I would`nt be suprised if this was in the eventual planning. I certainly think Aer Lingus UK have the potential to be quite a big player, long haul, in the future from Manchester.

Or once the money runs out and they're own markets recover they'll be off!

Probably, once any subsidies have dried up.

Looks like main players BA , EI and VIR fully focused on Heathrow and Manchester now.

Unless of course they start to make good money of their own, which is always possible, is it not?

Oh don't spoil it for the pessimists, especially those whose main interest is in other UK airports.

I agree with Navpi's conclusion

There's very real potential to step into the space vacated by Thomas Cook if we're talking a commitment to a based fleet of A321Neos to secondary US cities on a semi-seasonal basis carrying Brits to the US. Aer Lingus have only ever flown long haul east once to Dubai and that wasn't huge success and ended when Emirate came along or just prior. And the A330 to the Caribbean is a good use of capacity and it's a well know brand so why not?
Going East is going head to head with the ME3 with huge connecting opportunities to many more destinations, whereas the US is now relatively underserved from MAN.

It will kick off in Ireland if and when SNN-US restarts and "Manchester won't give Shannon their aircraft back" and cries of "theft". It's not ALL commercial, politics will get involved but they do have more long haul aircraft than needed by some way for 2021 and probs 2022.

SWBKCB

Of course the flaw in that argument is that Aer Lingus have not received any substantial subsidies from the Irish Government ... it's the cause of much unease over there ... all the government have done is throw some money at the airports and pay a percentage of the salaries for some staff - Aer Lingus / Ireland is unique in Europe in being the only country not to have supported aviation despite having the strictest and longest standing restrictions of travel - even within the EU.

Personally I think EI are in Manchester and the UK because it presents a sound commercial opportunity and think it has big potential to grow alongside the Irish operations

It's not just airlines on the critical list, many airports are on there as well especially the smaller ones beyond Heathrow and Manchester.

cumbrianboy

Its clear its the only viable opportunity outside LHR.

cumbrianboy

Who said anything about money from the Irish Govt? My understanding is that EI had spare a/c due COVID, spotted that a number of UK regionals had lost transatlantic connections and went out to strike a deal. A marriage of convenience or a long lasting commitment? Time will tell.

Keep in mind that 'Aer Lingus' is just one brand under the umbrella of IAG. If it is necessary at some point to redeploy their assets back to Eire, IAG has alternative options to cover capacity at MAN. And there are three compelling reasons why this should be of interest to them: firstly, the collapse of Thomas Cook has removed upto six high-capacity A332 departures per day between MAN and destinations in the Americas (including the Caribbean and Mexico); secondly, the main US carriers have stepped away from the MAN market for now, barring Delta who retain exposure via Virgin Atlantic; thirdly, IAG will not be minded to afford rival Virgin Atlantic a free run at the proven Transatlantic market from the North of England.

Of course, the big imponderable is the course of C-19 restrictions ... but that is true generally, not just for MAN. What does offer hope is the successful rollouts of vaccination programmes in both the UK and the US. This offers the possibility that markets between the two could actually open up sooner than those between the UK and some Continental European jurisdictions. Of course, we then need to see what experience the Florida vacation market can offer: how much capacity will socially-distanced theme parks be able to accommodate? Will restaurant space be freely available for walk-in trade? Presumably ex-Florida cruising will be very limited for a while yet. New York City / Shopping breaks will be attractive to many ... again, provided that C-19 restrictions are not too onerous. And in addition to the leisure sector which is so dominant from MAN, there is still a worthwhile tranche of business travel and cargo to go after as well. Plus VFR, of course.

So, C-19 rules permitting, entering the MAN - North America market is not a huge gamble for IAG / Aer Lingus. Their capacity will be much less than that previously provided by Thomas Cook ... and remember that their Transatlantic routes were highly successful ... TCG was brought down by accrued debts elsewhere in their nebulous empire. Meanwhile, they're primarily up against a significantly-downsized Virgin Atlantic which has retired its high-capacity B744's and reduced destinations and frequencies. TUI's presence essentially relates to niche in-house package holiday options, and all the US carriers have dropped out for now. So if C-19 restrictions are lifted, Aer Lingus will find themselves as one of the big(-ish) two in a sellers' market. Demand for travel is not in doubt ... only permission to do so is. Not a bad place to be. And if C-19 does thwart everything, then that is a concern which will extend well beyond the MAN market. Dublin and London departures will be similarly impacted.

jet2 Flights to italy
 

I understand that Jet2 are starting to cancel June flights to Italy.!!!:{

Hasn't IAG offered Virgin a free run at MAN-US ever since BA dropped MAN-JFK though? An American codeshare is not really an IAG presence, if there's such a thing. If I was on the IAG board, and thank God I'm not, I'd be asking why another IAG OpCo is stepping into BA's home market (the UK). Imagine the banter if BA launched DUB-JFK with spare B777s as British Airways (Ireland). People's heads would explode that this was wrong on every single level and the worst thing to happen since Trevelyan whereas I bet Aer Lingus (UK) could really make MAN work.

By speaking in terms of a 'free run', I was really referencing the prospective scenario which would have left Virgin Atlantic pretty much in a monopoly position on key MAN-USA routes post-Covid. It was more related to AAL and UAL stepping back from the fray for now. BA has been out of the picture for years, so obviously they were at ease with the status quo in the interim, but Virgin having the North to themselves is something else. The introduction of Aer Lingus ensures healthy competition all round.

The tourist destinations for the "new normal" appear to be coming to the fore.

European destinations appear to be a no no BUT the US, Israel, Maldives, Malta And other less well known destinations such as Cape Verde, and wait for it Bahrain should capitalise.

Manchester does have the US with VIR and EI , hopefully it will target airlines prepared to operate to these countries "immediately" with a view to getting capacity up and running which will allow those so minded individuals to get packing.

For the short term then yes for these destinations, however it won’t be that long until other destinations will come on online. By July/August things will look alot different.

True but the "dedicated MAN development team" need to ensure no opportunity is missed. They need to cordinate with airlines prepared to operate to these destinations as soon as the list is announced. This isn't a time to sit on ones hands and wait for the business to come in.

Infact with a few countries already leaked they should be on the tippy tappy now. "Hello Gulf Air".

We are not Heathrow where traffic is handed on a plate simply by virtue of being the capital and the obvious default gateway for new entrants.

Manchester needs to actively persue airlines vigorously restating perhaps its own "pr puff piece" in relation to the 22m within 2 hour catchment.

And have you any reason to believe these things are not happening in the background? That is where such discussions should be taking place, not in public..

No i hope they are.