CityJet withdraws scheduled flights at London City

CityJet is to withdraw scheduled flights from London City from Sunday 28 October. Its service to Dublin will be operated by CityJet under the Aer Lingus name.

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CityJet
CityJet (Image Credit: CityJet)

After a long period of contraction at London City airport, CityJet is to officially withdraw scheduled passenger flights from Sunday 28 October 2018.

CityJet has been progressively suspending routes. In recent years, it has suspended Antwerp, Avignon, Edinburgh, Nantes, Paris Orly, Rotterdam and Toulon.

At present, it is left with just three routes: A codeshare on KLM operated flights to Amsterdam; daily flights to Dublin; and a seasonal route to Florence.

As a consequence of today’s announcement:

– The codeshare on KLM’s service to Amsterdam will end on Saturday 28 October 2018.

– Aer Lingus will take over the sale of CityJet’s service to Dublin from Saturday 28 October 2018. The route will be operated for Aer Lingus by CityJet Avro RJ85 aircraft aircraft and crews in Aer Lingus livery

– CityJet’s seasonal service to Florence will end on Sunday 30 September 2018.

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What is the status of the integration of Aer Lingus into IAG?

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International Airlines Group - Aer Lingus, BA, Iberia, Vueling
International Airlines Group – Aer Lingus, BA, Iberia, Vueling

More than a year has passed since International Airlines Group (“IAG”) acquired Aer Lingus and it joined British Airways, Iberia and Vueling under the umbrella of IAG.

The merger is of particular interest particularly because of both the proximity of Dublin to London Heathrow and the fact that Dublin airport offers US Customs & Immigration pre-clearance.

Whilst much has been done to align Aer Lingus to their IAG siblings, there is still a lot to be done, with many announcements yet to be made.

Here’s a quick run through of what has and hasn’t happened, with some added speculation on our part.
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What is the status of the integration of Aer Lingus into International Airlines Group?

More than a year has passed since International Airlines Group (“IAG”) acquired Aer Lingus and it joined British Airways, Iberia and Vueling under the umbrella of IAG.

The merger is of particular interest particularly because of both the proximity of Dublin to London Heathrow and the fact that Dublin airport offers US Customs & Immigration pre-clearance.

Whilst much has been done to align Aer Lingus to their IAG siblings, there is still a lot to be done, with many announcements yet to be made.

Here’s a quick run through of what has and hasn’t happened, with some added speculation on our part.
Continue reading “What is the status of the integration of Aer Lingus into International Airlines Group?”

BA begins codesharing on Aer Lingus flights

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Aer Lingus London Heathrow
Aer Lingus London Heathrow (Image Credit: Heathrow)

British Airways and Aer Lingus have taken their first steps to greater collaboration now that the two airlines are under the umbrella of International Airlines Group.

The two airlines have historically codeshared on certain routes between Ireland and the UK, but BA codeshares on Aer Lingus operated flights have typically only been available when transferring onto a long-haul flight.

Aer Lingus routes between London Heathrow and Dublin, Shannon and Cork and London Gatwick and Dublin, Belfast City and Cork can now be booked via ba.com when travelling direct between the UK and Ireland from Wednesday 11 November 2015.

In addition, Aer Lingus routes between London Gatwick and Knock and London Heathrow and Belfast City can now be booked as codeshares through ba.com when travelling from Wednesday 11 November 2015.

BA is also applying its flight codes to Aer Lingus flights from UK regional airports, with Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool being the first added.

A gentle reminder that when booking codeshares it is the operating airline’s procedures that apply regarding luggage and in-flight service. Also, Aer Lingus flights from London Heathrow depart from Terminal 2.

We should hear more in the coming weeks about greater co-operation between Aer Lingus, IAG and the Oneworld alliance specifically with regard to reciprocal frequent flyer recognition, codesharing and co-ordination of schedules.

British Airways begins codesharing on Aer Lingus flights

British Airways and Aer Lingus have taken their first steps to greater collaboration now that the two airlines are under the umbrella of International Airlines Group.

The two airlines have historically codeshared on certain routes between Ireland and the UK, but BA codeshares on Aer Lingus operated flights have typically only been available when transferring onto a long-haul flight.

Aer Lingus routes between London Heathrow and Dublin, Shannon and Cork and London Gatwick and Dublin, Belfast City and Cork can now be booked via ba.com when travelling direct between the UK and Ireland from Wednesday 11 November 2015.

In addition, Aer Lingus routes between London Gatwick and Knock and London Heathrow and Belfast City can now be booked as codeshares through ba.com when travelling from Wednesday 11 November 2015.

