Irish Aviation Research Institute

Ryanair today announced three new winter sun routes from Oslo Rygge to Las Palmas weekly on Saturdays from 2nd November and Tenerife South twice from 31st October on Thursdays and Saturdays and from Oslo Torp to Tenerife South weekly from Saturdays from 2nd November until 26th March 2014.

The Canary Islands is the single largest destination for Norwegians, whatever the season, Gran Canaria is by far the most popular destination, roughly 300,000 passengers travel to this resort island each year.

During the press conference Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said with 175 Boeing 737-800 on order , he expects the Oslo Rygge base fleet will increase from seven to ten aircraft.  Oslo Rygge is Ryanair's largest operation in Norway, with routes to 45 airports in 17 countries in summer 2013.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 30th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Etihad Airways' A6-AFC Airbus A330-343X c/n 1167 made its second visit to Dublin Airport yesterday in lieu of the scheduled Airbus A330-200 operating ETD045/2 arriving 0720 and departing 1030, having previously visited on 8th November 2012. The aircraft was delivered on 10th November 2010.

The Airbus A330-300 carries 231 passengers in total: 8 passengers in Diamond First class, 32 passengers in Pearl Business class and 151 passengers in Coral Economy class.

The first of Etihad Airways six Airbus A330-300 aircraft was delivered in late 2009 allowing services to commence initially on European routes from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow, Geneva and Paris CDG from the beginning of 2010 and later to Athens, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Milan Malpensa.

Etihad Airways operates Abu Dhabi to Dublin Airport Terminal 2 ten times weekly , from 2nd July 2013 its increasing capacity on the route by 34% with the introduction of the Boeing 777-300ER six times weekly on EY045/2 service providing…

Norwegian Air Shuttle has introduced this special “Wireless Internet on Board” on its Boeing 737-8JP/W LN-DYU c/n 39008 on the side of the fuselage the airline has inscribed all of the things you can do with this new onboard service. The aircraft visited Dublin Airport this afternoon operating NAX3606/7 from and to Copenhagen.

Norwegian has launched the first airline onboard service that makes it possible for a passenger to rent a wide selection of movies and TV shows on board. The service is available on the 60 aircraft that has the Internet installed.

Norwegian’s Internet service has given the travelers a sea of ​​possibilities: reading and writing email, update Facebook status, read the news and check the weather at the arrival destination. Norwegian passengers can now rent movies and TV shows directly to their e-reader, smart phone or laptop device on Norwegian’s 60 aircraft that are equipped with wireless Internet. Norwegian is the first airline in Europe to offer this service.

…

EI-EYA Airbus A319-131 c/n 2621 BBAM/Fly Leasing in Kingfisher Airlines colours, was previously registered VT-KFH with the Indian carrier routed Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport to Dublin Airport on Saturday 27th April arriving at 1523 local for for long term storage & maintenance joining the lineup of stored aircraft on Runway 29.

According to Airfleets.net this aircraft had its first test on 23rd November 2005 and delivered to Kingfisher Airlines on 1st December 2005 and was put into storage after Kingfisher Airlines ceased operations on 2nd October 2012.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 28th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Ryanair opened its 56th and 57th European bases in Marrakech on Tuesday 23rd April and Fez Wednesday 24th April, marking a significant step in expansion of the carrier in North Africa market with two Boeing 737-800 based in Marrakech operating 22 routes and a single Boeing 737-800 in Fez operating 15 routes in an investment of $230 million.

In 2013 Ryanair will operate 60 routes from Morocco from eight airports delivering 2.5 million passengers per annum.

Tourism makes a significant contribution to the Moroccan economy as is the top of foreign exchange earner, 2nd biggest contributor to GDP and 2nd biggest creator of jobs. The Moroccan Government published "Vision 2020" for tourism in Morocco to raise the destination to be in the top twenty of tourism destinations in the world and to become a model of sustainability in the mediterranean area.



Irish Aviation Research Institute © 26th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Ryanair yesterday presented a Greek tourism rescue plan to the Transport Minister Kostas Chatzidakis which could see Ryanair grow its Greek traffic to 10 million  passengers per annum by 2016, on the day Ryanair opened its 1st Greek base (and 57th in total) at Chania.

Ryanair has carried over 2 million passengers to/from Greece in less than 3 years since its first flight arrived to Kos from Frankfurt Hahn in May 2010. Ryanair's summer 2013 schedule will offer 85 Greek routes from 10 airports (including 2 new airports at Kalamata and Zakynthos), delivering over 1.4 million per annum.

