Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus Group Plc (ISEQ: EIL1, LSE: AERL) (an anglicisation of the Irish Aer Loingeas meaning grossly "air fleet"^[2]) is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair. The airline's head office is located on the grounds of Dublin Airport.

Formed in 1936, Aer Lingus is a former member of the Oneworld airline alliance, which it left on 31 March 2007. While it is not part of an alliance, the airline has codeshares with Oneworld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam members, as well as interline agreements with Aer Arann and JetBlue Airways. The company employs 4,000 people and in 2010 had revenues of €1.2 billion. Aer Lingus flew 9.3 million passengers in 2010.^[1] It has a mixed business model, operating a low fare service on its European and North African routes and full service, two-class flights on transatlantic routes.

Aer Lingus is 29.4% owned by its rival, Ryanair, and 25.4% owned by the Government of Ireland. The airline was floated on the Dublin and London Stock Exchanges on 2 October 2006, following prior government approval (the government previously owned 85% of the airline). The principal group companies include Aer Lingus Limited, Aer Lingus Beachey Limited, Aer Lingus (Ireland) Limited and Dirnan Insurance Company Limited, all of which are wholly owned.^[3]

Aer Lingus celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2011. On 26 March, the company presented her latest aircraft which has been painted in the 1960s livery and the crew was wearing a selection of the historical uniforms.^[4][5]

History

Early years

Aer Lingus was founded on 15 April 1936, with a capital of £100,000. Its first chairman was Seán Ó hUadhaigh.^[6] Pending legislation for Government investment through a parent company, Aer Lingus was associated with Blackpool and West Coast Air Services which advanced the money for the first aircraft, and operated with Aer Lingus under the common title "Irish Sea Airways".^[7][8] Aer Lingus Teoranta was registered as an airline on 22 May 1936.^[9] The name Aer Lingus is an anglicisation of the Irish form Aer Loingeas, which means Air Fleet. The name was proposed by Richard F O'Connor, who was County Cork Surveyor, as well as an aviation enthusiast. Aer Lingus was originally pronounced 'air ling-us' (as the Irish Aer Loingeas is pronounced) and only later did the pronunciation change to the 'air ling-gus' used now.

On 27 May 1936, five days after being registered as an airline, its first service began between Baldonnel Airfield in Dublin and Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport, United Kingdom, using a six-seater De Havilland 84 Dragon (registration EI-ABI) biplane, named Iolar (Eagle).

The original aircraft acquired by Aer Lingus (DH.84 Dragon MK2) was later sold to an English company in 1938 as the airline expanded. The original aircraft is believed to have been shot down and lost in 1941 near the scilly isles during WW2.

Later that year, the airline acquired its second aircraft, a four-engined biplane De Havilland 86 Express named "Éire", with a capacity of 14 passengers.^[8] This aircraft provided the first air link between Dublin and London by extending the Bristol service to Croydon. At the same time, the DH84 Dragon was used to inaugurate an Aer Lingus service on the Dublin-Liverpool route.

The airline was established as the national carrier under the Air Navigation and Transport Act (1936).^[9] In 1937, the Irish government created Aer Rianta (now called Dublin Airport Authority), a company to assume financial responsibility for the new airline and the entire country's civil aviation infrastructure. In April 1937, Aer Lingus became wholly owned by the Irish government via Aer Rianta.

The airline's first General Manager was Dr JF (Jeremiah known as 'Jerry') Dempsey, a chartered accountant, who joined the company on secondment from Kennedy Crowley & Co (predecessor to KPMG) as Company Secretary in 1936 (aged 30) and was appointed to the role of General Manager in 1937. He retired 30 years later in 1967 at the age of 60.

In 1938, Iolar was replaced by a de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide, and a second DH86B was also purchased. Two Lockheed 14s arrived in 1939, Aer Lingus' first all-metal aircraft.

In January 1940, a new airport was completed in the Dublin suburb of Collinstown and Aer Lingus moved their operations there. A new DC-3 was bought and new services to Liverpool and an internal service to Shannon were inaugurated. The airline's services were curtailed during World War II with the sole route being to Liverpool or Barton Aerodrome Manchester depending on the fluctuating security situation.

