New Aer Lingus chief sees long road to recovery

Aer Lingus CE Lynne Embleton insists there is no strategic retreat from the Irish regions but that restructuring is required as a result of the Covid crisis, which has inflicted around E1b in damage on the airline. Embleton, the former IAG Cargo chief executive who took the helm of the Irish carrier in April, today appeared in front of an Irish parliamentary transport committee. Her appearance was set against the backdrop of the airline’s decision in May to close its crew base at Shannon and following the hit to regional routes from the recent collapse of Stobat Air. The latter had been operating franchise flights, predominantly UK domestic routes from Belfast, on its behalf. Aer Lingus, together with British Airways regional unit BA CityFlyer, has moved to operate some of these routes in the short term. But longer-term talks are taking place with Emerald Airlines, the Irish start-up which had already won a tender to take over the franchise flights from the start of 2023. “We have stepped in to operate the majority of the Stobart routes up until at least the end of August,” says Embleton. “These are thin routes, smaller markets, they are best suited to smaller aircraft. So the suitability for these routes is for an operator with regional aircraft and that’s why we are in dialogue with Emerald. Those discussions are progressing well, but not yet concluded.”<br/>