Good morning folks and welcome to our fifth thread of 2019!

April saw some interesting developments
- First Aer Lingus A321LR breaking cover; confirmation of two more A330s for later this year/early 2020.
- Pax numbers up at DUB
- 737 Max issues still causing headaches; ORK and SNN appear to be losing Norwegian services this Summer; SNN will also lose AC services; Evelop A330 continuing ops on DUB-SWF route
- BA now flying A320Neos to DUB on a regular basis
- JetBlue looking to add DUB to its planned t/a network
- Etihad 787-10s being flown on DUB route. (Not clear what they're doing from day to day; the odd A332 is still making an appearance!)

The Summer schedules are now kicking in with some new services to start this month; more (such as the American 787-9) next month. Later this month will also see the first United 787-10. Look out for United's new colours; it probably won't appear in Dublin for a good while - but it looks quite nice.

Here's a link to the last thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1419211&start=100

Stobart Air is hiring aircraft engineer apprentices in Dublin Airport and tomorrow's the deadline for CAO students to apply

There are just six places available on the four-year programme

Stobart Air is recruiting for its 2019 Aircraft Engineer Apprenticeship programme - but school leavers interested in applying had better be quick.

There are just six places available on the four-year programme, which kicks off in September 2019.

www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-airport-s ... o-16202251

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“Challenging Year Ahead” For Shannon Airport

Shannon Airport’s parent company is expecting a challenging year ahead, with the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft bringing an unwelcome drop in passenger numbers.

www.clare.fm/news/shannon-airport/chall ... n-airport/

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Daa plans €40m development spend for Cork Airport over next four years

The Daa expects to retain control of Cork Airport and plans to invest €40m in its development over the next four-to-five years.

The Government is due to review Cork's ownership later this year, as previously announced in its national aviation plan four years ago, but the Daa said it remains committed.

www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/busi ... 21121.html

I noticed the the other day that airBaltic sent a 733 to Dublin instead of an A220. Rather unusual, anyone know why this is? Is this a one off or will they continue to send the odd 737 throughout the summer season? If so it would be a good opportunity to catch a classic 737, they're getting quite rare these days.

Also noticed Aeroflot used a 737-800 to operate the DUB flight the day before. Interesting times.

Good flight this evening ACE-DUB. Flight was around 65% full. Took a full 4 hours as opposed to usual 3.30.

New BIA menu onboard with a few changes.

Aer Space is here...

- Middle seat free
- Private overhead storage
- Complimentary food and drink from our Bia menu
- Lounge access
- Priority boarding
- Fast Track security
- Automatic standby for earlier flights
- Free changes and refunds

https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-inform ... /aerspace/

shamrock350 wrote:

Aer Space is here...

- Middle seat free
- Private overhead storage
- Complimentary food and drink from our Bia menu
- Lounge access
- Priority boarding
- Fast Track security
- Automatic standby for earlier flights
- Free changes and refunds

https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-inform ... /aerspace/

What's that 5 years late?

It's good to see its resulted in Advantage fares been reduced to realistic prices. Not available on Stobart and showing as sold out on Cityjet. Would have taught LCY would be an important route for it but capacity might limit that.

shamrock350 wrote:

Aer Space is here...

- Middle seat free
- Private overhead storage
- Complimentary food and drink from our Bia menu
- Lounge access
- Priority boarding
- Fast Track security
- Automatic standby for earlier flights
- Free changes and refunds

https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-inform ... /aerspace/

Great to see it FINALLY being launched.

Free food from the BIA menu could get messy based on the current lack of availability of items particularly on the way back to Dublin. People will rightly get pissed if there’s little / no options left.

I wonder will these now be bookable as part of BA business class itineraries where in the past even if you booked a BA business ticket and your DUB-LHR was on EI you were put into economy.

They’ll also need to be careful on pricing. I picked 2 random dates in Nov & Jan in DUB-LHR. EI were €340 & €320 respectively. BA were €205 & €190 for those same dates

Eirules wrote:

shamrock350 wrote:

Aer Space is here...