The airline highlighted traffic at Greece's main gateway Athens Airport has fallen by 22% from its peak in 2008 at 16.4 million to 12.8 million passengers in 2012, Ryanair said it could deliver up to 4 million passengers p.a. if a realistic low-cost deal were made available at Athens Airport, with a further 2 million passengers at Thessaloniki and 4 million passengers across Ryanair's 10 other…

OY-RUG ATR72-202 c/n 509 Danish Air Transport RE500P positioned Copenhagen to Dublin Airport on Wednesday 24th April arriving at 2015 , the aircraft is on short term lease as to Aer Arann operating as Aer Lingus Regional, to facilitate the handback of some of their leased ATR aircraft and as stand-by aircraft.

The aircraft operated it's first revenue service yesterday as RE54ED/55ED to and from Edinburgh. The delivery of Aer Arann new ATR72-600 EI-FAS is imminent.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 26th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Ryanair announced the launch of a new route between Cologne/Bonn and Tenerife South from 31st October operating twice weekly on Thursdays and Saturdays becoming the fifth destination to be served from Cologne/Bonn in addition to Faro, Girona, Malaga and Palma.

Ryanair Deputy CEO Michael Cawley said "Ryanair is delighted to announce a fifth route from Cologne / Bonn today. The connection to Tenerife South is from 31 October will be served twice a week, Thursdays and Saturdays".

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 25th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Ryanair announced it's launching a new route from Linz Blue Danube Airport to Tenerife South from 2nd November 2013 operating weekly on Saturdays and expects to carry 20,000 passengers on the route.
The company has yet to decide whether Tenerife South is a year-round destination or the route from Linz is flown only in the winter.

For the Upper Austrian Regionaflughafen every scheduled flight is of vital economic importance. Linz Airport suffered a significant decline in passenger numbers following Air Berlin's withdrawal.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 25th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Ryanair announced its launching a new route from Memmingen to Tenerife South from 1st November 2013 operating twice weekly on Fridays and Sundays.

Memmingen Airport CEO Schmid Allgäu said "Therefore we are very pleased to offer this new route now, this offers interesting travel options - from short breaks to the winter."

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 25th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Ryanair today opened it's 55th European Base and first Greek Base in Chania (Crete) in an investment of over $70 million with a Boeing 737-800 operating a total of 26 routes including 11 new routes across Europe to destinations in Denmark,France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, Poland and UK, operating 106 weekly flights delivering 500,000 passengers to the airport in the first year of operation.

New routes to Billund, Bristol, Eindhoven,Katowice, Marseille, Memmingen, Thessaloniki, Venice Treviso, Vilnius and Warsaw Chopin commence between today and 1st May, its first domestic route to Thessaloniki commences on 2nd June operating daily.

Chania is the second largest city on the island of Crete and is also the capital of the Chania region. Chania is located the north coast of the island.

The air transport industry contributes €5.7 billion euro annually to Greek GDP. This total comprises of €3.3 billion euros directly contributed through the output of the aviation sector (airlines…

Aer Lingus announced its Q1 January to March revenue was up 3% to €259.7 million operating costs increased by 26% to €305.2 million generating an operating loss of €45.5 million before exceptional items is up €9.4 million versus prior year due to Virgin wet-lease start up costs, planned changes to the long haul fleet and slightly weaker trading on UK routes.

Passengers numbers increased by 2.2% to 2.13 million including Aer Lingus Regional

Fare revenue per seat was 6.5% higher year-on-year with short haul up 3.3% and long haul up 10.4%.

The overall passenger yield is up 3.7% with the load factor up 2.7% to 71.4%.

The airline has gross cash of €1.01 Billion at the end of March 2013 an increase of €109.4 million.

Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Muller said "We have delivered revenue growth of 3.3% in the first quarter and are particularly pleased with the performance of our long haul business which is up 14.4% on the prior year.
It has, however, been a challenging start to 2013 with high…

Ryanair has announced it is to begin services to Montenegro the 29th country to be served the carrier launching a new route on 20th June from Brussels South Charleroi Airport to Podgorica operating twice weekly delivering over 10,000 passengers per annum.

The airline plans further expansion in Montenegro including new routes to and from Tivat in Summer 2014, as the carrier continues to expand in Southern Europe.

