Aer Lingus takes delivery of first A320neo aircraft

/ 26th September 2022 /

Aer Lingus have taken delivery of its first Airbus A320neo aircraft, which will go into service this week on the Dublin to London Heathrow route.

The airline said that Airbus A320neo delivers up to 20% reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions and close to 50% reduction in noise footprint when compared to previous generation aircraft, A320ceo.

There is also greater density of seats (186) on the A320neo aircraft resulting in lower fuel emissions per seat/passenger on board.

This is the first of two new Airbus A320neo aircraft that Aer Lingus has leased from CDB Aviation, with the second aircraft also joining the fleet this week.

The aircraft will be part of Aer Lingus’ shorthaul fleet, predominantly operating London Heathrow routes. They replace two Airbus A320ceo jets which will be retired from the fleet.

The A320neo has Airbus 'Sharklets', the 2.4-metre-tall wingtip devices that reduce fuel burn by 4% over longer sectors.

Airbus claims the A320neo has the widest single-aisle cabin in its class, so passengers enjoy more personal space, with wider seats.

The ‘Airspace’ cabin has customisable lighting, new slimmer sidewall panels for extra space at passengers’ shoulder level, better views through the windows with redesigned bezels, and completely integrated window shades.

The Airspace cabin also incorporates the latest full-LED lighting technologies, along with the largest overhead bin in the single-aisle jetliner category.

Aer Lingus Cabin Crew members Oisin Leong and Kellie Woods with Aer Lingus First Officer Conor Murray as Aer Lingus took delivery of its first Airbus A320neo aircraft (registration EI-NSA, named Saint Thomas), which will go into service on Wednesday 28th September and operate Aer Lingus flight EI152 from Dublin to London Heathrow. Fennell Photography 2022

Cork Airport winter schedule

Meanwhile, Cork Airport has detailed its biggest ever winter schedule, with 1.1 million seats available across 27 routes, served by five airlines. The schedule will operate from October 30, 2022, through to March 31, 2023.

The airport received state aid of €25m in 2021, with €17m for runway reconstruction project as well as all the airport’s eligible safety and security related operational costs. In addition, €8m was provided by government to fund route incentives.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton, commented: “€5.5m in capital funding was allocated to Cork Airport earlier this year to complete a broad range of safety, security and sustainability focused projects and I intend to provide further funding to Cork Airport later this year from the €22m allocation in operational funding for our regional airports.”

Ryanair will operate its largest ever winter schedule at Cork Airport, with 20 routes. The airline is launching two new routes, with twice-weekly services to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport and Newcastle commencing at the end of October.

In addition, Ryanair has also extended several summer routes into the winter including twice-weekly services to Valencia, Milan, Venice and Faro.

The airline will also operate services to the ever-popular sun destinations of Alicante (twice weekly), Malaga (three times weekly), Lanzarote (three times weekly), Tenerife (twice weekly) and Gran Canaria (weekly).

Ryanair connectivity to the UK over the course of the winter season provides for daily services to London-Stansted, London-Gatwick, Edinburgh, and Manchester, along with five-times weekly services to London-Luton, Liverpool and Birmingham.

Aer Lingus will operate a twice-weekly service to Lanzarote, as well as multiple daily services to Heathrow and a daily service to Amsterdam. Services to Munich and Salzburg for the ski market commence in December.

KLM will operate a double-daily service to Amsterdam, while Vueling will operate a twice-weekly service to Paris Orly. Swiss International has a weekly service to Geneva through the winter.