Aer Lingus Fleet/Routes Discussion

Jack1985

Locker10a wrote: »

I thought headphones had to be removed during takeoff/landing but earbud types could be used for all stages other than the demo, I could be wrong here

That is correct earbuds are fine, larger headphones are the ones not permitted.

IngazZagni

It’s vague. AIC NR 19/15 suggests headphones are allowed during taxi, takeoff and landing subject to them not obstructing access to the aisles and exits. So that’s open for debate. Wired headphones connected to the ife could be a hazard. Wireless not so much.

As for earbuds vs headphones. In 2020 earbuds can have as good noise cancellation as headphones so that point isn’t valid anymore.

Locker10a

IngazZagni wrote: »

As for earbuds vs headphones. In 2020 earbuds can have as good noise cancellation as headphones so that point isn’t valid anymore.

But earbuds be they noice cancelling or not are much less of a potential projectile

kmart6

Locker10a wrote: »

But earbuds be they noice cancelling or not are much less of a potential projectile

I think if there is a worry over the possible damage that over the ear headphones could cause if they became projectiles there are probably bigger problems occurring with the flight that would be more concerning.

Locker10a

kmart6 wrote: »

I think if there is a worry over the possible damage that over the ear headphones could cause if they became projectiles there are probably bigger problems occurring with the flight that would be more concerning.

Well generally speaking the cabin crew conduct a cabin secure for every take off and landing for this reason. Should something go wrong and the aircraft comes to a violent/sudden stop most heavy items are or should be stowed away/secured, so galley equipment latched, laptops away, bags pushed underneath seats etc it’s standard regulation that this is enforced for every takeoff and landing

kevinandrew

No sign of EI-LRC returning from Newark yet?

Jack1985

On the move now, won’t be in DUB until 15:00 - I would imagine a delay therefor to the 131/130 if it is released back for revenue service by line maintenance.

Tenger

IngazZagni wrote: »

It’s vague. AIC NR 19/15 suggests headphones are allowed during taxi, takeoff and landing subject to them not obstructing access to the aisles and exits. So that’s open for debate. Wired headphones connected to the ife could be a hazard. Wireless not so much.

As for earbuds vs headphones. In 2020 earbuds can have as good noise cancellation as headphones so that point isn’t valid anymore.

I’m guessing EI had to make a call on this point 2-3 years ago and earbuds were allowed. Perhaps they may reassess it in the future, considering the increase in performance of noise cancelling earbuds and the proliferation of Bluetooth enabled wireless headphones.

Karl8415

Just wondering if anyone knows how severe is C checks on aircraft, I only ask out of curiosity considering that there was a few 330's sent away to have it done yesterday, are we talking engines and landing gears removed etc

Tenger

Karl8415 wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone knows how severe is C checks on aircraft, I only ask out of curiosity considering that there was a few 330's sent away to have it done yesterday, are we talking engines and landing gears removed etc

Severe is a bad term.
C Check is a yearly airframe check. It's essentially a full body check up of the aircraft. complete
I don't think the gear is removed for this.
Engines have their own maintainance cycle anyway.

D Check is the most in depth check. It's close to stripping apart the aircraft.

LXFlyer

The annual checks happen every year at this time on the transatlantic fleet, as this is when the schedule has the biggest amount of slack in it.

Frequency is pared back during January and February.

JCX BXC

Tenger wrote: »

.
D Check is the most in depth check. It's close to stripping as part the aircraft.

So in depth that many airlines scrap older aircraft once they need another D check.

Bussywussy

AFAIK EI don't carry out D Checks because they carry out maintenance at different levels, a C check could be c1 to c9,some C checks are very light and some are very heavy.

billy few mates

How long is a piece of string?
There's actually no such thing as D checks or even C checks any more, there are just a number of maintenance tasks due at various intervals which you can bunch together and call whatever you like so long as they're done in accordance with the MPD (Maintenance Planning Document).
If the authorities are happy you can do the tasks split over an extended period one job at a time you won't need to go into the hangar at all so long as everything is done properly.
On most modern aircraft the engines are 'on condition' meaning you don't have to remove them until something goes wrong with them that can't be repaired 'on wing' but you might have to temporarily remove them for access for something like pylon inspections.
The landing gear is 'life limited' so typically removed every ten years for overhaul but not normally removed unless you have particular inspections which require them to be temporarily removed for access but again it varies from type to type.
I've seen C Checks under the old system done in anything from two or three days to two or three months but on average about three weeks to a month depending on type, age, findings etc.
There's no 'one size fits all' when it comes to aircraft maintenance.