Ryanair's Robin Kiely said “Ryanair is delighted to launch its first flights to and from Montenegro at Podgorica, with one new route to and from Brussels Charleroi, commencing on 20th June, as Ryanair expands its route network to 29 countries across Europe and North Africa. Montenegrin visitors and consumers can now beat the recession and travel on Ryanair's ultra-low fares with no fuel surcharge guaranteed and Ryanair's new Podgorica route will deliver over 10,000 passengers per annum with further growth planned, including new routes to and from Tivat in Summer 2…

Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has welcomed Air Canada’s decision to launch a new year-round service between Dublin and Toronto’s Pearson Airport from May 2014.

Air Canada, which has operated a summer service between Dublin and Toronto for since 2002,  will operate the Dublin-Toronto route this summer between 17th May and 30th September and will begin year-round operations under the Air Canada rouge from 1st May 2014.

DAA Strategy Director Vincent Harrison said "Air Canada’s decision to operate a year-round service to Dublin from next May is excellent news for both business and leisure travellers and underscores the strong links between Ireland and Canada.  Ireland is the fifth largest recipient of Canadian investment, and there are strong historical and cultural connections between the two countries. This is the culmination of much hard work as we have been working to secure a year-round Canadian service for several years."

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland said "…

Dublin is the fourth European destination in Air Canada Rouge network Air Canada today announced that its current seasonal service between Toronto and Dublin, Ireland will be converted to year-round service operated by its new leisure carrier, Air Canada rouge, beginning in 2014.

Air Canada rouge will commence year-round service starting 1st May 2014 operated by Boeing 767-300ER aircraft features a two-cabin configuration with three customer comfort options including rouge, rouge Plus with preferred seating with additional legroom, and, beginning in winter 2013, Premium rouge offering both additional room and enhanced service.

Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada Ben Smith said "Air Canada has been serving Ireland since its predecessor, Trans-Canada Air Lines, first flew to Shannon in 1947. Today, there is a very strong market for both leisure customers and visiting friends and relatives, so this is an ideal market for our new leisure carrier, Air …

Dublin based aircraft lessor continues to grow in the fast growing Asian market with the announcement it has agreed to lease three new Airbus Airbus A320 from its order pipeline to Vietjet a new customer, an expanding low cost carrier operating a modern, all-A320 fleet from Vietnam's three major economic and tourist hubs - Ho Chi Minh City, Danang and Hanoi, and is the first private airline in Vietnam to be licensed to operate domestic and international flights.

These new sharklet-equipped A320 aircraft will assist Vietjet with their plans to expand into ASEAN and North Asian networks which will include regional destinations such as Busan, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Singapore and Taipei.

President & CEO AWAS Ray Sisson said "The people of AWAS are very proud today to add Vietjet as a new customer. Their ability to offer a high-quality LCC model to their customers has met with strong success."

VP Sales Asia Pacific AWAS JT Foo said " We pride ourselves on bei…

Ryanair announced the extension of its reserved seating from 6 to 8 rows with the addition of row 32 & 33 allowing up to 45 passengers per flight pre-book seats. The reserved seating service costs €10/£10 each way or €15/€15 on longer routes e.g. to/from Canary Islands).

The carrier had previously indicated on its Q1 conference call on 28th January it was considering the idea, which has received very positive feedback from passengers,  the announcement is timely as the service has proved very popular with families and groups particularly on longer route sectors to the Canary Islands in the Summer season.

Ryanair’s Robin Kiely said "Since November, Ryanair passengers have been able to reserve their preferred seats across six rows – at the front of the aircraft for a prompt exit on arrival, at over-wing exits for extra legroom, and on rows 5 and 15 – which  has proven extremely popular, especially with families, groups and those on business travel."

Irish Aviation Researc…

The classic Boeing 747-200 aircraft is being an increasing rare visitor to Dublin Airport as a new generation of aircraft have taken its place, therefore N794CK Boeing 747-222B(F) c/n 23727 line number 675 of Kalitta Air this weekend was most welcome.

N794CK Boeing 747-222B(F) c/n 23727 of Kalitta Air arrived yesterday at 1215 as CKS513 from Atlanta with the shipment of a spare engine for a Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300ER which went unserviceable on Friday requiring an engine change, which was carried in Hangar 6, the Boeing 747 departed this afternoon as CKS514 at 1551 to Newark Liberty Airport.

