Hamilton-to-Dublin air service out of Hamilton International Airport is back on track with Norwegian Air announcing it has found an aircraft to replace the Boeing 737 Max that was originally scheduled to handle the route.

Anders Lindström, a spokesperson for the low-cost carrier, said the route will use a 737 800 plane that the company was able to free up from its inventory. Flights will begin March 31 as planned.

Last week the carrier put its new Hamilton to Dublin service on hold because the plane it planned to use had been grounded, along with numerous other Boeing 737 Max jets around the world because of safety concerns in the wake of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash outside Addis Ababa on March 10. All 157 people on board were killed.

Lindström said normal discounted ticket sales will resume shortly, but no confirmed date has been set.

Faced with the grounding of the 737 Max, the carrier had jacked up its ticket prices to about $1,200 for routes that were listed as still having seats. That's more than four times the $279 one-way fares (including taxes) that were advertised when the airline first announced the service in June 2018.

Asked if customers who have bought tickets can get a refund if they want, Lindström said no.

The spokesperson said the 737 800 has 186 seats, whereas the MAX has 189 seats and both aircraft have "very similar" flying ranges. However, some web sources say MAX aircraft have more than 1,000 kilometres more capacity than the 737 800.

Dina Carlucci, a spokesperson for the airport said "We are happy this service from Hamilton to Dublin on Norwegian will commence March 31 as planned now using the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. We look forward welcoming this new airline partner to Hamilton International."

mmcneil@thespec.com

905-526-4687 | @Markatthespec

- Thousands of Hamilton-Dublin passengers caught up in Boeing 737 Max groundings

- Air Canada grounds its Boeing 737 Max 8s until at least July 1 to provide certainty for passengers

- Indonesian airline wants to cancel Boeing order after crash

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Read more about: