Aer Lingus
Call for Aer Lingus to use smaller aircraft for flights to US from Shannon
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Aer Lingus could successfully operate all-year-round daily flights to the US from Shannon if it used smaller, more efficient aircraft, it has been claimed.
The airline has been called upon to re-evaluate its operation at Shannon Airport, where for the past three winters it has ceased operations on its north Atlantic routes.
The airline has claimed that the New York and Boston routes are not viable in winter. But United Airlines maintains a year-round operation between Shannon and Newark, while Delta Airlines operates a daily service to New York’s JFK from May to October.
Fianna Fáil transport spokesman Timmy Dooley believes the aircraft Aer Lingus operates on US routes from Shannon are too big. The two US carriers operate single-aisle narrow-bodied Boeing 757s, which carry no more than 180 passengers, while Aer Lingus flies the twin-aisle Airbus A330, which can carry between 272 and 325 passengers. “The A330 is too big and this is why I believe they haven’t been able to make the route viable and can’t operate it all year,” he said.
Maybe the a321 could operate these routes during the winter months ? Would they have the range to do those routes ? If so then It would give the a321s something to do