- Middle seat free
- Private overhead storage
- Complimentary food and drink from our Bia menu
- Lounge access
- Priority boarding
- Fast Track security
- Automatic standby for earlier flights
- Free changes and refunds

https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-inform ... /aerspace/

Great to see it FINALLY being launched.

Free food from the BIA menu could get messy based on the current lack of availability of items particularly on the way back to Dublin. People will rightly get pissed if there’s little / no options left.

I wonder will these now be bookable as part of BA business class itineraries where in the past even if you booked a BA business ticket and your DUB-LHR was on EI you were put into economy.

They’ll also need to be careful on pricing. I picked 2 random dates in Nov & Jan in DUB-LHR. EI were €340 & €320 respectively. BA were €205 & €190 for those same dates

Prices always go live higher and adjust. I would expect lowest to be around 115-135.

Eirules wrote:

Great to see it FINALLY being launched.

Free food from the BIA menu could get messy based on the current lack of availability of items particularly on the way back to Dublin. People will rightly get pissed if there’s little / no options left.

I wonder will these now be bookable as part of BA business class itineraries where in the past even if you booked a BA business ticket and your DUB-LHR was on EI you were put into economy.

They’ll also need to be careful on pricing. I picked 2 random dates in Nov & Jan in DUB-LHR. EI were €340 & €320 respectively. BA were €205 & €190 for those same dates

On a BA through ticket you will be booked into AerSpace and then the BA J fare bucket of your chosen ticket. WIth regards the BOB choices running out I did ask about this before and it seems some items maybe held back to avoid this scenario but it is expected that BOB levels will remain stocked to cover the Aerspace passengers.Aerspace will be served first of course. For a oneway DUB-LHR at around EUR149.99 I think its a very fair price point.


The Aerclub Tier points earning chart has been amended also to reflect the new changes.

Bombardier to sell off its Belfast business

Canada's Bombardier has today announced plans to sell its aerostructures business in Belfast.

The company said it wants to combine its corporate and regional jet units into a single aviation unit and shed more non-core assets by selling off its Belfast and Morocco businesses.

Bombardier is one of the biggest employers in the North, with a large base in east Belfast and a workforce of about 4,000.

www.rte.ie/news/business/2019/0502/1047 ... ast-plant/

I missed the AerSpace announcement yesterday, better late than never. EI must have some confidence in the O&D potential of the product, the list of designations in the initial roll-out is substantial, its being offered across the board from London and Euro destinations from Cork, which goes blond what most of us were expecting.

ORK - AMS, BCN, LIS, CDG, LHR, MUC
DUB - BHX, MAN, LGW, AMS, BCN, LIS, CDG, LHR, MUC, BER, DUS, FRA, MXP, LIN, GVA, BRU, ZRH and MAD
NOC- LGW
SNN - LHR
BHD - LHR

AerSpace seems more targeted at the 'business' or connections parts of the network, where the loads might be slightly lower and the loss of the middle seat wont make much difference to capacity, the seats would be empty anyway. I wonder what they will do on the A330 routes. Will the front cabin still be AerSpace, or will they continue to offer Premium Seats.

I think it's a low risk move by Aer Lingus... they can adjust the number of rows per flight depending on demand. Worst case scenario is the loss of one seat (a flight where only 1 passenger buys AerSpace). I don't know why they don't offer it on every route. Let the market decide.

al2637 wrote:

I think it's a low risk move by Aer Lingus... they can adjust the number of rows per flight depending on demand. Worst case scenario is the loss of one seat (a flight where only 1 passenger buys AerSpace). I don't know why they don't offer it on every route. Let the market decide.

At a guess, they want to keep capacity as high as possible for the summer sum routes. My guess is that the summer sun routes go out full, or nearly full and that they can attract very high fares without giving away the sandwiches. Of the EU routes they have competition offering J on all but MIL, GVA and BRU, which I'd guess are pretty strong connection markets.
Introducing from the winter schedule will give them a bit of time to work out how well, or poorly it sells and adjust cabin size if it goes well.