Post-war expansion

On 9 November 1945, regular services were resumed with an inaugural flight to London. From this point Aer Lingus planes, initially mostly Douglas DC-3s, were painted in a silver and green livery. The airline's first flight attendants were introduced.

In 1946, a new Anglo-Irish agreement gave Aer Lingus exclusive UK traffic rights from Ireland in exchange for a 40% holding by BOAC and British European Airways (BEA). Because of Aer Lingus' growth the airline bought seven new Vickers Viking planes in 1947, however, these proved to be uneconomical and were soon sold.

In 1947, Aerlínte Éireann came into existence with the purpose of operating transatlantic flights to New York from Ireland. Five new Lockheed L-749 Constellations were ordered but a change of government and a financial crisis prevented the service from starting. John A Costello, the incoming Fine Gael Taoiseach (Prime Minister), was not a keen supporter of air travel and thought that flying the Atlantic was too grandiose a scheme for a small airline from a small country like Ireland. The Constellations were then sold to BOAC.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Aer Lingus introduced routes to Brussels, Amsterdam and Rome. Because of the expanding route structure the airline became one of the first to order Vickers Viscount 700s in 1951, which were placed in service in April 1954. In 1952 the airline expanded its all-freight services and acquired a small fleet of Bristol 170 Freighters, which remained in service until 1957.

In 1954, Prof. Patrick Lynch was appointed chairman of Aer Lingus and Aer Rianta at the young age of 38, taking on the task of turning the £60,000 deficit of the companies into a profit. He was Chairman for 21 years to 1975, and retired from that position at his own request to the government of the day. Even with changes of government, they retained him in this position. In 1956, Aer Lingus introduced a new, green-top livery with a white lighting flash down the windows and the Irish flag displayed on the fin.

First transatlantic service

On 28 April 1958, Aerlínte Éireann operated their first transatlantic service from Shannon to New York. Three Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations were used for the twice-weekly service. The aircraft were leased from the American airline Seaboard and Western while Irish cabin crews were used. This arrangement continued until 1 January 1960 when Aerlínte Éireann was renamed Aer Lingus – Irish International Airlines.

Aer Lingus bought seven Fokker F27 Friendships, which were delivered between November 1958 and May 1959. These were used in short-haul services to the UK, gradually replacing the Dakotas, until Aer Lingus disposed of them during 1966 in favour of secondhand Viscount 800s.

The airline entered the jet age on 14 December 1960 when three Boeing 720s were delivered for use on the New York route and the newest Aer Lingus destination Boston.

In 1963, Aer Lingus added Carvairs to the fleet. With this aircraft, five cars could be transported by loading them into the fuselage through the nose of the aircraft. The Carvair proved to be uneconomic for the airline partly due to the rise of car ferry services by sea, and the aircraft were then used for freight services until disposed of.

The Boeing 720s proved to be a success for the airline on the transatlantic routes. To supplement these, Aer Lingus took delivery of their first larger Boeing 707 in 1964, and the type continued to serve the airline until 1986.

Jet aircraft

Conversion of the European fleet to jet equipment began in 1965 when the BAC One-Eleven started services from Dublin and Cork to Paris and via Manchester to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt. A new livery was adopted in the same year, with a large green shamrock on the fin and titles of Aer Lingus-Irish International just above the plane's windows. In 1966, the remainder of the company's shares held by Aer Rianta were transferred to the Minister for Finance.

In 1966, the route from Shannon to Montreal and onward to Chicago was inaugurated. Also, in 1968, flights from Belfast, in Northern Ireland, to New York were started. The service was soon suspended, due to the beginning of the Troubles in the area. 1969 saw the introduction of Boeing 737s to the Aer Lingus fleet, to cope with the high demand for flights between the cities of Dublin and London. Later, Aer Lingus extended the 737 flights to all of their European network.

In 1967, after 30 years of service, General Manager Dr J F Dempsey signed the contract for the airline's first two Boeing 747 aircraft (Jumbo Jets) before he retired that year.

1970s to present

In 1970, Aer Lingus took delivery of two Boeing 747s for use on the transatlantic routes. A third was later added to the fleet but one was leased out because it was not profitable at first for the company to fly 747s across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1974, a new livery was unveiled and the word International disappeared from the fuselage titles. The livery included two colors of blue and one green, plus the white shamrock on the fin.

