Aer Lingus, the Irish carrier that is now part of the same family as British Airways and Iberia, is a fairly small airline thinking about bigger.
Since the merger, it’s added service to Los Angeles, adding to its previous flights to New York, Washington, Chicago, Orlando and San Francisco. In September, it will add flights to Hartford, CT. CEO Steven Kavanaugh told an industry group this week that that’s only the beginning.
This year will see increased frequency at Aer Lingus existing hubs, he said, but “Once we get into 2017, however, we will be looking at new gateways. There are a limited number of gateways that would sustain a wide-body operation, which is the core of our operation. But we have identified a number particularly on the East Coast and in Florida.”
He’s also looking for new 180+-seat planes to replace the 757s it currently uses in trans-Atlantic service, and planning to join the OneWorld Alliance, following the lead of its brand-mates. The airline’s AerClub loyalty program will be reconfigured to work with the Avios used by British Air and Iberia.
