A spokesman for Aer Lingus has confirmed that a meeting took place with senior executives from Boeing yesterday and a meeting with Airbus executives will take place tomorrow as the airline finalises its position on plans to become a one aircraft type fleet.
Aer Lingus is due to make a decision on the aircraft type to replace its current short haul fleet by the end of this month. At present it consists of six Airbus A321s, four Airbus A320s, three Boeing 737 400s, eight Boeing 737 500s and six British Aerospace 146s. There are no plans to replace its transatlantic fleet of seven Airbus A330s.
The current list price for shorthaul Boeing and Airbus models varies between $50m and $70m, making this deal worth possibly up to $1.8 billion. But Aer Lingus is expected to benefit from discounts due to the downturn in the aviation industry worldwide.