In 1977, Aer Lingus recruited its first female pilot, Gráinne Cronin – the airline was the second in Europe (after SAS) to introduce female pilots.^[10]

In September 1979, Aer Lingus became the first airline other than Alitalia to be used by Pope John Paul II, when he flew aboard a specially modified Boeing 747 (EI-ASI or St. Patrick) from Rome to Dublin and later from Shannon to Boston. In the early 1980s the 707s were phased out.

In 1984, a fully owned subsidiary, Aer Lingus Commuter, was formed so that Aer Lingus could fly to larger cities in Ireland and Britain whose flying time from Dublin did not require jet planes. These services were operated primarily by five of the Belfast-built Short 360 after conducting a trial with the Short 330. Around this time Aer Lingus purchased a majority sharehold in the cargo airline Aer Turas, owner of some DC-8 freighter jets.

Between 1987 and 1989, new Boeing 737s arrived to replace the older ones, and six Fokker 50s were added to the Commuter fleet. During 1990, after the passage of the deregulation act for the airline industry in Ireland, Aer Lingus had to reconsider its operational policies. The BAC One-Elevens were retired and five new 737s arrived. In 1991, four Saab 340Bs arrived at the commuter division to replace the Short 360 planes. By 1992 Aer Lingus's entire original 737-200 fleet had been replaced and was now the first operator in the world of all three versions of the second generation 737. These were the −300, −400 and −500 series, although the −300 did not stay long in Aer Lingus service.

Airbus operations

In 1994, Aer Lingus started direct services between Dublin and the United States using the Airbus A330 and in May of that year Aer Lingus operated the first A330-300 ETOPS service over the North Atlantic. This led to the phasing out of the Boeing 747 and the briefly operated Boeing 767-300ER. On 2 October 1995, the Boeing 747 service ceased operations after twenty-five years of service. By that time, over eight million people had travelled across the Atlantic in Aer Lingus Boeing 747s. The late 1990s saw Aer Lingus return to Belfast with a service to New York via Shannon. Newark Liberty International Airport was also added as a destination, but these flights stopped in 2001.

The first Airbus short-haul aircraft arrived in 1998 in the form of the A321, initially to mainly operate the Dublin-Heathrow route. Six were delivered in 1998 and 1999 and continue in service today. The first A320 was delivered in 2000, with three more added to the fleet by 2001.

On 1 February 2001, Aer Lingus Commuter was merged back into the mainline operation. Business was severely affected by the 11 September attacks. Staff numbers were cut, destinations were dropped and the fleet was reduced. The airline has since weathered the storm and is back in profit. This has largely been achieved through a strategy of lowering the airline's cost base, updating the fleet with modern Airbus equipment and developing new routes to mainland European destinations. Aer Lingus had previously largely neglected mainland Europe in favour of US and British destinations. They are positioning themselves as competition to the European no-frills airlines while offering intercontinental flights as well. Business class travel for short haul flights has been phased out. Cargo services remain on a small number of routes.

A large order for A320 aircraft saw deliveries commencing in 2004 and continuing to the present. The delivery of these aircraft allowed the withdrawal of the Boeing 737 to begin and on 29 October 2005, Aer Lingus withdrew its last two 737 aircraft from service, one of which was used on the Dublin to Nice route. This marked the end of the use of Boeing aircraft at Aer Lingus and made the fleet all Airbus.

On 27 October 2005, Aer Lingus announced their first scheduled service to Asia from March 2006 as Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, where Chief Executive Dermot Mannion was based when at Emirates Airline.^[11] Despite the Aer Lingus press release describing it as the first long haul service outside the United States, there had in fact been a previous service to Montreal from 1966–1979. The great circle distance of 5,926 kilometres (3,682 mi) is comparable to the service to Chicago. At the same time Mr. Mannion linked the funding of new long haul aircraft to replace the A330 fleet with the privatisation of the airline.^[12] The Dubai service ceased in March 2008 as the airline sought to increase its market share in the newly liberalised transatlantic market.

