Friday saw Irish leisure carrier Aer Lingus announce a return to profitability following a tough few years for the carrier.
This came alongside the overall results announced by IAG. Click here to view that article.
The Numbers…
Aer Lingus recorded an operating profit before exceptional items of €45 million for the full year 2022, a solid performance showing that the airline is recovering well following two years of significant losses.
This compares to a pre-pandemic 2019 operating profit before exceptional items of €276 million.
Aer Lingus ramped up its operations significantly in preparation for the summer peak and continued to rebuild its network, reaching 2019 capacity levels for quarter four of 2022.
Losses before exceptional items of €95m in the first half of the year were offset by €139 million operating profit before exceptional items in quarter three and followed by €1m operating profit before exceptional items in quarter four.
2023 for Aer Lingus…
Looking ahead to 2023 for Aer Lingus, the airline said the following in a statement:
“2023 will see Aer Lingus operating its largest ever North America network, putting additional capacity on our European leisure routes and adding three new summer routes to Kos (Greece), Sardinia (Italy), and Brindisi (Italy).”
“Looking ahead, a continued recovery is well on track with strong forward bookings. This recovery positions Aer Lingus to rebuild financial health and invest in the business.”
“While we are mindful that business travel recovery lags behind that of leisure and that global macro-economic uncertainties causing higher oil prices, exchange rate fluctuations, rising interest rates, and inflation could impact aviation this year, there is much for Aer Lingus to build on in 2023.”
Aer Lingus’ Movement Statistics: RadarBox…
For February 19-26, Aer Lingus operated 245 flights, based on the seven-day rolling average provided by the flight tracking company.
This represents an increase of 64.43% compared to the same period last year and is around 42 movements ahead of 2019’s numbers.
Below is the last four weeks’ worth of data from Aer Lingus’ movement statistics:
| Date | 2019 Numbers | 2022 Numbers | 2023 Numbers | Percentage Difference (2023 vs. 2022) |
| January 22-29 | 183 movements | 101 movements | 218 movements | +115.84% |
| January 29-February 5 | 188 movements | 104 movements | 228 movements | +119.23% |
| February 5-12 | 197 movements | 111 movements | 240 movements | +116.22% |
| February 12-19 | 203 movements | 127 movements | 245 movements | +92.91% |
Overall…
It remains clear that the airline is definitely on the rise once again, with their focus now being on the upcoming busy Summer 2023 season.
Looking ahead, the airline will be wanting to add as many lucrative services as possible, especially as the delivery of aircraft continues.
Aer Lingus’ profitability enables further investment to be made this year, as well as in 2024 and beyond as well.
But for now, all eyes are on Aer Lingus to see where they will place additional investment and whether that will be the fuel for future success down the road.