This aircraft was delivered to United Airlines in April 1997 as N152UA and later became N646NW with Northwest Airlines in 2000 was converted to a freighter, and was withdrawn from use by Delta Airlines in June 2009 following acquisition of  Northwest Airlines. The aircraft was acquired by Kalitta Air on 19th August 2010 and re-registered as N794CK.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 21st Ap…

EI-EXZ Airbus A319-132 c/n 2634 of BBAM/ FlyLeasing arrived back in Dublin Airport this afternoon in Bangkok Air colours following repaint by Eirtech Aviation, the aircraft performed a two hour air test to the West of Shannon Airport at various flight levels from FL140 to FL390, prior to proceeding to Dublin arriving at 1618 hours local. The aircraft is to be re-registered HS-PPF.

This 2005 build aircraft was delivered to Kingfisher on 15th December 2005 and subsequently stored at Istanbul/Sabiha Gokcen from 11th December 2011 and was ferried to Dublin Airport on 19th January 2013 for further storage.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 21st April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Aer Lingus and Heathrow Express have announced a new partnership giving passengers the option to choose the Heathrow Express service to London while purchasing flight tickets.

Heathrow Express has said it selected Aer Lingus as its first partner airline because of the large number of business travellers from Ireland who already use the service.

Aer Lingus operates up to twelve flights a day between Dublin and London Heathrow, four flights a day between Cork and Heathrow and three flights a day between Belfast and Shannon and Heathrow.

Heathrow Express managing director Keith Greenfield said "We are very excited to be partnering with Aer Lingus on this initiative and to be able to help make the process of booking faster travel between London and Heathrow easier.This new booking mechanism provides a great way for Aer Lingus to enhance their online product and create a seamless transition for their passengers from online booking, to airport and onto Central London. "

The Heath…

On 15th April EirTrade Aviation Ireland Ltd announced it has completed the teardown of an Airbus A320-212 aircraft in their hangar at Ireland West Airport, Knock, Co. Mayo.  This is the first aircraft of its type to be dismantled by EirTrade.

The aircraft N209AW Airbus A320-212 c/n 446 ex LX-STA was registered to MSA V Trust as on 10th October at Manchester & ferried from there to Ireland West Airport Knock on 19th October.

The government has targeted the aircraft dismantling and tear-down business for growth of the aircraft maintenance sector as announced in Budget 2012, the measures came into effect in the Finance Bill 2013 on 13th February for a period of five years.

EirTrade Aviation Ireland, Ltd was founded by a team of aviation professionals in 2010 and has its headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.  EirTrade provides aircraft and engine teardown management, sales and consignment of aircraft and engine components and back to birth traceability on aircraft engine records to maximi…

The first Irish debut of the Gulfstream G650 took place today at Dublin Airport by N524EA Gulfstream G650 arriving 1025 and departing 1525 this aircraft was delivered on 31st December 2012.

National Business Aviation Association’s CEO Ed Bolen said "Many companies are using large-cabin, long-range business jets to provide nonstop access to overseas markets, especially Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. These airplanes can deliver business people to long-distance destinations within hours, greatly increasing the efficiency of travel and optimizing the work schedule " (Business Traveller December 2012).

The Gulfstream G650 has a list price of $64.5 million, is the first Gulfstream with full digital fly-by-wire controls and the fastest civilian use aircraft with cruising speed near the speed of sound of Mach number 0.925 and has a range of 7,000 nautical mile (13,000 km) seating between 8 and 19 passengers, opening up city pairs such as Doha International to Teterb…

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary stated in an interview with Westfälische Nachrichten last Wednesday 11th April to celebrate the launch of two new routes from Münster/Osnabrück Airport (FMO) to Girona and Malaga from 4th June which will deliver 80,000 passengers in 2013.

The carrier is seeking to rapidly increase passenger numbers at the airport Michael O'Leary adding he will use more aircraft at FMO this winter identifying potential new routes to Charleroi, Dublin, Madrid and Rome Ciampino and into Scandinavia. Ryanair has identified Germany as a key growth market in Europe.

The Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary stated at the press conference "The future at FMO is Ryanair"

In the interview with Westfälische Nachrichten Michael O'Leary stated Münster/Osnabrück Airport (FMO) and Ryanair has available capacity, Ryanair has no requirement for use of air bridges or buses and delivers high passenger throughput enabling airports to capture revenue in retail spend citing Lond…

The Irish Aviation Authority announced Dublin Airport recorded a very positive month in March 2013 with commercial terminal traffic for international arrivals and departures at the airport up by 4.1% with an average of 408 daily commercial aircraft movements.