On 6 June 2007, Aer Lingus strengthened its relationship with the European manufacturer by ordering six of the new A350 XWB as well as six A330-300E aircraft. These will be used to expand long haul operations as well as replacement aircraft for three older models. Deliveries of the A330E began in February 2009 and the A350 XWB is expected to begin in 2014.

Flotation

In preparation for the commercial flotation of Aer Lingus on the Dublin stock market, the Irish government agreed to abolish the Shannon Stopover from the end of 2006 in stages.

The company began conditional (or "grey-market") share dealings on 27 September 2006 and was formally admitted to the Official Lists of the Irish Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange on 2 October 2006. At the time of the flotation the Irish government maintained a 28% shareholding, while employees held 15%. The stock IPO offer price was E2.20. It has risen as high as E3.28(March 2007) and is now trading around E1.00, suffering from the general economic downturn, oil price hikes, and repeated staff industrial disputes.^[13][14]

Aer Lingus withdrew from the Oneworld airline alliance on 31 March 2007, instead entering into bilateral agreements with airlines including British Airways, KLM and United Airlines. The move was explained to be due to Aer Lingus' repositioning as a low-cost carrier, which did not fit with Oneworld's pitch to the premium international frequent flyer.

On 6 February 2007, however, the airline announced its intention to form a new alliance with JetBlue Airways. This new alliance acts as a weblink between the two airlines, meaning Aer Lingus customers are able to book JetBlue destinations from the Aer Lingus website. In 2008, it also announced an alliance with United Airlines for connecting services within the US.

With the flotation of Aer Lingus on the stock exchange, Aer Lingus had planned to expand its route network, but this is on hold due to the economic situation.

Ryanair takeover bid

On 5 October 2006, Ryanair launched a bid to buy Aer Lingus. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said the move was a "unique opportunity" to form an Irish airline. The "new" airline would carry over 50 million passengers a year. Ryanair said it had bought a 16% stake in Aer Lingus and was offering €2.80 for remaining shares.^[15] On the same day Aer Lingus rejected Ryanair's takeover bid.^[16] On 5 October 2006, Ryanair confirmed it had raised its stake to 19.2%, and said it had no problem in the Irish Government keeping its 28.3%. There were also reports in the Irish Times that the Government would possibly seek judgement from the courts, and referral to competition authorities in Dublin – although this would be automatic under European regulation, as the combined group would control 78% of the Dublin – London passenger air traffic.^[17]

On 29 November 2006, Ryanair confirmed it had taken its stake to 26.2% of the airline.^[18]

On 21 December 2006, Ryanair announced it was withdrawing its current bid for Aer Lingus, with the intent of pursuing another bid in the near future after the European Commission finishes investigating the current bid. The EC has been concerned that the takeover would reduce consumer choice and increase fares.^[19]

On 27 June 2007, the European Commission announced their decision to block the bid on competition grounds saying the two airlines controlled more than 80% of all European flights to and from Dublin airport.^[20]

Cross border expansion

On 7 August 2007 the airline announced that it was to establish its first base outside of the Republic of Ireland at Belfast International Airport in Northern Ireland. Services from Belfast International commenced in December 2007. As of July 2008, the airline has three Airbus A320 aircraft based at the airport, serving eleven European destinations. Significantly, this move restores the Belfast International to London Heathrow Airport link and Aer Lingus cooperates with its codeshare partner British Airways on this route to connect with BA's network at Heathrow. In order to do so, the airline discontinued its Shannon-Heathrow service, a move that generated political controversy in the west of Ireland, particularly as the Shannon-London route was still profitable. The airline predicted that this move would add one million additional passengers annually.^[21][22] The Shannon to Heathrow service has since been reinstated.

Open Skies

On 22 March 2007, as a result of the Open Skies Agreement, Aer Lingus announced three new long-haul services to the United States. From Autumn 2007, Aer Lingus commenced direct flights to Orlando, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.-Dulles. These services were facilitated by the arrival of two new Airbus A330 aircraft in May 2007. The airline also serves Boston (Logan International Airport), Chicago (O'Hare International Airport), and New York (JFK Airport). Aer Lingus ended its Middle-Eastern Route to Dubai in March 2008, ended its Los Angeles route in November 2008. The Washington and the San Francisco routes have since been discontinued as of 24 October 2009. Services from Washington resumed on 28 March 2010 when the airline began flights from Washington D.C. to Madrid, Spain in a joint venture with United Airlines.

