Airlines CityJet terminates last route on own costs

Irish carrier CityJet has announced, that it has signed an agreement with Aer Lingus to end the own route between Dublin and London-City. Instead, Aer Lingus will operate the flights under an ACMI agreement with CityJet.

That means, that CityJet will provide the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance to Aer Lingus to operate the route. The wet-lease will commence from October 28, 2018. Aer Lingus will operate the route six times daily during weekdays, with a reduced service at the weekend.

Stephen Kavanagh, CEO, Aer Lingus said: “We are delighted to be entering into this agreement with CityJet […] The Dublin to London City route will facilitate further business flows between Dublin and London and the service will provide those wishing to travel seamlessly from the heart of London City to North America with a very attractive connecting proposition, including US customs and immigration pre-clearance.”

With this agreement, CityJet then operates all of its aircraft in the wet-lease scheme, meaning that it does not operate a route on own costs.

Pat Byrne, CEO, CityJet explained: "In recent years we have transitioned CityJet from being an airline serving scheduled markets under its own brand into becoming a provider of capacity to customer airlines throughout Europe. We are delighted to now add Aer Lingus to our growing list of flying partners."

Reportedly, Aer Lingus will paint two CityJet Avro RJ85 aircraft in the flag carrier´s livery. The RJ85 are configured in a single-class configuration and can accommodate 95 passengers.

CityJet is an Irish airline focused on wet-leasing and charter flights. The airline operates on behalf of Scandinavian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Air France and serves 18 destinations throughout Europe. Its fleet consists of one ATR 42, 13 Avro RJ85s, one CRJ900 and two Sukhio SuperJet 100s. Further aircraft are in service with the carrier´s flying partners.

Aer Lingus is Ireland´s flag carrier and operates with 54 aircraft, including 34 Airbus A320s, three A321s, 13 A330s and four Boeing B757s. 91 destinations are being served in 22 countries. The carrier has especially focused on serving the European and North American market. Aer Lingus is part of the IAG Group.