Slow takeoff for Aer Lingus Belfast – Heathrow route
02.08.08
A year after its controversial decision to switch Heathrow flights from Shannon to Belfast, Aer Lingus has captured just 10 percent of the Belfast - London air route market, the Irish Independent reports. An Aer Lingus spokesman, however, defended his airline's performance on the new route, saying market share ‘wasn't the main consideration’ and stressing the route's improving performance.
Figures from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) show Aer Lingus carried 87,000 passengers on the Belfast - Heathrow route between January and May. This compares with the 132,000 passengers who used Shannon - Heathrow over the same period in 2007, and is also less than 10 percent of the total Belfast to London market, which came in at 888,000 for the five months, the newspaper reports.
Aer Lingus's sole competitor on the Heathrow route, bmi carried almost 220,000 passengers during the same five months this year.
However, an Aer Lingus spokesman defended the performance. He told the Independent: ‘The Belfast base is performing well and performing to expectations. We are where we want to be and quite satisfied. Market share is one of the things we consider, but it's not the most important thing; we're looking at things like fares and how full the planes are.’ The latest figures, for July, show Aer Lingus's Belfast - Heathrow planes were almost 75 percent full, he added.
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