Updated / Friday, 9 May 2025 12:26
Aer Lingus chief executive Lynne Embleton has said the airline is not seeing a drop-off in passengers travelling from Ireland to the US, despite recent figures showing a reduction in Irish residents visiting the US.
According to the US International Trade Administration, the number of Irish residents who travelled to the US during the first three months of the year was down 12% to 105,000 when compared with the same period in 2024.
For March alone, the fall was more pronounced, at nearly 27%.
However, Ms Embleton said Aer Lingus bookings between Ireland and North America so far this year do not match the statistics, and said “our suspicion is there is something quirky in the stats”.
She said demand for travel to the US between January and March was “really strong” and that the airline is operating more routes to the US and carrying more passengers on them.
The Aer Lingus CEO added that “we see fluctuations all the time across all routes” but that “we’re seeing resilient demand for air travel”.
Aer Lingus today reported an operating loss of €55m for the first quarter of 2025, an improvement on the €82m loss it reported the same time last year.
The airline said its losses narrowed in the first quarter – typically the weakest quarter of the year – due to increased capacity and lower fuel costs.
It said its overall rise in capacity included a 4.5% increase on North American routes and an increase of 7.1% in Europe.
The airline said it carried a total of 2,141 passengers in the first quarter, an increase of 1.8% on the same time last year. Its load factor – how many seats it fills on each flight – rose to 75.3% from 74.9%.
It said its passenger capacity operated, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), rose by 5.4% on the same time last year.
Aer Lingus said the summer season has now started, and the airline is operating its biggest ever North American network this Summer, including new services from Dublin to Nashville and Indianapolis and an expanded European leisure network.
Aer Lingus CEO Lynne Embleton said the airline’s first quarter financial performance represented a strong financial outcome and a significant improvement on the first quarter of 2024.
“The Q1 performance builds upon the underlying momentum seen in the business from 2024,” the CEO said.
She said the first two of six Airbus A321 XLR planes are now in service and operating on its new routes to Nashville and Indianapolis.
“These new aircraft and the remaining four XLRs which are expected to join the fleet later this year will support a compelling growth ambition that will benefit the airline, our customers, our employees and the economy,” Lynne Embleton added.
The parent group of Aer Lingus and British Airways owner IAG has today reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit, helped by increased demand, and said it was seeing resilient demand across its markets despite macroeconomic uncertainty.
IAG also said today it is ordering 53 new Airbus and Boeing aircraft for its long-haul fleet.
The order comprises 32 Boeing 787-10 aircraft for British Airways and 21 Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, which can be deployed within Aer Lingus, Iberia or LEVEL.
Additonal reporting by Glenda Sheridan
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