Aer Lingus considering restoring year-round Shannon-U.S. flights

Aer Lingus flights between Shannon and U.S. might again become a possibility. Aer Lingus recently announced it is considering restoring year-round flight operations between Shannon and the U.S. The airline said that this may, however, not happen until 2015.

The former Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus has been once again asked to reconsider its decision and reevaluate its operations at Shannon. The airline had for the past three winters stopped operations on its North Atlantic routes saying that these were not financially viable during this period.

Christoph Mueller, CEO of Aer Lingus, has been urged to resume flights operations between Shannon and the U.S. using a smaller and more economical aircraft on the routes.

Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fáil's Transport Spokesman, has all along argued that flight operations could be viable and operated year-round if a smaller aircraft is used to operate Aer Lingus flights.

Currently, a year-round operation between Shannon and Newark is being maintained by United Airlines, while Delta Air Lines is operating a daily service between Shannon and New York JFK from May to October. Both the carriers operate flights on the route using a single-aisle narrow-bodied Boeing 757 jets which carry no more than 180 passengers. However, Aer Lingus is operating its flights on most routes using the massive twin-aisle Airbus A330 series jet which can carry between 272 and 325 passengers.