BrianDromey wrote:

AerSpace seems more targeted at the 'business' or connections parts of the network, where the loads might be slightly lower and the loss of the middle seat wont make much difference to capacity, the seats would be empty anyway. I wonder what they will do on the A330 routes. Will the front cabin still be AerSpace, or will they continue to offer Premium Seats.

Looks like keeping the status quo on bucket and spade A330. Advantage gets free seating up front and other fare types can purchase up front.

I can see the sense in offering it on the routes they have and not on bucket and spade to be honest. I can maybe see them rolling it out to other routes depending on how the whole product performs within the first 6 months.

Aerspace is very much like the old Vueling Excellence product before they changed it.

BrianDromey wrote:

al2637 wrote:

At a guess, they want to keep capacity as high as possible for the summer sum routes. My guess is that the summer sun routes go out full, or nearly full and that they can attract very high fares without giving away the sandwiches. Of the EU routes they have competition offering J on all but MIL, GVA and BRU, which I'd guess are pretty strong connection markets.

Swiss fly from Dublin to Geneva so they have J competition there. Berlin and Dusseldorf also don't have any other premium class competition. Eurowings don't have BIZclass from DUB to DUS.

Most people seem to be assuming that we'll see the new A321s flying short haul as well as long haul when they arrive. It might be difficult to guarantee the flights they will operate but I assume Aer Lingus will now be able to sell the business class seats on those aircraft at the AerSpace price. So that solves that problem for them. They will make money from those seats.

Has Ryanair been offering pre order hot meals for a while now? Must admit have not flown them for ages and only noticed when a mate mentioned that they had seen it.

OA260 wrote:

Has Ryanair been offering pre order hot meals for a while now? Must admit have not flown them for ages and only noticed when a mate mentioned that they had seen it.

Since 2016 I believe, it was introduced shortly after the Irish Breakfast was added. It's on select flights and very limited, pre order meals can only be booked during check in but no later than 48 hours before departure so having early check in helps.

I'd fly with them nearly every week and have never heard it mentioned. They're doing a great job of keeping it secret

I had the opportunity to fly on Stobart Air's E190 on Tuesday from London City back to Dublin. The EI-GHJ is the former Virgin Australia aircraft with 2:1 business seating at the front. I just didn't think it was worth the €85 upgrade fee for such a short hop when there is no lounge access at City.

https://londonairtravel.com/2018/11/25/ ... ndon-city/

I have to say, I was disappointed with the crew who weren't up to the usual high standards I've come to expect of Cityflyer. There were only two of them for starters, which seemed a bit odd to me for a fully-booked E190. The lead attendant made what I interpreted as a 'Ryanair' style announcement as passengers were boarding, informing that passengers would be delaying the departure if they did not sit down. - it all came across quite passive aggressive, unnecessary and unprofessional. Service on board was the usual Cityflyer complimentary drinks and snacks affair and the pilots were very generous with their communications. I would imagine these were Cityflyer pilots. For anyone looking for a rare taste of non-Euro Biz seating, Stobart might be worth checking out. Apologies for the poor quality of the photos, but you get the picture.

shamrock350 wrote:

OA260 wrote:

Has Ryanair been offering pre order hot meals for a while now? Must admit have not flown them for ages and only noticed when a mate mentioned that they had seen it.

Since 2016 I believe, it was introduced shortly after the Irish Breakfast was added. It's on select flights and very limited, pre order meals can only be booked during check in but no later than 48 hours before departure so having early check in helps.

Thanks for that. As pointed out they must not push it very much as most dont know about it. I would love to see EI bring back the pre order as I liked that option. Although many will remember it was a bit of a shambles with orders not being loaded but done properly it would be a nice addition to the product. With Aerspace it seems unlikely now though unless they brought in a free pre order for that too.

Jet2 have the best pre order IMHO. Thats how to do pre order right.

aidansnn wrote:

I had the opportunity to fly on Stobart Air's E190 on Tuesday from London City back to Dublin. The EI-GHJ is the former Virgin Australia aircraft with 2:1 business seating at the front. I just didn't think it was worth the €85 upgrade fee for such a short hop when there is no lounge access at City.

