Advanced talks are currently under way between Aer Arann and Aer Lingus with the view of creating a commercial alliance that would see them operating joint flights from provincial UK cities to Dublin and Cork.
According to reports yesterday, the board of Aer Lingus are due to meet tomorrow and it is expected that the deal with Aer Arann is on the agenda and final details will be announced shortly.
It is believed that the deal will involve Aer Arann operating feeder services on behalf of Aer Lingus from a select number of UK cities to its main Irish bases at Dublin and Cork. The deal, which is a form of code sharing common in the airline industry, will not involve Aer Lingus taking an equity stake in Aer Arann.
If the deal goes ahead passengers flying from Ireland with Aer Arann would also be able to connect with Aer Lingus services to either the United States or continental Europe.
The benefit for Aer Arann is that it will be able to create more revenue with Aer Lingus potentially buying a set number of seats on each of Aer Arann’s smaller turbo-prop aircraft.
The deal will help Aer Lingus supplement its services between Britain and Ireland at a lower cost than by expanding its own services.
