Aer Lingus will cut back the number of Dublin-London Heathrow services from this winter but the Irish airline could get up to six new aircraft that will potentially boost its North American network.
The airline agreed to increase pilots’ pay by 17.75 per cent last month following a bitter dispute that sparked industrial action and cancelled flights.
Management told staff on Monday morning that it planned to cut its Dublin-London Heathrow services by around two flights a day from this winter onwards. Passenger numbers on the route have failed to recover after the Government rolled back Covid-19 travel curbs, largely because business people are flying less.
That, and a controversial planning condition limiting passenger numbers at Dublin Airport to 32 million a year, prompted the decision, it is understood.
Aer Lingus will cut winter services to nine or 10 flights daily from between 11 and 12 in 2023/24, with summer 2025 capacity coming back to 11 or 12 trips instead of the 13 or 14 a day that are operating this year.
Flights to the London hub from Cork, Shannon and Knock airports will not be affected.
Separately, the company confirmed that it is in line to get two Airbus A321 extra-long-range (XLR) jets from its owner, International Airlines’ Group (IAG), later this year. The aircraft can cover distances between Ireland and North America, but at a lower cost than most long-haul jets, opening potential new transatlantic routes for Aer Lingus.
IAG could allocate up to six XLRs to the Irish carrier altogether, with the remaining four arriving next year.
XLRs originally destined for the Irish airline were allocated to one of IAG’s its other carriers, Spanish carrier Iberia, as the dispute with pilots heated up this summer.
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