Aer Lingus is planning long-haul routes out of the United Kingdom
In the past month or so, there have been several reports on Aer Lingus planning long-haul flights out of Manchester in the United Kingdom.
According to Airport Coordination Limited, the company responsible for allocating certain airports’ slots, Aer Lingus was granted 1,503 Manchester slots for Summer 2021.
Just today it’s now confirmed Aer Lingus is planning to launch flights between Manchester and the United States by creating a new subsidiary, Aer Lingus (U.K.) Limited.
The Three New Long-Haul Routes:
In Aer Lingus’ application to allow Aer Lingus U.K. serve the U.S. market from the United Kingdom, they specifically stated plans to launch three long-haul routes out of Manchester in the first year of operations:
Manchester to Boston (BOS):
- Aer Lingus U.K. plans to begin daily flights from Manchester to Boston for the summer season.
- This route has zero direct competition after Delta axed plans for its on BOS-MAN route.
Manchester to New York (JFK):
- Aer Lingus U.K. intends to launch a daily service between Manchester and New York JFK. This appears to be year-round service since a season isn’t specified in the application.
- Virgin Atlantic is the only other carrier on this route.
Manchester to Orlando (MCO):
- Lastly, Aer Lingus U.K. plans to launch year-round service from Manchester to Orlando.
- This flight is planned to operate daily in the summer and 4x weekly in the winter.
- Virgin Atlantic is the only other competitor.
The Aer Lingus U.K. Fleet:
Aer Lingus will base four aircraft in Manchester with United Kingdom registrations:
- 1x Airbus A330-302 currently registered EI-EDY will be switched to a U.K. registration.
- 1x Airbus A330-302 currently registered EI-ELA will be switched to a U.K. registration.
- 2x Airbus A321LRs that will be delivered in February/March 2021 will receive U.K. registrations.
The exact aircraft for each long-haul route is unclear, but Orlando will likely see the Airbus A330-300, JFK will likely see the A321LR and A330-300, and Boston the A321LR.
Source/Image Credits
Aer Lingus’ Application: https://beta.regulations.gov/document/DOT-OST-2020-0250-0001
Image Credits: EI-GEY | Airbus A330-202 | Aer Lingus | Dave Henderson | JetPhotos
It’s definitely interesting to see Aer Lingus shift some aircraft away from Ireland and into a relatively unserved U.K. market. If Aer Lingus U.K.‘s application is approved and these routes perform well, it’s possible we could see more routes out of Manchester. What do you guys think of Aer Lingus’ United Kingdom plan?