Bussywussy

billy few mates wrote: »

How long is a piece of string?
There's actually no such thing as D checks or even C checks any more, there are just a number of maintenance tasks due at various intervals which you can bunch together and call whatever you like so long as they're done in accordance with the MPD (Maintenance Planning Document).
If the authorities are happy you can do the tasks split over an extended period one job at a time you won't need to go into the hangar at all so long as everything is done properly.
On most modern aircraft the engines are 'on condition' meaning you don't have to remove them until something goes wrong with them that can't be repaired 'on wing' but you might have to temporarily remove them for access for something like pylon inspections.
The landing gear is 'life limited' so typically removed every ten years for overhaul but not normally removed unless you have particular inspections which require them to be temporarily removed for access but again it varies from type to type.
I've seen C Checks under the old system done in anything from two or three days to two or three months but on average about three weeks to a month depending on type, age, findings etc.
There's no 'one size fits all' when it comes to aircraft maintenance.

EI use Out of phase checks too to capture items that fall out of time from when they extended the C check interval...I think it was BMI British Midland that were one of the first who started phasing their checks

California Dreamer

I think I will just hide out here. There are all sorts of strangers invading our forum talking about air crashes and stuff who I don't know!

kevinandrew

Anyone have an idea when the repaints start again? With quite a few aircraft out for maintenance this month it doesn’t leave much room so I’m guessing February and March?

Noticed ‘EDY, ‘CVA and ‘RJI all have replacement engine cowlings in white.

California Dreamer

Is that nearly 6 weeks for -GEY to be in BOD?

Van.Bosch

kevinandrew wrote: »

Anyone have an idea when the repaints start again? With quite a few aircraft out for maintenance this month it doesn’t leave much room so I’m guessing February and March?

Noticed ‘EDY, ‘CVA and ‘RJI all have replacement engine cowlings in white.

Would any maintenance facilities also do painting or is that a separate service always? Would have expected GEY to be repainted this winter with the refit etc

adam88

Aviation2K16 wrote: »

DUB - PHL is cancelled today. PHL - DUB isn’t cancelled so presume LRC will position to PHL from EWR to operate that.

Big interest in this. What’s the logistics involved in this ??? Get the ewr crew to top to phl and then onto dub??? What happens to the ewr pax ??

john boye

Van.Bosch wrote: »

Would any maintenance facilities also do painting or is that a separate service always? Would have expected GEY to be repainted this winter with the refit etc

I think it was said when the new livery was announced that all repaints would be done in Shannon and Dublin. In any case GEY only joined the fleet less than 2 years so is surely not due a repaint.

kevinandrew

Van.Bosch wrote: »

Would any maintenance facilities also do painting or is that a separate service always? Would have expected GEY to be repainted this winter with the refit etc

I think it's mostly a separate service.

I believe Aer Lingus have a contract with IAC for the repaints which have locations in Dublin, Shannon, Rome and Ostrava. The Airbus repaints have so far
all been done in Dublin or Shannon while the Avro's were done in Rome.

Scheduling routine maintenance with a repaint probably isn't as easy as it sounds when both services are done by separate companies.

billy few mates

A lot of paint facilities also have their own maintenance facilities or access to a local maintenance organisation to certify the technical element of a re-paint.
This can include bare metal inspections of the skin after the old paint is removed and just before the repainting begins.
Also depending on the aircraft type you often have to remove and rebalance some of the flight controls if you repaint them, these can only be done by an engineer who's licensed on type with the proper approvals.