I looked at this to maybe burn some AVIOS for J on the solo seat but in the end did not bother. Reports from friends who have taken it a few times like you put me off. The comments about the crew seem to be very much in line with your own experience. Shame really.

Shame to hear the Stobart crews for BA aren’t great. I’ve never had a poor experiences over 100 EI Regional flights or on the two flights I’ve been on from SEN.
I think the pilots are Stobart too, the pair of 190s are wet-leased. Doesn’t seem Stobart have done anything other than peel the Virgin Australia logos off the fuselage!

aidansnn wrote:

I had the opportunity to fly on Stobart Air's E190 on Tuesday from London City back to Dublin. The EI-GHJ is the former Virgin Australia aircraft with 2:1 business seating at the front. I just didn't think it was worth the €85 upgrade fee for such a short hop when there is no lounge access at City.

https://londonairtravel.com/2018/11/25/ ... ndon-city/

I have to say, I was disappointed with the crew who weren't up to the usual high standards I've come to expect of Cityflyer. There were only two of them for starters, which seemed a bit odd to me for a fully-booked E190. The lead attendant made what I interpreted as a 'Ryanair' style announcement as passengers were boarding, informing that passengers would be delaying the departure if they did not sit down. - it all came across quite passive aggressive, unnecessary and unprofessional. Service on board was the usual Cityflyer complimentary drinks and snacks affair and the pilots were very generous with their communications. I would imagine these were Cityflyer pilots. For anyone looking for a rare taste of non-Euro Biz seating, Stobart might be worth checking out. Apologies for the poor quality of the photos, but you get the picture.

Believe it or not but BA Citiflyer only crew their 190s with 2 crew also. They’re just a bit better at the service.
Also the Stobart flight is fully Stobart crewed as it’s a wet lease.

Just spotted Virgin Atlantic 747 G-VROY in bound to BFS for passenger pickup and then onto Florida.

Good to see large jets at Aldergrove.

tonystan wrote:

aidansnn wrote:

I had the opportunity to fly on Stobart Air's E190 on Tuesday from London City back to Dublin. The EI-GHJ is the former Virgin Australia aircraft with 2:1 business seating at the front. I just didn't think it was worth the €85 upgrade fee for such a short hop when there is no lounge access at City.

https://londonairtravel.com/2018/11/25/ ... ndon-city/

I have to say, I was disappointed with the crew who weren't up to the usual high standards I've come to expect of Cityflyer. There were only two of them for starters, which seemed a bit odd to me for a fully-booked E190. The lead attendant made what I interpreted as a 'Ryanair' style announcement as passengers were boarding, informing that passengers would be delaying the departure if they did not sit down. - it all came across quite passive aggressive, unnecessary and unprofessional. Service on board was the usual Cityflyer complimentary drinks and snacks affair and the pilots were very generous with their communications. I would imagine these were Cityflyer pilots. For anyone looking for a rare taste of non-Euro Biz seating, Stobart might be worth checking out. Apologies for the poor quality of the photos, but you get the picture.

Believe it or not but BA Citiflyer only crew their 190s with 2 crew also. They’re just a bit better at the service.
Also the Stobart flight is fully Stobart crewed as it’s a wet lease.

Oh really? I'm pretty sure there were three cabin crew staff on the E190 over to LCY on Tue morning. I see that two is the minimum needed anyhow for up to 100 passengers.

aidansnn wrote:

tonystan wrote:

aidansnn wrote:

I had the opportunity to fly on Stobart Air's E190 on Tuesday from London City back to Dublin. The EI-GHJ is the former Virgin Australia aircraft with 2:1 business seating at the front. I just didn't think it was worth the €85 upgrade fee for such a short hop when there is no lounge access at City.

https://londonairtravel.com/2018/11/25/ ... ndon-city/

I have to say, I was disappointed with the crew who weren't up to the usual high standards I've come to expect of Cityflyer. There were only two of them for starters, which seemed a bit odd to me for a fully-booked E190. The lead attendant made what I interpreted as a 'Ryanair' style announcement as passengers were boarding, informing that passengers would be delaying the departure if they did not sit down. - it all came across quite passive aggressive, unnecessary and unprofessional. Service on board was the usual Cityflyer complimentary drinks and snacks affair and the pilots were very generous with their communications. I would imagine these were Cityflyer pilots. For anyone looking for a rare taste of non-Euro Biz seating, Stobart might be worth checking out. Apologies for the poor quality of the photos, but you get the picture.

