Aer Lingus: Price Hikes, LA Route to Close
Tuesday June 10, 2008
It may become a regular, even daily, blog entry yet ... Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus has announced another price hike. Claiming that the added costs up to now had no effect an bookings - and promptly cancelling the Los Angeles route.
This is the second time customers' pockets are hit within a month, the seventh time in two years. And yes, fuel prices are to blame again. So while Aer Lingus' fares stay low on paper, the fuel surcharge will now hit you with a vengeance.
Starting next Wednesday, flights from Ireland to and from San Francisco or Los Angeles will be subject to an extra charge of € 100, up by € 10 or 11%. Another € 10 will also be added to flights connecting to Orlando (now € 85 surcharge, up 12%) and the Northeast USA (now € 75 surcharge, up 13%).
When asked by Irish media how long fuel surcharge increases would continue to spiral, Enda Corneille of Aer Lingus commented that "there is a maximum people will pay, my sense is we're getting close to that." He also added that increasingly expensive flights had no adverse effects on bookings. Industry observers might question this, apparently in April Aer Lingus' long-haul flights were only used up to 60% of capacity.
So it came as no surprise that while the news regarding the new price hikes was still "hot", Aer Lingus announced a cull of transatlantic routes - this winter season will see the end of the Los Angeles connection and an overall slashing of around 15% of services.
This is the second time customers' pockets are hit within a month, the seventh time in two years. And yes, fuel prices are to blame again. So while Aer Lingus' fares stay low on paper, the fuel surcharge will now hit you with a vengeance.
Starting next Wednesday, flights from Ireland to and from San Francisco or Los Angeles will be subject to an extra charge of € 100, up by € 10 or 11%. Another € 10 will also be added to flights connecting to Orlando (now € 85 surcharge, up 12%) and the Northeast USA (now € 75 surcharge, up 13%).
When asked by Irish media how long fuel surcharge increases would continue to spiral, Enda Corneille of Aer Lingus commented that "there is a maximum people will pay, my sense is we're getting close to that." He also added that increasingly expensive flights had no adverse effects on bookings. Industry observers might question this, apparently in April Aer Lingus' long-haul flights were only used up to 60% of capacity.
So it came as no surprise that while the news regarding the new price hikes was still "hot", Aer Lingus announced a cull of transatlantic routes - this winter season will see the end of the Los Angeles connection and an overall slashing of around 15% of services.
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