Aer Lingus is to suspend flights from Shannon to New York and Boston for nearly three months early next year, the airline announced today.
The company said transatlantic flights from Shannon will be suspended for an 11-week period from January 5th to March 27th, 2011.
The suspension affects four flights per week between Shannon and New York and a further four flights per week between Shannon and Boston.
Aer Lingus said the decision to cut the services followed a review which showed that both routes have incurred significant losses during the winter months in 14 of the past 15 years.
The airline said that since 1995 it has lost a total of €163 million on its transatlantic flights from Shannon during the winter months with an average operating loss per winter season of almost €11 million. In addition, it has also sustained declining load factors on both of these routes for a number of years.
“Aer Lingus is committed to the Shannon market as an important part of our network. However, in order to maintain the viability of our Shannon transatlantic operations throughout the remainder the year, the the month suspension of these routes when seasonal demand is at its lowest is crucial,” said chief executive Christoph Mueller in a statement.
The airline said it would make every effort to re-accommodate customers affected by the schedule changes on alternative flights and would offer a full refund who elected not to avail of alternative offers.