Believe it or not but BA Citiflyer only crew their 190s with 2 crew also. They’re just a bit better at the service.
Also the Stobart flight is fully Stobart crewed as it’s a wet lease.

Oh really? I'm pretty sure there were three cabin crew staff on the E190 over to LCY on Tue morning. I see that two is the minimum needed anyhow for up to 100 passengers.

They have had a recent intake of new recruits so you will occasionally see three whilst newer crew fly supernumerary or of senior crew members are undergoing a check ride. But it’s rare.

Any updates on A321neo delivery dates?

EI321 wrote:

Any updates on A321neo delivery dates?

No update on NEOs but another forum talking about 2 new A330s from Jet Airways coming in addition to the two new ones from the factory. Might be taking up the slack from the delay in the NEO-LR delivery.

Thousands of Dublin Airport staff face shift shake-up as flights soar

The DAA is to review the rosters of thousands of workers at Dublin Airport to enhance its ability to deal with a surge in activity at the gateway.

Three-quarters of the more than 3,000 staff at Dublin Airport work shift arrangements on a 24-hour, seven-day basis, 365 days a year.

The DAA has said that it needs to "enhance workforce engagement" in order to help it cope as the airport gets busier. Last year, Dublin Airport handled 31.5 million passengers, compared to just under 30 million in 2017. Later this month, the DAA is meeting firms that are interested in helping it deliver the "roster model transformation".

www.independent.ie/business/irish/thous ... 85348.html

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Ryanair misses first delivery of Max jets

Boeing's 737 Max safety crisis is beginning to bite for Ryanair after the airline missed its deadline to introduce its first five of the grounded jets into London Stansted.

Ryanair had planned for the first batch of its overall order of 135 Max aircraft to be delivered during April and to be in operation at the airport this month.

Instead it has axed most of its domestic flights between the London airport and Belfast and Edinburgh.
The airline did not respond to detailed queries and has yet to outline a Plan B - potentially to keep older aircraft for longer or to lease in aircraft - should the Max remain grounded long-term due to safety concerns.

The Max - previously referred to by Ryanair as "the game-changer" - was a key part of the airline's plan to drive down its unit cost efficiencies and to hit 200 million passengers a year by 2024. The jet has 4pc more seats, is 16pc more fuel efficient and has 40pc lower noise emissions than its current fleet of 737-800

https://m.independent.ie/business/ryana ... 77426.html

Apparently LH will use an A340 on the FRA-DUB route, Wednesday’s only, not sure of the flight number but it’s the late morning arrival.

eicvd wrote:

Apparently LH will use an A340 on the FRA-DUB route, Wednesday’s only, not sure of the flight number but it’s the late morning arrival.

Great to spot. But what’s so special about Wednesday’s?

LH get a lot of group bookings on that flight during the peak Summer season.

'Summer is coming' ... but will Hainan still be ?

by738 wrote:

'Summer is coming' ... but will Hainan still be ?

Not based on their current load factors

Hainan Airlines will cut its Beijing - Dublin - Edinburgh - Beijing and its Beijing - Edinburgh - Dublin - Beijing flights from 31 August 2019

Hainan Airlines will also cut its Shenzhen - Dublin flights from 26 October 2019

Neatly replaced with an Oslo service from PEK which equally wont last. Surprised it lasted as long as it did. A glamour project at both ends no doubt with incentives offered and now expired.

SeanM1997 wrote:

Hainan Airlines will cut its Beijing - Dublin - Edinburgh - Beijing and its Beijing - Edinburgh - Dublin - Beijing flights from 31 August 2019

Hainan Airlines will also cut its Shenzhen - Dublin flights from 26 October 2019

Hi, do you have a source for this?

