#aer-lingus

#aer-lingus

A pilot at Aer Lingus threatened to go on hunger strike unless the airline disclosed information about alleged toxic fume incidents and agreed to pay him €3 million.

The temporary route between Dublin and Bridgetown will take off from March 31 and operate to May 31, running three times weekly on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, it said. Flights will be on an Airbus A321XLR - one of its newest single-aisle aircraft - and fares are currently available from €229 each way. Aer Lingus is to close its Manchester base from March 31, and will cease transatlantic services from the UK airport from that date.

In a note to Aer Lingus staff seen by the Irish Independent, the airline said that its executive team held a briefing with staff at Manchester today. In the note, the airline confirmed the poor margin performance. 'This makes it difficult to justify further investment in the Manchester base and raises the question as to whether there are potentially better alternative uses of the two aircraft that are in the Manchester base,' it told staff.

"Ireland is very seasonal - lots of people want to come to Ireland during the summer, but people don't really want to come in the winter," she said.

A drunk passenger on board an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Turkey was involved in a violent air-rage incident, forcing the pilot to divert the plane to Bulgaria.

'If you send an injunction to take down material, you shine a spotlight on it' A senior manager at Aer Lingus has told a tribunal she feared that a pilot-turned-whistleblower would enjoy the "Barbara Streisand effect" if an injunction was sought to stop him posting online about his dispute with the airline.

Next summer sees its largest-ever transatlantic schedule, with expansions to its long-haul network including a third daily flight from Dublin to both New York JFK and Boston, and a daily summer service from Dublin to Orlando. The year-round route to North Carolina will take off from April 13, and operate up to five times weekly on the single-aisle Airbus A321 XLR aircraft.

Embrace the change in season The days are already getting shorter and the dark evenings of winter are almost upon us. So it's time to plan for winter sun, slope action and coldcations.

"Our research highlights a strong appetite amongst customers for new travel experiences, particularly seasonal destinations beyond the peak summer period," said Lynne Embleton, Aer Lingus's Chief Executive Officer.