Aer Lingus May Cut Long-Haul Airbus Orders

Irish airline Aer Lingus is considering asking Airbus to supply short-haul aircraft instead of some of its existing long-haul orders, a spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman was responding to an Irish Times newspaper report at the weekend which said Aer Lingus was looking to trim its struggling transatlantic schedule further and directors met on Friday to evaluate options.

The spokeswoman said the short haul/long haul swap was among the options being considered but no decision had been taken.

Other newspapers have reported Aer Lingus could scale back its aircraft orders to save money.

Aer Lingus' share price fell sharply after it said earlier this month it had swung to a loss in 2008 and would not meet its previous forecast of a pre-tax profit in 2009.

Analyst expect it to take swift action to conserve cash.

Finance Director Sean Coyle said at the time of a 2008 results presentation that Aer Lingus could take more aircraft out of transatlantic routes which he described as struggling.