Effects of Global Financial Crisis

After reporting losses of €22 million for the first half of the year, in October 2008, Aer Lingus announced a €74 million cost saving plan. This was to involve up to 1500 job cuts including the loss of cabin crew bases in Shannon and Heathrow. The airline planned to scale back ground operations in Cork and Shannon Airport as well as outsourcing check-in, baggage handling, cargo and catering services in Dublin. Transatlantic services were to be reduced and staff were to be replaced with US-based cabin crew. A pay freeze was introduced to run until the end of 2009. This met with a largely negative response particularly from trade unions.^[23] These cut backs have since been cancelled, and new cut backs including lower pay and a change in working conditions for ground staff have been implemented.

In December 2008, Aer Lingus announced that the Shannon – Heathrow service would resume from 29 March 2009 following new arrangements with the trade unions on staff costs and the Shannon Airport Authority on airport charges.^[24] However at the end of June 2009 the company had accumulated losses of €93 million euro and Chairman Colm Barrington confirmed this situation could not continue.^[25] In October 2009 newly appointed Chief Executive Christoph Mueller announced a radical cost cutting plan that would lead to the loss of 676 jobs at the company and see pay and pension reductions for those being kept on. The total plan aimed to achieve savings of €97 million euro between then and 2011. As a 6 week consultation process began Mr. Mueller refused to rule out further cuts in the future.^[26]

Second Ryanair takeover bid

On 1 Dec 2008, Ryanair launched a second takeover bid of Aer Lingus, making an all-cash offer of €748 million (£619mil; US$950mil). The offer was a 28% premium on the value of Aer Lingus stock during the preceding 30 days. Ryanair said, "Aer Lingus, as a small, stand alone, regional airline has been marginalised and bypassed as most other EU flag carriers consolidate." The two airlines would operate separately and Ryanair claimed that they would double the Aer Lingus short haul fleet from 33 to 66 and create 1,000 new jobs.^[27][28][29] The Aer Lingus Board rejected the offer and advised its shareholders to take no action.^[30] The offer was eventually rejected by a majority of the other shareholders. It was the second failed attempt by Michael O'Leary to take over the national flag carrier. Ryanair initially left the offer open to Aer Lingus until they withdrew their bid on 30 January 2009. The Irish Government slammed O'Leary's offer as "undervaluing the airline" and stated that a Ryanair takeover would have a "significant negative impact" on competition in the industry and on the Irish consumer.^[31] Ryanair has repeatedly stated that another bid is unlikely,^[32] but as of October 2010 it still had a stake in Aer Lingus, prompting an investigation by competition regulators in the UK.^[33]

Gatwick base

On 19 December 2008, Aer Lingus announced that it will be opening up a base at Gatwick Airport. Four aircraft were based there from April 2009, serving eight destinations. The destinations included Faro, Malaga, Munich, Nice, Vienna, Dublin, Warsaw, Knock and Zurich. CEO Dermot Mannion also said the company expects to increase the number of planes based at Gatwick to eight within 12 months.^[34]

As of 6 June 2009, the airline based an additional A320 aircraft at Gatwick, bringing the total number of aircraft based there to five, making Gatwick its biggest base outside Ireland. This resulted in six new routes. These are Bucharest, Eindhoven, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Warsaw and Vilnius for winter 2009. The Gatwick/Nice route was suspended for the winter months.

On 8 January 2010, due to the weak demand in air travel, Aer Lingus announced that it was to reduce the number of aircraft based at Gatwick from five to three. The three remaining aircraft were to operate the carrier's services to Dublin, Knock, Malaga and a new route to Cork.^[35]

In January 2011, Aer Lingus announced a further daily service from Gatwick to Shannon starting at the end of March.^[36]

Appointment of Christoph Mueller as CEO

On 6 April 2009, CEO Dermot Mannion announced his resignation from the airline after four years as Chief Executive.^[37] He was replaced by German-born Christoph Müller (alternative spelling "Mueller"), former head of TUI Travel and Sabena, who joined Aer Lingus on 1 October 2009.^[38]

