Aer Lingus To Bolster U.S. Network With Additional Airbus A330-200
I guess this answers the question about what happens to this airframe?
(from Aviation Week)
Aer Lingus next year plans to add one more aircraft to its long-haul fleet, and will use the Airbus A330-200 on lease from United Airlines to add frequencies on routes from Dublin to Boston and Chicago.
The additional A330 will bring the airline’s long-haul fleet to 11 aircraft.
“Long-haul is performing extremely well,” Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller tells Aviation Week. The carrier tries to limit connecting traffic to about 30% in order not to dilute yields, a strategy that works well, with a strong portion of capacity sold in the U.S.
Aer Lingus is evaluating its future fleet requirements, but no order decision is imminent. The airline is interested in using the Airbus A321NEO on transatlantic routes. With its lower capacity, the aircraft could enable the carrier to operate year-round services from Cork, Shannon and Belfast, Ireland, to New York, says Mueller.