the EI 320 which will probably spend the winter on the ground in Dublin.
When European airlines ground aircraft during the winter months, do they ever end up being leased to charter airlines in say Asia, South America, Down Under, The Middle East etc?
Kavs8, thanks for specifying the aircraft usage thusfar for EI's A320's at Cork. The remaining gaps in the schedule would fill up nicely with evening services to Manchester and Birmingham, (both MTWTF-S), which has got me more convinced of the theory that Aer Lingus will reduce Cork to 3 A320's next winter. If this is the case, Cork passenger figures for 2010 will be outright scandalous.
If Aer Lingus is reducing Cork to 3 A320's then I believe it is a purely tactical move to
"punish" Cork airport for high charges and to hereby exert pressure on the airport to reduce said charges. There are so many routes Aer Lingus could operate profitably out of Cork.
There are existing routes that would remain profitable with increased schedules: Amsterdam, Paris, Birmingham, Manchester, Barcelona, Geneva
There are 'recently' axed routes that could be brought back: Berlin, Madrid, Prague, (Rome)
There are new routes Aer Lingus could certainly make a go off from Cork: Brussels, Budapest, Milan, Palma de Mallorca, Frankfurt, Venice, Vilnius, Zurich.