Originally Posted by
VanBosh
So are Aer Lingus going to operate this service in the same way that Aer Arann operate EI Regional for them?
No, I believe it'll be a wet-lease operation. In other words, Virgin (assuming it's Virgin) pay EI a fixed amount per block hour to cover the operating costs plus some profit. It's then Virgin's responsibility to sell enough seats to make a profit. The commercial risk is with Virgin, and EI gets guaranteed revenue (hence the attraction for EI).
Aer Arann on the other hand is a franchise operation: Aer Arann pays Aer Lingus a franchise fee (typically a percentage of revenue), but if the flights don't fill up, it's Aer Arann as the operator who loses out - the commercial risk is with them.