The general trend of growth at Dublin Airport is driving overall Irish terminal traffic upward, with the total up 3% in March due a number of events Ireland-France International Rugby Match, the early start of Ryanair summer schedule (15th March), also early Easter Weekend traffic and start of IATA Summer schedule on 31st March, thus offsetting weakness en-route and North America Communications flights as both declined by -2.1% and -3.1% respectively.

The March 2013 figures for the three State airports, when compared to the same month in the previous year are:

Cork Airport: + 0.1%  with an average of 50 commercial daily movements.

Dublin Airport: + 4.1% , with an average of 408 commercial daily movements.

Shannon Airport: -2.9%, wi…

Aer Lingus third Airbus A319-111 EI-EPT c/n 3054 named "Ruadhan"ex EC-KBJ of Iberia Airlines leased from SMBC Aviation Capital entered revenue service on Sunday 14th April operating EIN248 Dublin to London Gatwick.

The aircraft appears to based in London Gatwick based on data available from Flightradar24.com, this morning it operated EIN232/1 to and from Dublin, followed by EIN911/2 to and from Ireland West Airport Knock.

The Airbus A319 is the third member of the Airbus A320 Family to enter service with Aer Lingus, following the delivery of the first aircraft a year ago. On 2012 Annual results conference call Aer Lingus Chief Commercial Officer said the A319 operation had "Increased in load factor and revenue per seat up 4%".

Aer Lingus has allocated two A319s to Belfast City and 1 to London Gatwick bases following delivery of the fourth A319 the type will account for 8% of total short-haul capacity.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 16th April 2013 All Rights …

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said during a hastily arranged press conference in Oslo Rygge Airport
last Thursday 12th April to reject accusations that his low-cost airline treated its employees like slaves, that he will be returning to Oslo Rygge in six weeks to announce 'A raft of new winter sun routes' which subsequently went unreported by mainstream media ,Ryanair's biggest base in the region with six Boeing 737-800s operating 50 routes with a seventh aircraft to be added from July.

Moss Rygge Airport Director Paul Tandberg said the negative focus on Ryanair is bad news for the airport and County Mayor Ole Haabeth (Ap) warned people not to boycott Ryanair for fears it would hit the airport and air fares would substantially increase if low-cost carriers leave.

Ryanair's 37th European Base Oslo Rygge opened in March 2010 and for Summer 2013 operates 50 routes delivering 2 million passenger per annum and launching its latest routes to Kaunas and Rzeszow on 30th Apr…

This afternoon Lufthansa's Munich to Dublin flight was operated by D-AKNG Airbus A319-112 c/n 654 DLH2515/4 (ATC Callsign DLH5NL/4AH), this aircraft has an interesting history within the Lufthansa Group with various operators.

The aircraft was delivered on 28th February 1997 to Eurowings on 28th February 1997 and later transferred to Lufthansa's subsidiary low fare brand Germanwings from 25th October 2002 to 20th January 2009.

On 27th January 2009 the aircraft was transferred to Lufthansa's Italian subsidiary Lufthansa Italia until 29th October 2011 when the subsidiary was closed down, registration I-LHKB was allocated but not taken up. The aircraft was withdrawn from use from 29th October 2011 until 25th May 2012 when it re-entered service with Lufthansa.

The aircraft was a regular visitor to Dublin Airport under its previous Germanwings guise.

D-AKNG Airbus A319 Lufthansa

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 14th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Aer Lingus fourth Airbus A320-214 EI-EZW c/n 1983 positioned Dublin to London Heathrow at 1823 as EIN980P to commence Virgin Atlantic Little Red operations. According to website Flightradar24.com the aircraft departed London Heathrow at 2042 as VIR3025 on its first revenue service to Aberdeen.

Tomorrow Virgin Atlantic's Little Red increases frequency on its Edinburgh-London Heathrow route from three to six times daily.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 13th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Aer Lingus has taken delivery of its latest aircraft, EI-EPT Airbus A319-111, construction number 3054 ex EC-KBJ. The aircraft is registered EI-EPT and named "Ruadhan" with Hex code 4CAAD2. Pictured above EI-EPT is seen arriving in Dublin, where it landed at 1545 as EIN991 on its delivery flight from Madrid.

EI-EPT is the third of four Airbus A319-112s to be leased SMBC Aviation Capital  formerly operated by Iberia Airlines.

The airline stated in 2012 annual results that "The A319 aircraft type are appropriate for some of the lower demand routes within our network and should drive further operating and cost efficiencies."

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 13th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Ryanair is increasing its flights from City of Derry to Faro due to strong demand announced the City of Derry Airport in a Tweet, frequency on the route increases from two to three times weekly with an additional Tuesday flight from 2nd July to 27th August in addition to its service on Thursdays and Sundays.

