Wasn't there a fuss at the time when Airbus tweaked the A350 design to the XWB that this was a little too capable for what EI was after?
3rd Mar 2016 11:33
Nope because Aer Lingus never ordered the original A350, they've always been XWB customers. The A350XWB was redesigned and launched in early 2006, it wasn't until mid-2007 that Aer Lingus placed their order, originally for 6 frames.
It was sometime during the Aer Lingus turn around of 2009-2011 when Mueller stated the A350 was too much aircraft for them but even then he stated routes like JFK, BOS and ORD could easily absorb it. Sometime towards the end of his time as CEO Aer Lingus renegotiated the order again, this time choosing the 'Regional' version and even after reevaluating it against the newly launched A330neo, they still opted to stay with the A350.
So the only time Aer Lingus ever openly doubted the A350 was during their own crisis and restructuring.