Aer Lingus to cut back at Gatwick
08.01.10
Aer Lingus is to downsize operations significantly at its loss-making base at Gatwick Airport, which was only opened less than a year ago. The airline will announce its plans to reduce capacity at Gatwick at some stage today, with the changes expected to take effect for its summer schedule, the Irish Times reports.
The newspaper reports that Aer Lingus will continue to operate some flights out of Gatwick, but will reduce the number of aircraft based there and axe a number of the 13 routes it operates from the airport. It currently has five aircraft based at Gatwick and had originally planned to base eight planes at the airport within 12 months of its launch, but the global recession and the slump in air travel has hit those plans. The newspaper's 'source' said two or three aircraft would be removed from its Gatwick schedule.
The Gatwick base was opened in April 2009 as part of a growth strategy drawn up by former Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion. It was the company’s first base outside Ireland, but Aer Lingus’s operations in Gatwick have been loss-making from the start as the Irish airline invested heavily in marketing and cut-price promotional fares. It has faced significant competition from easyJet, which has a large base there and has launched a knocking advertising campaign today.
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