume some technical issue today. My wife is on it on Monday, with a shortish connection onto United - she is now very concerned about missing the connection. 

Seems to be a few others late yesterday and today as well. 
EI 101 to Newark also 2 hours late today, and it was a complete disaster yesterday.

I'm sitting here waiting to find out what the hell is going on. We we on the plane on the tarmac for four and a half hours whilst they tried to deal with a problem with the navigation system. Now we have disembarked and no one is telling us anything. Horrendous treatment of passengers

There's was a choice of 2 -300 aircraft they could of swapped to do the 123 and grounded the one with technical issue....don't know the reason why not

ISOP

Bussywussy wrote: »

There's was a choice of 2 -300 aircraft they could of swapped to do the 123 and grounded the one with technical issue....don't know the reason why not

No crew to fly it as I understand it, the time spend messing around trying to rectify the issue meant the crew had worked over their flight time allowed

iancm25

ISOP wrote: »

Bussywussy wrote: »

There's was a choice of 2 -300 aircraft they could of swapped to do the 123 and grounded the one with technical issue....don't know the reason why not

No crew to fly it as I understand it, the time spend messing around trying to rectify the issue meant the crew had worked over their flight time allowed

Just out of curiosity - I assume the crew still get paid as if they worked their full shift. Anyone know? Would seem very unfair if not.

basill

Unfortunately AL doesn't have duty pay like many other airlines. So if we come into work and sit around waiting for snow to clear/aircraft to get fixed then we get paid our annual salaries but no sector pay as we didn't fly.

joeysoap

HTCOne wrote: »

Those 900 hour FTLs are a hard limit, not a target, unfortunately many companies don’t see it that way.

My understanding is the 900 hours is the max flying hours. Doesn’t count the waiting around hours , boarding or unboarding hours etc. I don’t know, is it an EU ruling?

Anyway my understanding is that AL run it to the wire every year since it was increased a few years ago. I don’t know when the year ‘starts’.