AER LINGUS is in discussion with London’s Heathrow Airport about moving from Terminal One to Terminal Two next year. Terminal One, which opened in 1969, is due for a major refurbishment and all airlines are being moved.
Terminal Two was demolished in 2010 and the vast 200,000sq m new terminal is expected to open next year. It will be able to handle 30 million passengers year and will be Europe’s first green terminal, with a reduction in CO2 emissions of 40 per cent.
The new terminal is expected to be the home of the Star Alliance airlines – the 27 member airlines include United, Lufthansa, South African, Air China, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Turkish Airlines. Aer Lingus currently has code-share agreements with United Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways.
Aer Lingus also has substantial code-share agreements with British Airways, which operates from Terminal Five, and some members of the Sky Team, which includes KLM Air France.
On Friday, Aer Lingus and Air Canada said they had signed an interline agreement to make flying between Ireland and Canada more convenient and efficient. The full code-sharing agreement should will be finalised next year.
Air Canada operates flights from Dublin to Toronto from June to October and all year round from Heathrow, its largest international base, to eight Canadian cities. Passengers will be able to travel across the Air Canada network on a single ticket and have a seamless baggage service.
Aer Lingus is the third-largest airline operating at Heathrow, with 23 daily slots. The airline operates from gates 80 to 90 for passengers from the common travel area, which includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Border controls are minimal.
However, a move to Terminal Two would have to take the common travel area into consideration.
“The common travel area is important in any discussions about moving,” Declan Kearney, director of communications at Aer Lingus, said, “ consideration of passenger services will be a priority”.