BA is also applying its flight codes to Aer Lingus flights from UK regional airports, with Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool being the first added.

A gentle reminder that when booking codeshares it is the operating airline’s procedures that apply regarding luggage and in-flight service. Also, Aer Lingus flights from London Heathrow depart from Terminal 2.

We should hear more in the coming weeks about greater co-operation between Aer Lingus, IAG and the Oneworld alliance specifically with regard to reciprocal frequent flyer recognition, codesharing and co-ordination of schedules.

Aer Lingus returns to Los Angeles & Newark, launches Hartford

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As was widely tipped online, Aer Lingus has today announced it is to return to Los Angeles and Newark airports next year, and launch a new direct route from Dublin to Bradley International Airport in Hartford County, Connecticut. The latter route will be the sole transatlantic route from the airport.

Aer Lingus will fly five times a week to Los Angeles from Sunday 1 May 2016, and daily to Newark from Thursday 1 September 2016. Both routes will be operated by A330 aircraft. Flights for these routes are on sale now at AerLingus.com

Aer Lingus will also fly daily to Bradley International Airport from September 2016 and flights for this route are expected to go on sale 3 November. This route will be operated by a Boeing 757 aircraft.
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Aer Lingus returns to Los Angeles and Newark, and launches Dublin – Hartford

As was widely tipped online, Aer Lingus has today announced it is to return to Los Angeles and Newark airports next year, and launch a new direct route from Dublin to Bradley International Airport in Hartford County, Connecticut. The latter route will be the sole transatlantic route from the airport.

Aer Lingus will fly five times a week to Los Angeles from Sunday 1 May 2016, and daily to Newark from Thursday 1 September 2016. Both routes will be operated by A330 aircraft. Flights for these routes are on sale now at AerLingus.com

Aer Lingus will also fly daily to Bradley International Airport from September 2016 and flights for this route are expected to go on sale 3 November. This route will be operated by a Boeing 757 aircraft.
Continue reading “Aer Lingus returns to Los Angeles and Newark, and launches Dublin – Hartford”

The European Commission approves IAG’s takeover of Aer Lingus

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Aer Lingus London Heathrow
Aer Lingus London Heathrow (Image Credit: Heathrow)

International Airlines Group’s takeover of Aer Lingus moved another step closer today, 14 July 2015, after the European Commission gave formal approval of the deal.

It is subject to some conditions, known as “commitments” in order to assuage competition concerns of the European Commission.

These are:

1. IAG must forfeit up to five slot pairs at London Gatwick airport for use on routes between London and Dublin and London and Belfast.  One slot pair must be used for London – Belfast, two slot pairs must be used for London – Dublin and the remaining two can be used for either route.

2. IAG must offer rival airlines special prorate deals for passengers connecting from Aer Lingus short-haul flights to long-haul flights operated by rival airlines at London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Amsterdam, Shannon and Dublin airports.  This is so rival airlines such as KLM and Virgin Atlantic can still offer passengers connections from Aer Lingus short-haul flights.
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The European Commission approves International Airlines Group’s takeover of Aer Lingus

International Airlines Group’s takeover of Aer Lingus moved another step closer this evening after the European Commission gave formal approval of the deal.

It is subject to some conditions, known as “commitments” in order to assuage competition concerns of the European Commission.

These are:

1. IAG must forfeit up to five slot pairs at London Gatwick airport for use on routes between London and Dublin and London and Belfast.  One slot pair must be used for London – Belfast, two slot pairs must be used for London – Dublin and the remaining two can be used for either route.

2. IAG must offer rival airlines special prorate deals for passengers connecting from Aer Lingus short-haul flights to long-haul flights operated by rival airlines at London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Amsterdam, Shannon and Dublin airports.  This is so rival airlines such as KLM and Virgin Atlantic can still offer passengers connections from Aer Lingus short-haul flights.
Continue reading “The European Commission approves International Airlines Group’s takeover of Aer Lingus”

International Airlines Group’s bid for Aer Lingus looks certain to go ahead. What do we know now?

Following the news that the Irish Government has given its support for International Airlines Group’s bid for Aer Lingus and that Ryanair (which holds 30% of the shares in the airline) has also agreed to sell its stake, this means that, barring any last minute complications, it is now a near certainty that the bid will go ahead.

Full details of the bid can be viewed in the offer document. A more easily digestable summary of IAG’s bid for Aer Lingus can be viewed in this IAG presentation.

Here’s a summary of what we know (and don’t know) and what we expect to happen when Aer Lingus joins IAG:
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