On 2 December 2009, Aer Lingus announced that talks with their unions had broken down. As a result, the board voted to reduce capacity, and with it associated jobs, as a response. According to CEO Christoph Mueller, concessions offered by unions were of a short-term nature, and the airline was asked for high compensation in return. Aer Lingus has not yet identified the routes or jobs to be cut, but they would most likely "commence immediately and will be compulsory," according to Mueller.^[39] As of April 2010 all employess groups had passed votes on the acceptance of the 'Greenfield' cost cutting plans which are expected to save €57M annually. Once implemented the second phase of cost cutting will commence which aims to save €40M annually by reducing 'back office staff' numbers by up to 40% according to the CEO.

Mueller has indicated that Aer Lingus intends to reposition itself again, moving away from a head-to-head competition with Ryanair in the low-cost sector to a more hybrid model with a stronger emphasis on service. As part of this move, Aer Lingus is also holding talks to join an airline alliance again, having left Oneworld in 2007.^[40]

Aer Lingus announced on 15 June 2010 that it would be suspending services from Shannon to Boston and New York (JFK) for 11 weeks from January 2011.^[41]

Corporate affairs and identity

Head office

The Aer Lingus head office is located on the grounds of Dublin Airport in Fingal, County Dublin.^[42] The 9.9-acre (4.0 ha) head office site includes the head office building, the services annex, and the Iolar House.^[43] The head office is in close proximity to the Ryanair head office. Brian Lavery of The New York Times said in 2004 that the proximity, described by Lavery as "a few parking lots away," was "a symbol of just how close the competition is to home."^[44] In 2010 Aer Lingus announced that it surrendered the lease on its current head office building to the Dublin Airport Authority, and that it would move its employees to Hangar 6 and other buildings in the airline's property portfolio during the year of 2011. The airline said that its current head office building, which was stated by the International Business Times to be in need of refurbishing, is too large for the company's needs following the "Greenfield" cost reduction programme.^[43]

Strategy

Aer Lingus adopted a "some frills" strategic approach – a hybrid between a traditional legacy airline and a low cost carrier.^[45] The difference lies in the services offered on short-haul and long-haul flights with meals and seat assignment offered free on the latter only. The new strategy required considerable negotiation with the unions and a consensus was reached that lower costs and a reinvention of the airline was necessary for its survival. The union concessions that arose from the negotiations were detrimental to their airline's image however, by 2003 the wage freeze had been lifted and there were 3800 voluntary redundancies with no forced layoffs. These factors contributed to the airline's reported profits in 2002, 2003 and 2005, with only a small loss recorded in 2004.^[45]

Financial performance

Subsidiaries and divisions

Aer Lingus Cargo

Aer Lingus Cargo is the airline's cargo division. It uses reserved areas of passenger aircraft cargo-holds. Aer Lingus Cargo is available on all routes to US from Dublin and Shannon. Cargo services are also offered on most European routes and some routes to the UK.^[46]

Aer Lingus Regional

Irish regional airline Aer Arann operates services for Aer Lingus under a franchise agreement.^[47]. Aer Arann provide feeder services for Aer Lingus flights between Dublin/Cork and UK regional airports with Aer Arran aircraft operating in Aer Lingus Regional livery.

Destinations

Short-haul routes

Aer Lingus has a short-haul European network with over 60 destinations, although some of these are offered only on a seasonal basis. There are also five long-haul destinations served in the United States.

The airline's European network has been designed to compete with low-frills budget airline Ryanair. Only one cabin class is offered in the short-haul fleet and passengers must pay for baggage carried in the hold, and for food and drink on board.

Long-haul routes

Aer Lingus serves the United States primarily as their long-haul routes with the use of the Airbus A330. Aer Lingus serves Boston, Chicago, Orlando, Washington DC, and New York with Orlando being its longest route.