Ryanair launched the seasonal Faro route in Summer 2010 and is operated by a Faro based aircraft, the airline has added an additional frequency on the route every summer which is an extremely popular sun holiday destination.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 13th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Norwegian this evening launched its new twice weekly year-round Dublin to Helsinki Vantaa Airport service  operating on Fridays and Mondays using Boeing 737-800s. The inaugural flight NAX5824/5 was operated by LN-NOX Boeing 737-8JP/W c/n 37818 in Christian Krohg livery.

Helsinki is Norwegian's third route from Dublin in addition to Copenhagen and Oslo.

Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons stated when the route was announced on 21st December last that "Tourism Ireland is committed to working with Norwegian, Dublin Airport and other tourism interests to drive demand for this new service, and all other services to the island of Ireland, and to help maintain our vital network of routes and services.Mainland Europe – including the Nordic region – is an increasingly important market for Irish tourism and in 2013 Tourism Ireland aims to welcome almost 2.5 million European visitors."

Norwegian Air Shuttle now branded as Norwegian launched it's Dublin to Copenhagen and Oslo rou…

VQ-BMO Airbus A319-111 c/n 2214 of Chilean carrier Sky Airline arrived back at Dublin Airport at 1540 today  following repaint by Eirtech Aviation in Shannon, the aircraft will be re-registered CC-AIY.

Built in 2004 and delivered new to Easyjet Airlines as G-EZEJ, then spend time with Russian carriers Sky Express and Kuban Airlines in an anonymous all white scheme. Following the demise of Kuban Airlines, the aircraft was ferried to Dublin on 12th December 2012 and put into storage.

This Blog post is courtesy of Paul Doyle follow at: @elevationair 

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 11th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Aer Lingus has taken delivery of its second Airbus A320 to be leased from Shannon based aircraft leasing company GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS).

EI-EZW Airbus A320-214 c/n 1983 Aer Lingus ex I-EEZF in full Virgin Atlantic colours for Little Red service prior to wet-lease was delivered Singapore-Male International-Abu Dhabi-Sofia-Dublin on 10 & 11th April arriving at Dublin Airport at 1420 yesterday.

The aircraft is named 'Rosie Lee' with Hex code 4CAAC9. This the fourth of four A320's being leased from Aer Lingus to the UK carrier for their "Little Red" operations.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 12th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Ryanair is considering further expansion from Strasbourg-Entzheim Airport for Winter 2013 and Summer 2014 announced Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary on a visit to Strasbourg yesterday to mark the start of two new routes to London Stansted and Porto from March 26th carrying 75,000 passenger per annum on the routes.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary indicated their scope in future to increase frequency on London Stansted from three weekly and Porto two weekly to seven weekly rotations each.

Last year Ryanair carried 8 million passengers in France on 195 routes from 30 airports accounting for 10% of its business. Paris Beauvais is the largest non-base airport on its route network with 47 routes carrying 3.5 million passengers per annum, and it operates a seasonal summer base at Marseille Airport Mp2.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 11th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Virgin Atlantic formally celebrated the launch of UK domestic Little Red services last Monday 8th April with a launch party taking place in Edinburgh. Little Red operates 26 daily flights from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Manchester to London Heathrow codesharing with Air New Zealand, Cyprus Airways, Singapore Airlines and South African Airways and connecting with a total of 30 airlines.

Sir Richard Branson said "Today marks the start of an exciting new chapter in Virgin Atlantic’s history. Our product, service & flair are known throughout the world, and we’re thrilled to be bringing that to domestic flying.

Virgin Atlantic Little Red is the next step on our exciting journey, allowing us to offer a more connected network which will deliver sustained & effective competition at home and around the world.

We’re really looking forward to welcoming on board millions of passengers between Heathrow, Manchester, Edinburgh & Aberdeen & to restoring consumer choice on these rou…

Dublin Airport will have an extra 700,000 airline seats this summer, with overall summer capacity up 4% this year, according to the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).

The transatlantic market will see the greatest expansion at Dublin Airport this summer, as all of the airlines serving Dublin from the United States and Canada are adding capacity. Overall, there will be an extra 200,000 seats on North American routes during the summer, which is a 17% increase compared to last year.

The addition of American Airlines’ new daily service to New York JFK, which commences on 13th June  means that Dublin Airport will have 15 direct scheduled services to North America this year. In total, there will be 224 flights per week between Dublin Airport and North America during the summer season underscoring the airport’s strong connectivity to Canada and the United States.