Jack1985

GEY now expected back Monday returning as EIN2505 departing Bordeaux 16:00, arriving into Dublin at 16:45. No EIS planned as of yet as it’s subject to change.

Aviation2K16

Are the re paints expected to start soon? EI990 arrives in Shannon from Dublin in an hour? EI-DVK is on the move in DUB.

Jack1985

Aviation2K16 wrote: »

Are the re paints expected to start soon? EI990 arrives in Shannon from Dublin in an hour? EI-DVK is on the move in DUB.

Yes. DVK is off to SNN for a repaint.

Tenger

Jack1985 wrote: »

GEY now expected back Monday returning as EIN2505 departing Bordeaux 16:00, arriving into Dublin at 16:45. No EIS planned as of yet as it’s subject to change.

Any idea if it got the cabin refitted? It will save another year of threads about the “wrong” interior

Karl8415

If it does turn out that GEY has had a refit it must have had a lot of maintenance done also because its gone since late November, either way it can't come back quick enough because EI are currently down 4 wide bodies, EDY-GEY-DAA are in south of France and FNG is out in Abu Dhabi

LXFlyer

Karl8415 wrote: »

If it does turn out that GEY has had a refit it must have had a lot of maintenance done also because its gone since late November, either way it can't come back quick enough because EI are currently down 4 wide bodies, EDY-GEY-DAA are in south of France and FNG is out in Abu Dhabi

You do realise that the long haul schedule is massively cut back during January and February until just before St Patrick’s Day.

This time of year has lots of slack built into it.

Four aircraft undergoing maintenance is nothing unusual.

EchoIndia

Tenger wrote: »

Any idea if it got the cabin refitted? It will save another year of threads about the “wrong” interior

EI-GEY is receiving "an interior upgrade to Aer Lingus configuration".

Source: Irish Air Letter magazine, January 2020

Karl8415

LXFlyer wrote: »

You do realise that the long haul schedule is massively cut back during January and February until just before St Patrick’s Day.

This time of year has lots of slack built into it.

Four aircraft undergoing maintenance is nothing unusual.

Thanks for that i did know that the schedule was curtailed January February March but I didn't realise it was back that much to afford 4 been sent out for maintenance, good to know

LXFlyer

Karl8415 wrote: »

Thanks for that i did know that the schedule was curtailed January February March but I didn't realise it was back that much to afford 4 been sent out for maintenance, good to know

Go and look at the timetable on the Aer Lingus website - you can see that the three routes (JFK, Boston and Chicago) that traditionally have a double daily service get pared back to one daily and one several days a week, while most of the other routes are pared back to three or four times a week with some using the B757/A321LR in place of the A330.

Shannon-JFK is also suspended until mid-February.

This allows the major exams to take place across the fleet.

Jack1985

Tenger wrote: »

Any idea if it got the cabin refitted? It will save another year of threads about the “wrong” interior

Yes, finally. Of course was planned last year but scrapped last moment.

Lapmo_Dancer

LXFlyer wrote: »

Go and look at the timetable on the Aer Lingus website - you can see that the three routes (JFK, Boston and Chicago) that traditionally have a double daily service get pared back to one daily and one several days a week, while most of the other routes are pared back to three or four times a week with some using the B757/A321LR in place of the A330.

Shannon-JFK is also suspended until mid-February.

This allows the major exams to take place across the fleet.

Don’t think DUB-JFK is being curtailed this year. Staying at 2 330s daily.

LXFlyer

Lapmo_Dancer wrote: »

Don’t think DUB-JFK is being curtailed this year. Staying at 2 330s daily.

There’s some jiggery pokerey with the second JFK flight in February, but yes you’re right.

The substantive point remains though that as a whole frequency drops substantially.

sherology

New uniforms being unveiled Wednesday... And new this season ladies... Trousers

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/fashion/trousers-on-offer-for-first-time-for-female-aer-lingus-crew-as-airline-to-launch-new-uniforms-1.4120473

EI321

Exactly how many Avros are flying for Aer Lingus currently? In addition to the two in EI livery, there is at least one in cityjet livery flying DUB to LCY.

