Aer Lingus Fleet/ Routes Discussion Pt 2 (ALL possible routes included)

Haha… ah well... No more passenger flights on the old cabins. They crews must be elated.

I guess those -200s will need replacing at some point. Would be nice if EI could schedule a refurb before entry into service. Let's see how much they care this time around (covid no longer a go to for blame).

-200's are getting on in years at this stage

Moving to all -300 would considerably simplify operations as you would have 2 seat layouts, with only 4 Y seats difference (the crew rest access stairs EIN/EIM/GAJ/GCF)

Operating cost difference between -200 and -300 is minimal as to be effectively zero but you get more in the hold and seats

…………

Ok don’t send it back yet, the whinging would get even worse…!

OK, then maybe they could swap with 2 other 330s in Dublin and send those to Manchester instead

As it was a new operation customer retention was important, they didn't have as much of a brand built up in MAN.

Imagine being a seasoned VS traveller and wanting to give EI a go direct from Manchester and you get on IK or IL and get treated to that horrible interior. They're going straight back to VS..

compare that to Dublin where EI have built up a very loyal customer following - much less likely to affect customer retention as there are frequent flyers that just book EI first no matter what (not saying it didn't affect customer retention, but it was always less likely to happen in DUB compared to MAN which is what I imagine drove the decision)

I actually did hear that too at some point, I believe it was relating to the documentation issued by the MRO organisation used by Qatar not being recognised/ up to the standards of the CAA.

But yeah, even if it was in compliance, would have been terrible business sense to send them there and would have doomed the startup from the beginning.

Interesting that they started Dubai but I can't really find much information it? What was the whole thing behind starting that route, how long did it last for and why did it end?

The XLR is looking increasingly unlikely.

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2024/0417/1444091-new-aircraft-for-aer-lingus-unlikely-as-pay-talks-fail/

Embarrassing.

The 20% or so stems from the fact that the payscale for pilots hasn’t changed since around 2010. 14 years ago! In fact it’s worse now for new joiners. So 20% is conservative to be honest.

It’s clear from internal and external correspondence that Aer Lingus Management aren’t really respecting the pay process that was agreed and seem eager to go the media with a “poor me” attitude all the time. I’m not so sure the Labour court will be endearing to their behaviour to date.

The reality is the pilots won’t accept anything close to what’s being offered. They voted by almost 100% against the current offer on the table. That’s not going to change irrespective of what threats they receive. The XLR aircraft is a management issue, not an employee one. They set the deadline, not the pilots.

There was a pay process in place in 2019 in which a pay offer would have been made to cover up to 2023. That was postponed at the end of the process prior to release due Covid. This current process covers up until 2026. So the 23% now actually covers seven years. It’s just over 3% a year which is not in any way excessive or greedy. In fact I would suspect that it’s less than the public service award over the same period. Running to the media giving a particular narrative or spin can be effective, which is exactly what Aer Lingus appear to be doing here with their headline figures, but omitting the facts behind the numbers.

I can see this being a disruptive summer if a much improved deal is not tabled. Aer Lingus are notorious for relying on good will from pilots to fulfill their summer schedule. That requires an enormous amount of flexibility, which historically they have given. If people stick to their contracts then Aer lingus may find themselves in a lack of crew situation very quickly. Interesting few weeks ahead.

It occurs to me that the passenger cap at DUB likely makes deployment of additional aircraft to EI unlikely in the near term anyway. Even a single round trip a day would be another 130,000 passengers over a year.