November 08, 2024

Aer Lingus delivers Q3 2024 operating profit of €139m, impacted by industrial action in the summer and market pressures across the Atlantic

November 8, 2024

Aer Lingus’ operating profit for Q3 2024 was €139m, down €57m versus Q3 2023. This Q3 result followed an operating profit of €9m in H1 2024, taking the operating profit to the end of Q3 2024 to €148m, down by €88m compared to the same period in 2023. Aer Lingus’ results in Q3 2024 were impacted by the summer industrial action by pilots at the airline and by market pressures, particularly across the Atlantic.

The industrial action had a direct impact of €55m over Q2 and Q3 with an additional impact on forward bookings. Competitors across the Atlantic increased their capacity into Ireland by 20% this summer, putting pressure on Aer Lingus’ long-haul revenues, particularly in the economy cabin. However, Q3 also saw an underlying strong demand for major sun destinations and European city destinations.

Aer Lingus welcomes the recent decision of the High Court to grant a stay on the IAA’s earlier decisions to reduce capacity by removing historic slots at Dublin Airport and therefore welcomes that the 5% seat reduction that had been proposed by the IAA for Summer 2025 will not now apply.

In the context of the competitive and cost environment and the uncertainty caused by the passenger cap, Aer Lingus has developed its network plan for 2025. This will see an expected six A321 XLR aircraft joining the fleet over 2024/ 2025 and some reduction in A330 and A320 flying.

The confirmation of A321 XLRs joining the fleet has seen Aer Lingus announce new routes to Nashville and Indianapolis commencing in April and May 2025 respectively. Aer Lingus also recently commenced its service to Las Vegas, offering Irish customers a direct flight to the Neon City three times per week until the end of April 2025.

Q3 also saw over 25,000 fans crossing the Atlantic to attend the Aer Lingus College Football Classic game between Georgia Tech and Florida State on 24^th August 2024 in the Aviva Stadium.  With over 47,000 fans attending the game- this year’s game was a sell-out mirroring the incredible success of previous years.

Ends