Aer Lingus finds take-up slow on new Belfast routes

AER LINGUS filled just over a quarter of its seats on some flights from its new base in Belfast last month.

The airline began flights from Belfast International Airport on December 10 last to Amsterdam, Geneva and Barcelona. Detailed figures obtained by the Irish Examiner reveal the load factor — a measure of how full each departing flight is — was just 27% on its twice daily service to Amsterdam.

By contrast, British low fares carrier EasyJet, had a load fact of 54% on the same route in December.

The Amsterdam, Geneva and Barcelona flights were the first of the eight services Aer Lingus launched from its Belfast base. The controversial route from Belfast to London Heathrow began a couple of weeks ago and Aer Lingus plans to launch flights to Rome, Budapest, Malaga and Faro next month.

According to flight data for Belfast International Airport, Aer Lingus’s twice-weekly service to Geneva had a load factor of 39% in December. EasyJet also operates on the route and had a load factor of 54%. The service to Barcelona had a load factor of 44%. EasyJet’s load factor was 66% and Jet 2’s was 55%.

Enda Corneille, corporate affairs director at Aer Lingus, said the load factors were the results of “uncertainty” caused by the threat of strike action by pilots in the run up to the opening of the base.

He would not comment on the performance of the Heathrow service, which replaces the Shannon to London route.

Competition between airlines from Belfast’s two airports to London is intense. Aer Lingus rival British Midland is on the Heathrow route. Ryanair flies from nearby Belfast City (now called George Best Airport) to Stansted, while CityJet and FlyBe fly to London City Airport and Gatwick, EasyJet fly from Belfast International to Luton.

Meanwhile, Aer Lingus will unveil details of its link-up with US carrier JetBlue next week. The airlines announced last year they would allow customers book flights on their route networks through each other’s websites, giving Aer Lingus access to 20 million passengers who fly with JetBlue annually.