This summer, Dublin Airport passengers can choose from new European destinations such as Bologna, Bremen, Brest, Corfu, Helsinki, Ox…

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary at a press conference in Bratislava (Slovakia) this morning said he is considering opening a new Bratislava Base in  2014 or 2015 with two or three Boeing 737-800s subject to negotiations with the airport which will take place over the coming months enabling the carrier to double passenger numbers at Bratislava up to 2.5 million passengers per annum.

In 2012 the airline carried 875,000 passengers from Bratislava and in Summer 2013 will operate 59 weekly flights to 16 destinations in Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain and UK.

Ryanair launched the Dublin to Bratislava route in March 2006 and operates the route six times weekly.

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JetBlue Airways yesterday officially Aer Lingus to JetBlue's Terminal 5 at New York JFK after the carrier moved to the terminal on 3rd April, further developing the partnership which began in 2008, as part of the move JetBlue will provide ground handling services to Aer Lingus.

Aer Lingus VP Customer Service & Airport Operations North America Kevin Reichart said "We are excited about our move to JetBlue's 'state of the art' Terminal 5. This is a further development of our partnership. Aer Lingus and JetBlue share a dedication to our customers and enjoy reputations for providing great value service. Customers will now enjoy the convenience of same terminal connections and faster connecting times, in addition to the unique T5 experience."

JetBlue Airways Senior Vice President of Marketing and Commercial Strategy Marty St. George said "We are pleased to welcome Aer Lingus, our long-time partners, into our home at Terminal 5. This move will not only str…

Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, continues to build its presence in Europe with an expansion of its codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways to Ireland.

With the agreement, Air Seychelles will place its two-letter ‘HM’ code on Etihad Airways flights between Abu Dhabi and Dublin, complementing the island carrier’s current European codeshares with Etihad Airways to Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Geneva, London, Manchester, Milan, and Paris.

The expansion comes at a time when tourism figures from the UK and Ireland to the archipelago have been surging, with visitor arrivals from UK and Ireland up 21% from a year ago.

Air Seychelles CEO Cramer Ball said "We are delighted to announce this codeshare expansion to Ireland with our equity alliance partner, Etihad Airways. Seychelles has a strong affinity with the UK and Eire, hearkening to a time when Seychelles was a British colony, and this expansion demonstrates our continuing commitment to …

Etihad Airways has received regulatory approval from the United States Department of Transportation to put its ‘EY’ flight code on Aer Lingus’ transatlantic services out of Dublin on routes to Boston, Chicago and New York JFK, enabling passengers to pre-clear US Customs and Border Protection in Dublin Airport arriving into the US as domestic passengers.

Aer Lingus Chief Commercial Officer Stephen Kavanagh said "Customers connecting from Etihad Airways’ network onto Aer Lingus flights at Dublin will enjoy a seamless transfer and will be able to avail of Dublin’s US pre-clearance facilities. We look forward to welcoming Etihad Airways’ customers on board our transatlantic flights."

Etihad Airways Chief Strategy and Planning Officer Kevin Knight said "Our strategic partnership with Aer Lingus continues to flourish and, as a result of US regulatory approval for transatlantic services, air travellers in the UAE and beyond now have greater access to the American market via D…

Aer Lingus Airbus A320 EI-EZV c/n 2001 entered service on Virgin Atlantic Little Red this morning departing Aberdeen at 0618 as VIR3026 on the inaugural London Heathrow route service, yesterday the aircraft positioned Dublin Airport to Aberdeen at 1301 hours as EIN982 according to website Flightradar24.com.

This is the third Aer Lingus aircraft to enter service on the Virgin Atlantic Little Red service wet-lease.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 9th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

The Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) has published its preliminary timetable for the fourth determination governing airport charges at Dublin Airport. The Determination covers the period 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2019.

A Issues paper will be published in July 2013 marking the beginning of a process of engagement between CAR and its stakeholders in a new determination on airport charges at Dublin Airport for use of infrastructure by cargo and passenger customers.

