Aer Lingus and Delta to cut Shannon flights

SPECULATION that Shannon would lose Aer Lingus services to Gatwick, Glasgow and Paris in the autumn, along with the Delta Shannon-JFK service for the winter season, appears to have been accurate.

In the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation’s e-zine, which is sent to tourism industry stakeholders, it is stated that Aer Lingus plans to withdraw the services in September and October, with Delta to suspend its JFK service for the winter.
On the Aer Lingus website, it is not possible to book flights on the Shannon-Gatwick route beyond September 11. On the Glasgow Aer Lingus regional route, the last date for which flights are available is October 29, while the website also indicates that October 29 is the last date for the Shannon-Charles De Gaulle service. In relation to Delta, flights on the New York-Shannon route are not available towards the end of the year or in the early part of next year.
There have been concerns about the Aer Lingus routes in question for some time. In relation to Gatwick, Aer Lingus was competing with Ryanair for business on the route. Also, the flight departs Gatwick at the early time of 6.50am, something not suited to all users.
There were also issues with the Charles De Gaulle service as it operated just three times a week, which limited customers’ choice of dates.
The Aer Lingus regional service to Glasgow became less significant earlier this year as another service to nearby Edinburgh opened.
In relation to Delta, the airline had withdrawn from the Shannon/JFK route for the winter of 2009/10 but it resumed the service for the 2010/11 winter season.
Clare TD Pat Breen said he would be disappointed to see Shannon losing any further services. He said he was hopeful a replacement could be found for the Paris service. “I will be talking to the Minister for Transport and I would hope that perhaps Ryanair would resume its service to Beauvais or that CityJet might look at coming back again. I believe it’s a viable service because a lot of people want to take breaks there and it’s an important route for business people.”
Shannon-based Councillor Sean McLoughlin also said it was disappointing. “I’m disappointed that Delta are pulling out again because I think they did quite well there last winter. Charles De Gaulle is a good airport to fly into but someone needed to wake up and smell the coffee and realise that people need to get to hub airports early in the day for connecting flights,” he concluded.