In January 2009, the airline announced it would open a new route between Madrid and Washington DC effective 28 March 2010. It was the airline's first transatlantic route not originating in Ireland.^[48] This route will be a codeshare with United Airlines but operated by Aer Lingus.^[49]

Aer Lingus previously served Baltimore/Washington, Dubai, Los Angeles, Montreal, Newark, and San Francisco. On 12 June 2009, Aer Lingus suspended its services between Shannon-Chicago, and its direct route between Dublin-Washington DC for winter of 2009 due to weakening demand in air travel. It still offers a connection to Washington DC in a code-share flight operated by Jet Blue Airways and Aer Lingus via New York. The airline also stated that the Shannon-New York (JFK) route would be "kept under close review", however it is understood the airline is sustaining the route after coming under pressure from the Irish government to keep the Shannon-New York (JFK) connection.^[50][51]

The airline was in talks with four major airports in California (San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Los Angeles) about the possibility of reestablishing nonstop service from Dublin to the west coast of the United States. However, such service would not start until March 2012 at the earliest.^[52] However, the airline decided not to resume services in 2012.^[53]

Airline alliance membership

Although Aer Lingus is currently not a member of any airline alliance, it was previously one of the first additional airlines to join Oneworld after the alliance's inception in 1998. Aer Lingus was formally elected on board and confirmed as the ninth member of the alliance on 2 December 1999.
It left the alliance on 31 March 2007 while the then-CEO Willie Walsh was attempting to reposition Aer Lingus as a low-cost point-to-point carrier competing directly with fellow Irish airline Ryanair. The decision to leave the alliance was due to this repositioning, which did not fit in with Oneworld's orientation towards premium international frequent flyers.

The current CEO Christoph Mueller, who joined Aer Lingus in October 2009, has indicated that he wants to move the airline away from being a pure low-cost carrier to a hybrid model with a higher emphasis on service. Mueller explained in June 2010 that, as part of this re-orientation, Aer Lingus is currently in the early stages of holding talks with SkyTeam, Oneworld and Star Alliance with the goal of joining one of them. He stated that Aer Lingus, being based on an island, "need to offer our customers a global network; this is our raison d’être. But we will not fly this ourselves. We will do this through an alliance."^[40]

Codeshare agreements

Aer Lingus has codeshare agreements and interline agreements with the following airlines:

Fleet

Current

As of December 2011, the Aer Lingus fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 6.2 years:^[54][55][56]

On 13 March 2007, Aer Lingus announced that it had made Requests For Proposals to Boeing and Airbus for the 787 Dreamliner and the A350 XWB, and intended to make an order for 14 long haul aircraft in the second quarter of 2007.

On 27 February 2008, Aer Lingus announced the purchase of four A320 aircraft for delivery late 2010 through early 2011, bringing its short haul fleet to 40 aircraft.

On 10 April 2008, Aer Lingus shareholders approved the purchase of 18 new aircraft, valued at US$2.2 billion. The order will include the purchase of six A330-300E (Enhanced) and six A350-900s to be delivered between 2009 and 2016. These aircraft will be used in the major expansion and modernisation of the airline's long-haul fleet and increase the airlines' long-haul route network. The other aircraft purchases will primarily be Airbus A320-200s, which will be used in the airline's European expansion plans.^[59]

Aer Lingus A330 and A350

• On 6 June 2007, Aer Lingus announced the purchase of six Airbus A330-300E aircraft for delivery from 2009 and six A350-900 aircraft with deliveries beginning from 2014. Aer Lingus says that by 2014 will have doubled its long-haul fleet.^[59] :
• On 4 August 2009, a rescheduling of aircraft deliveries was announced;
  • Other new A330 aircraft delivery dates are deferred until 2013.
  • Delivery of the first A350 is scheduled for 2014.^[60]
• On 28 February 2011, Aer Lingus announced that they would exercise an option to defer three A330 aircraft due for delivery in 2013 and 2014 and replace them with an order for three A350 aircraft for delivery no earlier than 2018.^[1]

Retired

Transatlantic fleet

• Boeing 707–320 1964–1986
• Boeing 720 1960–1971
• Boeing 747–100 1971–1995
• Boeing 767-300ER 1991–1994
• Lockheed L-749 Constellation 1948 (Aerlínte Éireann)
• Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation 1958–1960
• Lockheed L-1011 TriStar summer 1989 leased from American Trans Air and again in 1996–1998, leased from Caledonian Airways
• McDonnell Douglas MD-11 1998–2001, leased from World Airways during summer season