The Commission has permitted a maximum price cap of €10.67 fee per departing passenger from Dublin Airport in 2013. There is no single airport charge at Dublin Airport, as the charges that are levied on each airline are based on a wide variety of individual elements and can also vary depending on the season, with higher summer and lower winter prices.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 8th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

As part of its new summer schedule, American Airlines has relaunched its six times weekly service between Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Dublin Airport from last Wednesday 3rd April operating till 25th October 2013. The route is operated using American's two-class Boeing 767-300 aircraft offering a total of 225 seats, including 30 in Business Class

Flight Schedule:
AA92 Departs Chicago O'Hare 1845 arrives Dublin Airport 0800 next day
AA93 Departs Dublin Airport 1000 arrives Chicago'Hare 1205

American Airlines a member of the Oneworld Alliance operates from Dublin Airport Terminal 2 has been serving Dublin since 2005.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 8th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Aer Lingus Airbus A320 c/n 2374 EI-DEI positioned Dublin to Edinburgh at 0300 on Friday 5th April as EIN982 then operated the inaugural Virgin Atlantic Little Red flight Edinburgh to London Heathrow as VIR3012 departing at 0650.

The aircraft positioned Shannon to Dublin as EIN980 on Thursday 4th April arriving at 1730 following painting at Shannon since 22nd March. The aircraft is named "Maggie May".

The aircraft operated its last revenue service for Aer Lingus on 21st March Dublin-Copenhagen-Dublin as EIN626/62N.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 6th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Shannon based aircraft leasing company GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) announced it will lease two Airbus A320 aircraft to new customer Aer Lingus, delivery of the aircraft is scheduled for this month.

GECAS Executive Vice President and European region manager Declan Hartnett said "It is a great pleasure to welcome Aer Lingus as a new leasing customer to GECAS. We look forward to participating in the development of the company as it builds on its highly successful business model in the future ".

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 5th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Ryanair yesterday (4th April) commenced it's 13th destination from Ireland West Airport Knock to Malaga in Spain operating weekly on Thursdays with a second flight to be added on Sundays for the summer peak months of June, July and August, the new route will generate an additional 13,000 passengers through the airport.

Ireland West Airport Knock Managing Director Joe Gilmore said "We are delighted to welcome a new service to Malaga with Ryanair as we expand our range of scheduled services to now include the popular Costa Del Sol.  Last year over 100,000 passengers flew on Ryanair's services to Spain and Portugal, further strengthening our position as the airport of choice for holidaymakers in the West, North West and Midlands regions and we have no doubt the new Malaga service will prove hugely popular.The Airport continues to attract new destinations and provide more choice and value for money for the people in the region and this latest expansion from Ryanair underline…

Aer Lingus announced it carried 844,000 passengers in March up 4.3% carrying 83,000 long-haul passengers up 13.7% with a load factor 84.4% up 2.2 points on an 9.5% increase in available seat kilometers as the carrier with the early resumption of Transatlantic routes from Shannon to Boston & New York JFK on 13th March.

The airline carried 674,000 short-haul passengers up 1.7% with a load factor of 77.3% up 4.7 points on an 7% reduction in available seat kilometers.

Aer Lingus Regional carried 87,000 passengers up 19.2% and year to date 224,000 passengers up 21.7%.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 5th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Dublin Airport announced it handled 1.6 million passengers in March up 8% with strong growth in all market segments due to a  number of events including: Ireland Vs France & Italy International Rugby Matches, St Patrick's Weekend and Easter in the month driving passenger increased volumes.

The 31st March marked the first day of the IATA summer scheduled thus the start of increased charter and scheduled activity.

Traffic to and from continental Europe increased by 14% with more than 780,000 passengers and domestic traffic was up by 4% to 4,500 passenger, while traffic to the Middle East and North Africa was up by 8% to 45,000 passengers.  The North American market continues consistent growth pattern up 8% to just under 120,000 passengers.

The UK traffic remained on par with last year, as almost 599,000 passengers flew to and from the UK.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 4th April 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Suzanne Boda, senior vice president, Airport Customer Service, International and Cargo for US Airways, is scheduled to give the keynote address  'Scoping, Selecting and Maintaining an Airline Route US Airways  Decision Making Process' at Shannon Chamber’s spring lunch, hosted by Chamber president, Kevin Thompstone, sponsored by GECAS and co-sponsored by Shannon Airport Authority. The lunch will be held at Dromoland Castle Hotel on Tuesday, 16 April.

Making the announcement in Shannon today, Kevin Thompstone said "Shannon Chamber is delighted that Ms. Boda has agreed to address chamber members and their business associates. With the increasing emphasis on securing new airlines and new routes for Shannon, it is important to understand the drivers that make an airport attractive to an airline.

With responsibility for overseeing US Airways’ international operations, Ms. Boda will offer insight into the US Airways product and why the airline chose Shannon, a topic which will …