Aer Lingus has confirmed that it is to end its route from Dublin to Dubai from the end of March next year as part of a switch to the busier US market. In a statement, it said potential 'seasonal' services to Dubai were under review.
Speaking on RTE Radio's Drivetime, Aer Lingus's Enda Corneille also said the airline's fuel surcharge on long-haul flights was being kept under weekly review as oil prices continued to rise. He added, however, that it was too early to say if there would be another increase in the charge.
Earlier, Aer Lingus said all of its long-haul fleet was being re-deployed to the US because of significant demand for new and existing routes. It is increasing the frequency of its services to San Francisco, Orlando and Washington.
The airline also said it 're-confirmed' its commitment to direct Shannon services to Boston and New York.
Aer Lingus also announced three new short-haul routes - Dublin-Ibiza, Cork-Jersey and Belfast-Nice. It plans to add three new planes to its short-haul fleet next year, which will allow to increase frequency on 11 existing European routes and extend six to a year-round basis.
Earlier Aer Lingus said its load factor - or how many seats it is filling on each flight - was steady at 75.3% in October, unchanged from the same time last year.
The airline carried a total of 828,000 passengers last month, up 8.9% on the 760,000 in October 2006.
Its long-haul passenger numbers jumped by 25% to 120,000 while its short-haul customer numbers rose by 6.6% to 708,000.
