Kevin O'Toole/LONDON
AER LINGUS IS close to completing a deal to lease three British Aerospace 146-300 regional-jets to allow it to compete on routes between Ireland and UK regional airports.
The aircraft are being made ready for leasing by BAe's Assett Management Organisation, although Aer Lingus declines to comment on the matter.
The three aircraft would replace turboprops on services between Dublin and UK regional airports serving Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester.
Aer Lingus has been forced to consider upgrading to the 146 because its competitors are using jet-powered aircraft - particularly Ryanair, which is equipped with Boeing 737-200s.
Although the total passenger traffic on the routes has virtually doubled because of the growing competition, Aer Lingus is keen to maintain its market share.
The airline reports that 5,000 passengers a month are flying on the services.
A key part of its recovery strategy is the feeding of UK provincial traffic on to its revamped transatlantic services, flown direct from Dublin with Airbus A330s.
Aer Lingus has been reluctant, to confirm its regional-jet plans, partly because of concerns over the European Commission's (EC) reaction.
The EC placed capacity constraints on Aer Lingus as one of the conditions for approving an injection of state-aid from the Irish Government in 1994.
Technically, the new regional-jets will replace rather than increase capacity, but Aer Lingus remains cautious.
In 1992, the airline was fined for refusing to interline with UK carrier British Midland, and in early 1994 it was the subject of a swoop by EC investigators after allegations of un-competitive pricing had been made.
Source: Flight International
