The commercial passenger airline Aer Lingus has announced that despite having created a new base at Gatwick airport, it’s reducing the number or flights out of the facility.

Ireland’s flagship carrier revealed this morning that, by the en of the month of March 2010, it will cut the quantity of Airbus A320s based at London’s second largest airport from five aircrafts to three, therefore also affecting the number of destinations served by the airline out of the airport.

Lesser demand on behalf of its customers as well as ongoing operational challenges in the United Kingdom impacting the performance of the general aviation industry have been claimed by Aer Lingus as the main reasons for this decision.

The remaining three Aer Lingus Airbus A320 planes at Gatwick will serve the destinations of Dublin, Cork, Knock and Malaga.

The carrier had promised to base as many as eight aircrafts at Gatwick by April 2010 when it unveiled its £100m base at the airport in December 2008.

However, the economic downturn experienced during the last year has forced the ariline to find ways to reduce its expenditures. The carrier has not revealed of the reduction of planes at Gatwick will constitute the loss of employment.

Aer Lingus has also said that it is deferring the delivery of two new Airbus aircrafts. The A320s which were due for October and November 2010 will now be delivered in April and May 2011.

Aer Lingus said that it expects to post a small profit for the latter half of 2009, prior exceptional costs are factored in.

September’s removal of a long-haul plane as well as the elimination of certain tactical routes in November had resulted in a better than expected outcome.

The airline also claimed an increase of 9% in passengers in December 2009, totalising 766,000 for the last month of the year. It also said that its aircrafts carry fuller loads than 12 months ago, thanks to reductions in capacity.

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Filed under Europe News, Travel News, UK News

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