European and commuter fleet

• Airspeed Consul 1948–1950
• Aviation Traders Carvair 1963–1968
• BAC One-Eleven 1965–1990
• BAe 146–300 1995–2003
• Boeing 737–200 1969–1992
• Boeing 737–300 1987–1993
• Boeing 737–400 1989–2005
• Boeing 737–500 1990–2005
• de Havilland DH.84 Dragon 1936–1938
• de Havilland DH.86 Express 1936–1946
• de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide 1938–1940
• Douglas DC-3 1940–1964
• Fokker F27 1958–1966
• Fokker 50 1989–2001
• Lockheed Super Electra 1939–1940
• Saab 340 1991–1995
• Short 330 1983
• Short 360 1984–1991
• Vickers Viking 1947
• Vickers Viscount 700 1954–1960
• Vickers Viscount 800 1957–1973

Services

In June 2009 Aer Lingus re-branded its Premier Class to the new Business Class.

Gold Circle Club

The Gold Circle Club is Aer Lingus' Frequent Flyer Programme. The Gold Circle Club consists of three tiers, Gold Circle, Gold Circle Prestige and Gold Circle Elite. A Membership card is provided by Aer Lingus for various benefits.

Incidents and accidents

Aer Lingus has had 11 incidents, including seven accidents which left aircraft written-off (of which three were fatal) and one hijacking. The last crash accident was a non-fatal crash in 1986, when a Short 360 hit high-tension power lines after the pilots lost control of the aircraft due to airframe icing.^[61] The 2005 Logan Airport runway incursion is the last known incident and was investigated by the American NTSB.

• On 10 January 1952, a Douglas DC-3 (actually a civilianised ex-military Dakota) registered EI-AFL and named "St. Kevin" was en route from Northolt to Dublin. It flew into a mountain wave triggered by Snowdon and an area of extreme turbulence, then crashed in a peat bog near Llyn Gwynant in Snowdonia, killing all 20 passengers and 3 crew. It was the company's first fatal accident.^[62]

• On 22 June 1967, a Vickers Viscount registered EI-AOF on a pilot-training flight stalled and spun into the ground near Ashbourne, killing all three crew.^[63]

• On 21 September 1967, Vickers Viscount EI-AKK flying from Dublin to Bristol scraped its wing on the runway and crashed on landing at the destination airport. All of the passengers and crew survived. The aircraft was later written off.^[64]

• In 1968, a Viscount EI-AOM "St. Phelim" en route from Cork to London crashed near Tuskar Rock in the waters off the southeast coast of Ireland. All 57 passengers and four crew perished. The crash is generally known as the Tuskar Rock Air Disaster in Ireland. The aircraft's elevator trim tab was found some distance from the rest of the wreckage, suggesting that it had become detached at an earlier stage. However, the accident report reached no definitive conclusion about the cause of the crash, but did not exclude the possibility that another aircraft or airborne object was involved. Following persistent rumours that the aircraft's demise was linked with nearby British military exercises, a review of the case files by the Air Accident Investigation Unit took place in 1998. This review identified a number of maintenance and record-keeping failures and concluded that the original report failed to adequately examine alternative hypotheses not involving other aircraft.^[65] A subsequent investigation^[66] concluded that the accident happened following a structural failure of the port tailplane, and ruled out the possibility that another aircraft was involved.

• In 1981, an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to London was hijacked and diverted to Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport in France. While authorities negotiated with the hijacker by radio in the cockpit, French special forces entered the rear of the aircraft and overpowered him. None of the passengers or crew were injured during the hijacking. The official record shows the reason as One hijacker demanded to be taken to Iran. Plane stormed/hijacker arrested. Duration of the hijacking: less than 1 day.^[67] while various media reports indicated that the man, Laurence Downey (a former Trappist monk), demanded that the Pope release the third secret of Fátima.^[68][69]

• On 31 January 1986, Aer Lingus Flight 328 a Short 360 registration EI-BEM on a flight from Dublin to East Midlands Airport struck power lines and crashed short of the runway. None of the 36 passengers and crew died but two passengers were injured in the accident.^[70]

See also

• Aer Lingus Regional
• Transport in Ireland

References

External links

• Official website
• Route Maps