SeanM1997 wrote:

Hainan Airlines will cut its Beijing - Dublin - Edinburgh - Beijing and its Beijing - Edinburgh - Dublin - Beijing flights from 31 August 2019

Hainan Airlines will also cut its Shenzhen - Dublin flights from 26 October 2019

Are you basing Shenzhen because winter schedule is not loaded? They usually load it late but equally its not performing particularly well.

@wexford flyer

https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/ai ... -sep-2019/

While it’d be disappointing to lose the mainland China links it’d hardly be surprising. I always thought Air China or China Southern would have made a better stab at it. That said, Cathay appear to be performing well so it’s not all gloom

EI121 wrote:

@wexford flyer

https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/ai ... -sep-2019/

Thanks for that. Disappointing, but not overly surprising!

Was lucky enough to try the Hainan 5th freedom DUB-EDI in J.

CX are performing beyond expectations on the other hand which is great.

——

32 passengers accidentally used emergency exits to get off plane at Cork Airport, report finds

PASSENGERS ON BOARD an Aer Lingus flight that performed an emergency landing in Cork incorrectly left the aircraft using its emergency exits, a report has found.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) noted the incident happened after Aer Lingus flight EI-GAL returned to Cork Airport on 2 November, 2017.

According to the report, the plane was forced to perform an emergency landing after the crew reported fumes in the cockpit.

www.thejournal.ie/cork-airport-emergenc ... 6-May2019/

Ka-32 HB-XKE lifting masts at present up around ( Derry / Londonderry / City-X ) for a civil engineering project. Arrived a couple of days ago. Would love to see and hear those rotors!

ET have brought forward their DUB-MAD flights due to Champions League Final. First flight now ex DUB 29th May and they are considering putting on an extra flights. The MAD-DUB for 2nd June ex MAD at 0615 has sold out in all classes ! Flights are bookable as per their website.

Hainan flights to Edinburgh and Beijing are back on sale from the 1st of September.

Aer Lingus recruiting Cargo Agents at Dublin Airport - and perks look pretty good

The department manages all cargo for IAG's airlines in Ireland - namely Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Veuling

The company that owns Aer Lingus is recruiting for cargo agents to work in Dublin Airport.

The department managing all cargo for IAG's airlines in Ireland - namely Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Veuling - is looking for workers who'll ensure valuable cargo including life-saving medical products and pharmaceuticals are loaded on flights on time.

There are vacancies for office and warehouse-based agents who'll be given full training with the promise of "great opportunities to grow as part of the wider global IAG Cargo operations", Dublin Live reports.

www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/aer- ... t-15018983

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Operating profit at Aer Lingus owner IAG plummets 60%

Boss Willie Walsh said loss was mainly driven by fuel costs and timing of Easter

Operating profit at Aer Lingus owner IAG plummeted more than 60 per cent during the first three months of the year compared to the same period last year, the company’s quarterly results show.

IAG, which is run by chief executive Willie Walsh, saw operating profit fall to €135 million, which represented a decrease of €205 million versus 2018.

The company said the loss was mainly driven mainly by fuel headwinds, market capacity impacting yield and the timing of Easter.

Elsewhere, passenger unit revenue for the quarter was down 0.8 per cent, while non-fuel unit costs before exceptional items for the quarter were up 0.8 per cent.

www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-a ... -1.3887505

The Leinster Rugby team is off to Newcastle today for yet another final, with many fans to follow with various airlines, including Aer Lingus Regional, Ryanair, Sundair, Enter Air:

http://championsleaguecharters.blogspot ... -2019.html

JOEL

PlaneMad134 wrote:

Hainan flights to Edinburgh and Beijing are back on sale from the 1st of September.

Good news. I would like to see the Shenzhen flight continue but with the loads seen so far it may not be realistic. While we can probably live without the Shenzhen route considering it's proximity to Cathay in Hong Kong, I think the Beijing route is important for Dublin.

PlaneMad134 wrote:

Hainan flights to Edinburgh and Beijing are back on sale from the 1st of September.

It’s on sale at full fare only which is still a worrying sign.

What exactly have the Hainan loads to Beijing been like recently?

Apparently the Shenzhen loads were only in the 20-30% range?