By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Travel Radar - Aviation NewsTravel Radar - Aviation News
  • Breaking News
  • Aviation
    • Aircraft
    • Airlines
    • Airshow & Events
    • Careers
    • Manufacturing
  • Travel
    • Airports
    • Points & Loyalty
    • Technology
    • Trip Reviews
  • Newsletters
Reading: Aer Lingus Mothballs Brand New Airbus A330
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Font ResizerAa
Travel Radar - Aviation NewsTravel Radar - Aviation News
  • Breaking News
  • Aviation
    • Aircraft
    • Airlines
    • Airshow & Events
    • Careers
    • Manufacturing
  • Travel
    • Airports
    • Points & Loyalty
    • Technology
    • Trip Reviews
  • Newsletters
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
Copyright © Travel Radar Media Ltd. 2024 | All Rights Reserved
Travel Radar - Aviation News > News > Aer Lingus Mothballs Brand New Airbus A330

Aer Lingus Mothballs Brand New Airbus A330

Travel Radar
Last updated: 18 July 2020 05:39
By Travel Radar Staff 4 Min Read
Share
SHARE

Aer Lingus has confirmed to its employees that it will be placing its brand new Airbus A330 in a storage programme in Spain. The aircraft in question was only delivered last week and was set to join the carrier’s over 50-strong all-Airbus fleet.

This latest move, however, will reduce the airline’s in-service A330s to just five; serving two routes — JFK-Dublin and Dublin-Chicago.

Chief Technical Officer Fergus Wilson explained that the decision was made due to extremely low passenger demand; owing to the travel restrictions and 14-day quarantine requirement in place.

The additional capacity that we added to our European schedule at the start of July has failed to perform to the level we had hoped – and with bookings for the coming weeks not showing an improvement, the remainder of this summer period now looks bleak.

© Aer Lingus

The summer season is usually very busy for airlines as travel demand is at its peak. This is why Aer Lingus predicted that the new A330 would fit nicely into the airline’s “busy” schedule. But that isn’t the case this time around. Wilson said:

However, as a result of the continuing uncertainty surrounding international travel, we have taken the decision not to enter this aircraft into commercial service.

The new aircraft will “join two other Aer Lingus A330s in a long-term storage programme at Ciudad Real airport in Spain.”

This latest move is part of Aer Lingus’ cost-cutting measures.

In late-June, the IAG-owned carrier revealed plans to cut around 500 jobs due to the pandemic. The carrier expressed dismay over the Irish government’s inaction on the “catastrophic” effect the pandemic has had on its business and said it was left with no choice but to execute the layoffs.

Aer Lingus and Ryanair Contest Quarantine Requirement

© Aer Lingus

The announcement arrives as the two major Irish carriers — Aer Lingus and Ryanair — are contesting the 14-day quarantine requirement imposed by the government. Both airlines have since also slashed flights due to low demand. This has, in turn, dealt heavy blows to the businesses of the already struggling Irish carriers.

In a recent release, Aer Lingus critiqued the Irish government for failing to act upon the European Commission’s request to members to lift all border restrictions. In what appears to be a precursor to more redundancies, the release concluded: “there are inevitable consequences for the prospects of recovery in the aviation and tourism sectors and for employment within these sectors.”

Ryanair also argued that:

Irish citizens are being advised by their Government that they should not travel to and from EU countries, yet citizens of Northern Ireland can travel freely to and from the EU – via Dublin Airport – without any quarantine restrictions whatsoever

Nevertheless, there is still some hope.

The government will review all travel restrictions on 20 July and outline criteria for selecting a “Green List” of countries. Though it is unclear how restrictive these criteria might be, Aer Lingus expects that “they will be even more restrictive than the criteria the European Union is recommending be applied to passengers from third countries entering the EU.”

We hope that the aviation sector in Ireland can make a swift recovery by mutual cooperation between the government and concerned airlines.

Let us know your thoughts on the decision below!

You Might Also Like

U.S Embassy Resumes Flights After Bomb Threat Aboard Ryanair Plane at Brussels South Charleroi Airport

Qantas Announces Flights From Perth to Johannesburg and Auckland

Finnair Introduces World’s First ‘Native Order’ Booking System

ANA Updates Sign Language Badge for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Passengers

32 Airports Reopened in India After Restrictions Were Imposed

Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link
What’s your thoughts?
Love1
Sad0
Happy0
Angry0
Travel Radar
By Travel Radar Staff
Follow:
Articles from guest contributors wishing to remain anonymous are credited to this account. Want to contribute to Travel Radar either in-name, or anonymously? Get in touch: [email protected]
Previous Article Vietnam Airlines 787-9 Vietnam Airlines Needs Liquidity Support By Late-August
Next Article British Airways Retires 747 Fleet With Immediate Effect
Leave a comment
Subscribe
Login
Notify of
guest
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Stay Connected

FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
InstagramFollow
YoutubeSubscribe

Trending News

Airport Radar tower
Newark International Airport Faces Flight Cuts
Airports Aviation Incidents & Accidents
Boeing 747-8. Similar to that rumoured to be gifted to Donald Trump
Qatar Rumoured to Gift 747-8 to Donald Trump
Aircraft Manufacturing
An image of Hunnu Air's new E195-E2 aircraft at Beijing Daxing Airport, China.
Hunnu Air Launches Embraer E2 Services from Mongolia to Mainland China
Aviation
Event gathering
Turkish Technic: Istanbul to become global Rolls-Royce maintenance hub
Airline Economics Aviation Manufacturing
Indian Airlines Jet at Rajiv Ghandi AIrport
Indian airports disrupted by ongoing closures
Airlines Airports
//

Travel Radar is the leading digital hub for all things aviation and air-travel. Discover our latest aviation news, aviation data, insight and analysis.

Discover

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Press & PR
  • Privacy & Legal

Our Content

  • News
  • Data
  • Images
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Click here to Signup!

© Travel Radar Media Ltd. 2015-2025 | ISSN #2635-0696 | Trademark #UK00003579704
wpDiscuz
adbanner
AdBlock Detected
Ads help us bring you high-quality, independent journalism for free. Support us by whitelisting us from your ad blocker.
Okay, I'll Whitelist
Welcome to the TR Community!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?