Aer Lingus (U.K.) Limited is a British airline and sister company of the IrishAer Lingus. It is headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with its operations based at Manchester Airport. The airline's operations launched on 20 October 2021, with its inaugural flight from Manchester to Bridgetown, Barbados.
History
Aer Lingus UK was founded on 25 May 2012 with its headquarters in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as a United Kingdom-based company.[1] The company then remained dormant until 2020. In November 2020, plans for the airline involved launching the operation of transatlantic flights from the UK to the United States[4] with the initial planned destinations being Boston, New York JFK, and Orlando from its Manchester base, followed by flights during the winter season to Bridgetown (Barbados).[5][6] The airline's initial fleet plans consisted of two Airbus A321LRs and two Airbus A330-300s, all to be transferred from parent company Aer Lingus.[5][6] The airline would conceptually compete with Virgin Atlantic, another British airline operating transatlantic flights from Manchester, as well as fill in part of the void left by Manchester-based and headquartered Thomas Cook Airlines, which ceased operations in September 2019.[7]
In December 2020, the airline applied with the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) for a foreign air carrier permit,[7] which was approved in March 2021.[8] Parent company Aer Lingus subsequently announced on 24 March 2021 that flights from Manchester Airport operated by Aer Lingus UK would launch to New York JFK and Orlando on 29 July 2021, to Barbados on 20 October 2021, and to Boston during summer 2022.[9][10] In June 2021, the airline announced that the commencement of services to the United States would be postponed until 30 September 2021. This was due to international borders between the UK and the United States reopening later than expected.[11]
On 8 July 2021, Aer Lingus UK was granted its air operator's certificate (AOC) by the UK CAA.[12][13] The airline also submitted its AOC to the USDOT for the approval of its application.[13] In the days prior to receiving its AOC, the airline officially transferred one Airbus A330-300 from parent company Aer Lingus, with the transfer of one Airbus A321LR and a further Airbus A330-300 following.[14] On 25 August 2021, the airline's services to the United States were again postponed to December 2021 as a result of the continued delay of UK-US border restrictions being lifted.[15] The airline's services to Barbados were unaffected, which launched on 20 October 2021 as planned.[16] While the airline's routes to New York JFK and Orlando launched in December 2021, plans for the airline's Boston services were dropped.[17]
In September 2022, Aer Lingus UK was the first airline to operate a flight into the then new Terminal C at Orlando International Airport.[18]
In October 2022, it was announced that Aer Lingus' operations between Belfast City and London Heathrow would transfer to Aer Lingus UK due to Brexit related requirements that a European Union carrier could no longer fly domestic routes within the United Kingdom. These flights were operated by British Airways under wet-lease terms using the Aer Lingus UK flight numbers and callsigns.[19][20] British Airways would later take over full operation of the route from Aer Lingus UK. Also in October 2022, Aer Lingus UK announced that its Manchester-New York JFK service would be operated by the Airbus A330-300 instead of the Airbus A321LR from April 2023. Subsequently, increasing capacity on this route, the returning of a second A330-300 to the UK fleet and the return of the A321LR to its Irish parent.[citation needed]
Destinations
Aer Lingus UK operates to the following destinations as of March 2023[update]:
AerClub is Aer Lingus' frequent-flyer programme, which consists of four tiers: the entry-level Green, Silver, Platinum, and Concierge.[2] The club uses Avios points as its member currency.