Looks like there are either 4 or 5 still active with cityjet, with EI-RJD, EI-RJF and EI-RJI flying for Aer Lingus and EI-RJU flying for Brussels airlines. Not sure of the status of EI-RJO.

The remaining few are stored.

alancostello

EI321 wrote: »

Exactly how many Avros are flying for Aer Lingus currently? In addition to the two in EI livery, there is at least one in cityjet livery flying DUB to LCY.

Looks like there are either 4 or 5 still active with cityjet, with EI-RJD, EI-RJF and EI-RJI flying for Aer Lingus and EI-RJU flying for Brussels airlines. Not sure of the status of EI-RJO.

The remaining few are stored.

Four currently in operation (the first four you mentioned) and all for Aer Lingus. EI-RJU is no longer flying for Brussels Airlines and that operation is now all CRJ900s.

Locker10a

EI321 wrote: »

Exactly how many Avros are flying for Aer Lingus currently? In addition to the two in EI livery, there is at least one in cityjet livery flying DUB to LCY.

Looks like there are either 4 or 5 still active with cityjet, with EI-RJD, EI-RJF and EI-RJI flying for Aer Lingus and EI-RJU flying for Brussels airlines. Not sure of the status of EI-RJO.

The remaining few are stored.

I think the schedule requires 2 for the EI LCY stuff

Van.Bosch

Locker10a wrote: »

I think the schedule requires 2 for the EI LCY stuff

RJD & RJI are the two in EI livery.

Noxegon

EI321 wrote: »

Looks like there are either 4 or 5 still active with cityjet, with EI-RJD, EI-RJF and EI-RJI flying for Aer Lingus and EI-RJU flying for Brussels airlines. Not sure of the status of EI-RJO.

The remaining few are stored.

Most but not all. EI-RJK crashed in Colombia in 2016.

BonnieSituation

Noxegon wrote: »

Most but not all. EI-RJK crashed in Colombia in 2016.

That was the Chapecoense flight eh. Can't believe that was 3 years ago now.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057676281

California Dreamer

Saw on the Dublin spotters fb page that they reckoned -EWR was leaving the fleet or possibly -LAX, although if Alpha XRay is owned outright, why get rid of it.

Shamrockj

California Dreamer wrote: »

Saw on the Dublin spotters fb page that they reckoned -EWR was leaving the fleet or possibly -LAX, although if Alpha XRay is owned outright, why get rid of it.

I dont see any 330 leaving the fleet in 2020. The 2 new ones coming allow 14 more round trip flights a week and this summer there is 10 extra frequencies per week

EI321

Shamrockj wrote: »

I dont see any 330 leaving the fleet in 2020. The 2 new ones coming allow 14 more round trip flights a week and this summer there is 10 extra frequencies per week

I also thought one was to be kept as a spare? Rule of thumb in most large airlines seems to be one spare long haul aircraft for every 15-16 that are active.

The older ones in the fleet are probably worth around $20m per frame so might be worth keeping for a year or two as spares.

Tenger

Shamrockj wrote: »

I dont see any 330 leaving the fleet in 2020. The 2 new ones coming allow 14 more round trip flights a week and this summer there is 10 extra frequencies per week

100% agree here. Rumours of the -200 being replaced dont hold water.
2 new -300s entering service before Summer.
With MSP upgraded to A330, MCO going 6 weekly, MIA 3 weekly and SEA going daily they need the current 13 airframes and the 2 new ones.

sherology

Tenger wrote: »

100% agree here. Rumours of the -200 being replaced dont hold water.
2 new -300s entering service before Summer.
With MSP upgraded to A330, MCO going 6 weekly, MIA 3 weekly and SEA going daily they need the current 13 airframes and the 2 new ones.

They would likely have harvested the business class seats and added them to GEY if a frame was leaving... They're not cheap!

flange888

I suspect EWR is leaving in due course

NH2013

EI-ELA heading for painting shortly, once EI-GEY returns to service.

cloudhopper19

EI-EWR will indeed leave the fleet this year.