[pheighdough]

With the recent news that Aer Lingus is going double daily to Chicago, plus new routes recently started and new ones coming soon, is this the concerted start of IAG using Dublin to feed traffic to the USA thus avoiding the Heathrow hub…?

Feed the regions into Dublin, clear US immigration and enter the USA as a domestic passenger, quick to the cab and onto business.

I see Chicago, albeit with large Irish contingent, as a toe in the water for this as a growth strategy.

Dublin has a new runway already granted and it should be built quickly.

Your thoughts?

[TimFitzgeraldTC]

I’d be curious to see whether BA would put on widebody planes on AM departures to go to DUB to meet the expansion if they keep going at this rate/

[TominScotland]

Interesting that there appears to be no moves for Aer Lingus to join oneworld at this stage, unless anyone knows otherwise?

The new FF programme, AerClub, does not trade in Avios but nothing else seems to have moved on that front.

[MartynSinclair]

I don’t think it will just the regions for the feed in. If the connections are timed well, it could actually reduce the time from airport door to airport door, with the pre clearance.

Additional benefit being reduced cost. The feed in will also benefit AA departures from Dublin to USA..

[AMcWhirter]

Note that EI will also be relying on connecting flights arriving from mainland Europe.

EI will be expecting to fill some of its increases transatlantic capacity with Dutch, German, French travellers and so on.

In addition, as we wrote last year, EI hopes to sign an agreement with Ryanair to provide it with further connecting passengers.

Yesterday EI’s CEO Stephen Kavanagh was quoted in the Irish Times as hoping that both EI and Ryanair could agree a deal on passenger transfers in 2017.

In particular Kavanagh referred to the Chicago route. He said that, whereas EI flies only to Warsaw, Ryanair serves a number of regional centres in Poland.

[icenspice]

Have just seen this, Tom.

http://www.ausbt.com.au/aer-lingus-could-join-oneworld-in-2017-but-2018-more-likely

[Flightlevel]

Inevitable DUB will be an IAG hub when avios are aligned or later when EI is OW member and could be two plus years away since airlines restrict capacity not only for winter, also to increase yields until they’re sure more pax will fly after Brexit takes hold and Trump becomes president! U.S. airlines are getting sued for doing just that! The Irish CEOs want to be sure to be sure!

[Alex McWhirter]

Aer Lingus had hoped to launch nonstop service from Dublin to Las Vegas in the winter schedules.

But the route has now been shelved. Maybe Aer Lingus realises there is simply too much capacity on transatlantic routes right now.

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/aer-lingus-stays-pokerfaced-as-it-shelves-plan-for-direct-dublinlas-vegas-route-36175238.html

[Edski777]

Alex, wise to bring the issue on capacity up again. With so many options to fly from and falling prices I was already wondering who would blink first.
Your assumption in an earlier post (see below) made me frown a bit.

Note that EI will also be relying on connecting flights arriving from mainland Europe.
EI will be expecting to fill some of its increases transatlantic capacity with Dutch, German, French travellers and so on.

All these countries, and many more, have nonstop links and dozens of other options to North America already. EI would, at least in my view, only win customers by undercutting their prices by a serious amount and offering a superior service. And making EI a full service, low cost airlineis that why IAG bought them?

[capetonianm]

I have some contacts in Aer Lingus whom I see whenever I’m in Ireland, and whilst some of what I know is not officially in the public domain, some of you have in the past hinted at what is going on and their plans for expansion. I am confident that we will see EI having a greater significance. They’re an excellent airline with a rare dedication to professionalism and they take huge pride in what they do.

I rarely go to North America these days (happily!) but if I did, EI would be my carrier of choice without a doubt, every route, every time.

[SwissExPat]

I would be nice if there was an Airside airport in DUB so that European PAX could connect into DUB on an evening flight and then depart to North America on an early morning flight after clearing US Immigration. (I have used such an airside in DXB on a number of occasions and found it to be very convenient)

[Alex McWhirter]

Edski777 – Fair point. But I was thinking more in terms of secondary destinations in mainland Europe which currently may not have direct transatlantic air links.

Good examples are France/Italy/Poland to Dublin. Ryanair operates out of so many smaller airports away from the big city hubs.

Ryanair has been in discussions with Aer Lingus about interlining.

[MarkivJ]

So much expansion and NOTHING yet to Portland other than DL’s summer service to LHR. BA, EI…. lend me thy ears! Fly on stop to PDX pls! (Well, LH, you as well!)

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