Last Thursday Aer Lingus flew their first A320neo, EI-NSA, to Dublin from Ostrava in the Czech Republic. It had been in storage there since being delivered from the Airbus factory in Toulouse in July. The second aircraft, EI-NSB, was delivered to Ostrava in May and then subsequently positioned to Shannon where it was in storage since 4th August. On Monday it flew to Dublin in preparation for the official media launch of the new type.
The Airbus A320neo delivers up to 20% reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions and close to 50% reduction in noise footprint when compared to previous generation aircraft, the A320ceo. There is a greater density of seats (186) on the A320neo aircraft resulting in lower fuel emissions per seat/passenger on board.
Both aircraft are leased from CDB Aviation and will join the Aer Lingus short-haul fleet, predominantly operating London Heathrow routes. They replace two previous generation aircraft, Airbus A320ceo, which will be retired from the fleet. EI-NSA will enter service operating the EI152 from Dublin to London Heathrow on Wednesday morning.
Commenting on the introduction of the A320neo, Aer Lingus CEO Lynne Embleton said: “This is a great opportunity to bring new, state-of-the-art aircraft into our short-haul fleet. Renewing our fleet is one of the key ways for Aer Lingus to meet our sustainability targets, which is a priority for us over the coming years. The new generation Airbus A320neo aircraft is much more sustainable in terms of fuel burn and CO2 emissions and this is not only important to Aer Lingus but also to our customers. Equally, these more environmentally-friendly aircraft incur lower landing charges in some key airports so the new A320neos will help us to reduce costs.”
