Aer Lingus looks to partnerships and new smaller aircraft across the Atlantic for long-haul future | CAPA - Centre for Aviation
I think it'll be interesting to see what the future aviation landscape in Europe looks like in 5 years time, and what part Aer Lingus will play in that. The article mentions Aer Lingus' wet lease deal with Virgin Atlantic and Novair, and potential future deals. Michael O'Leary has already predicted that there won't be any European legacy carriers operating short-haul routes in the future. In a way we're already seeing the start of this with Finnair transferring regional routes to FlyBe, Iberia transferring some routes to Iberia Express and Lufthansa doing the same with a newly branded 'low fares' Germanwings. But the issue for Lufthansa in particular is they've done this without addressing the cost base, and are attempting to operate short-haul routes under a low cost model but with existing union pay agreements as Lufthansa staff. Could this be an opportunity for Aer Lingus to step in and become the 'feeder airline' of Europe, offering legacy carriers the ability to exit unprofitable routes and have them operated by an airline with a lower cost base, thus allowing them to maintain a short-haul presence but at a profit?