Irish airline Aer Lingus sees potential to launch a new route to the east coast of the United States and another to the midwest when transatlantic air travel is liberalised next year, Commercial Director Enda Corneille said on Wednesday.
The carrier has already announced plans for new routes to Washington, San Fransisco and Orlando under the "open skies" agreement, which takes effect in March 2008.
Aer Lingus is also interested in longer term opportunities in China, Africa and the Far East, Corneille told Reuters on the margins of the Low Cost Air Transport Summit in London.
The airline's ongoing negotiations with unions should be brought to a close soon, he added. "That is moving along, and we're looking to bring that to a conclusion very, very shortly," he said. "It's the cornerstone of a cost-cutting plan that should generate around 20 million euros of savings in its first full year, 2008," he added. "Now it's time to move towards implementation."