Aer Lingus Finally Refurbishes Its 2 Ex-Qatar Airways Airbus A330-300s

Dublin-based Aer Lingus has celebrated the completion of the refurbishment of two Airbus A330-300s that it acquired from Qatar Airways. The two aircraft had spent time in Bordeaux to be treated to the interior, which we can expect onboard the Irish carrier. EI-EIK was ferried to Bordeaux for refurbishment in February and returned on May 22nd, and EI-EIL was ferried to Bordeaux for refurbishment in April and returned on June 7th.

Both aircraft are between 16 and 18 years old. According to Airfleets, they were transferred to the carrier in 2020 and 2021 and have held the Qatar Airways’ interiors ever since. Business class passengers on the old interior were treated to much more legroom than ever when traveling on these aircraft in a 2-2-2 configuration and completely lie-flat.

EI-EIL – St. Macdara

The history of the first aircraft, EI-EIL, held serial number 893 and took its first flight under Airbus test registration F-WWYK on December 18, 2007. It was delivered to Qatar Airways on January 28th, registered A7-AEM. Configured for Qatar, it could accommodate 30 business and 287 economy class passengers. During its tenure in Doha, it was named ‘Shrawa.’ It is 16.5 years old.

It was transferred to Aer Lingus on March 16th, with a new registration EI-EIL, and bestowed the name St. Macdara. This nods to the sixth-century Irish Christian saint ‘Mac Dara.’ It is now a tiny island off the coast of County Galway. Two General Electric CF6-80E1A4 engines power the aircraft.

EI-EIK – St-began

The second aircraft from Qatar Airways was initially F-WWKN (serial number 789) during testing at Airbus. It first took flight on September 28, 2006, and was transferred to Qatar Airways on October 18th, later that year, with Qatari registration A7-AEH. At 17.7 years of age, it is the older of the two A330s, and Airfleets notes it had a slightly denser configuration than the other aircraft, with 30 business and 275 economy class seats. Two General Electric (GE) CF6-80E1A4 engines power the aircraft.

The aircraft was stored from February 2020, as the world sat still during the pandemic, before being acquired by Aer Lingus on May 13, 2020. However, it was still stored until April 2022. With the new Irish registration EI-EIK, records show the aircraft is now leased to EI from Castlelake Aviation, a Dublin-based business specializing in leasing and finance.

The plane’s current name, St-began, is a tribute to Saint Bécán, an Irish monk who founded a monastery at Kilbeggan, a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. Some consider Saint Bécán as one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.

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Although the aircraft was briefly back on Irish soil, the airline returned them to regularly scheduled services. EI-EIL operated a rotation to Malaga on June 8th and again on June 9th. EI-EIK, which was returned from Bordeaux in February, flew to Boston over the weekend.