Aer lingus
Aer Lingus (whose name is an anglicization of the Irish Aer Loingeas, meaning "air fleet") is an Irish private airline, formerly the flag carrier of the Republic of Ireland. Based at Dublin Airport, it serves Europe, the United States and Morocco with a fleet of Airbus aircraft. Ryanair owned 29.8% of the airline and the Irish State 25.4%, but after IAG's takeover bid for 100% of the company for 1.4 billion euros, in which it acquired 95.77% to date on August 18, 2015, it became part of the aforementioned holding company. It was listed on the Dublin and London Stock Exchange on October 2, 2006 after prior government approval (the latter previously owned 85% of the airline). Aer Lingus is a former member of the Oneworld alliance, which it left on March 31, 2007. The company employs 3,766 people and has a turnover of €749 million in 2014. Its motto is Enjoy your flight. Aer Lingus, together with its regional franchise, carried 11 million passengers in 2014. Aer Lingus has its own frequent flyer programme, the golden circle club programme, offering three levels: Gold, Prestige and Elite.
History
Early Years
Aer Lingus was founded in April 1936 with an authorized capital of £100,000. Pending public investment legislation through a parent company, Aer Lingus partnered with Blackpool and West Coast Air Services, which provided the money for the first aircraft and operated with Aer Lingus under the common name 'Irish'. Sea Airways". Aer Lingus Teoranta was registered as an airline on May 22, 1936.
The name, Aer Lingus, is the result of a transformation of the Irish term Aer Loingeas, which means "air fleet" (as does the Russian airline Aeroflot). The name was originally proposed by Richard F. O'Connor, who was a County Cork surveyor at the time, and an aviation enthusiast. Five days after its founding, the airline began its first service between Baldonnel Aerodrome in Dublin and Whitechurch in Bristol, England, using a de Havilland DH.84 Dragon six-passenger biplane (registration EI-ABI) (Photo) that was called Iolar (eagle).
In the same year, the airline acquired its second aircraft, a de Havilland 86 Express (DH86A) christened "Éire", a four-engine biplane with a capacity for 14 passengers. This aircraft provided the first link between Dublin and London extending the Bristol to Croydon service. At the same time, the DH84 Dragon was used to launch an Aer Lingus service on the Dublin-Liverpool route.
The airline was established as the national airline under the Air Navigation and Transport Act (1936). In 1937, the Irish government created Aer Rianta (now called Dublin Airport Authority), a company that assumes financial responsibility for the new airline and the entire civil aviation infrastructure of the country. In April 1937, the Irish Government owns Aer Lingus via Aer Rianta.
In 1938 Iolar was replaced by a de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide and a second DH86B was purchased. Two Lockheed L-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 its operations there. He bought a new Douglas DC-3 and new services to Liverpool and an internal service to Shannon were launched. The airline's services were shortened during World War II with a single route to Liverpool or Manchester's Barton Aerodrome, depending on the fluctuating security situation.
Post-war expansion
On November 9, 1945, regular services were restored with an inaugural flight to London. Since then, Aer Lingus aircraft, mostly Douglas DC-3s, have been repainted in the colors silver and green, and introduced to the airline's first flight attendants. In 1946, a new Anglo-Irish agreement gave Aer Lingus exclusivity of UK traffic in exchange for a 40% share for BOAC and British European Airways (BEA). Due to the growth of Aer Lingus, the airline bought seven new Vickers Viking aircraft in 1947. However, these proved unprofitable and were quickly sold.
In 1947, Aerlínte Éireann was born, with the purpose of making transatlantic flights to New York from Ireland. They ordered three new Lockheed Constellations but a change of government and a financial crisis prevented service from starting. Newcomer Prime Minister Eamon De Valera, from the Fianna Fáil party, was not a fan of flying and thought that crossing the Atlantic was too big a plan for a small airline from a small country like Ireland. The Constellations were sold to BOAC. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Aer Lingus introduced new routes to Brussels, Amsterdam, and Rome. Due to the expansion of routes, the airline became one of the first to order Vickers Viscount 700 aircraft in 1951, put into service in April 1954. In 1956, Aer Lingus introduced a new visual style to the aircraft, with green above the windows, white below, and an Irish flag on each wing.
First transatlantic service
On April 28, 1958, Aerlínte Éireann made the first transatlantic service from Shannon to New York. Three Lockheed Constellations were used for the service which ran on a frequency of three times a week. The planes were leased by the American airline Seaboard World Airlines. This arrangement continued until 1 January 1960 when Aerlínte Éireann renamed itself Aer Lingus – Irish International Airline. Aer Lingus entered the Jet era on December 14, 1960 when it was delivered three Boeing 720s for use on the route to New York, as well as its new destination, Boston.
In 1963, Aer Lingus added a Carvair to its fleet. With this aircraft, five cars could be transported by loading them into the fuselage through the front of the aircraft. The Carvair proved unprofitable for the airline, partly due to increased sea and air ferry services and was later used for other cargo services. The Boeing 720 proved to be a success for the airline on transatlantic routes. In 1964, Aer Lingus took delivery of a larger aircraft, the Boeing 707.
Jet Planes
The conversion of the European fleet to jet equipment began in 1965 when BAC 1-11 began services from Dublin and Cork to Paris and via Manchester to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt am Main. A new visual style was adopted that same year with a large green shamrock on the wing and the name 'Aer Lingus - Ireland International', just above the aircraft windows. In 1966, the remainder of the company shared by Aer Rianta was transferred to the Ministry of Finance.
In 1966, a route was opened from Shannon to Chicago via Montreal.
In 1968, flights began from Belfast in Northern Ireland to New York. The service was soon suspended due to the beginning of problems in the area. 1969 saw the introduction of the Boeing 737 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 its entire European network.
1970-1990s
In 1970, Aer Lingus purchased two Boeing 747s for use on transatlantic routes. Later, a third aircraft was added to the fleet but one of them was leased because, at first, it was not profitable for the company to fly 747s across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1974, the visual style changed again, with the word International disappearing from the fuselage of Aer Lingus aircraft. The new style included two different shades of blue and one grey, plus the white clover on the tail wing.
In September 1979, Aer Lingus became the first airline other than Alitalia to be used by Pope John Paul II. The pontiff flew aboard a specially modified Boeing 747 (EI-ASI or St. Patrick) from Rome to Dublin and then from Shannon to Boston. In the early 1980s, the 707s were retired.
In 1984, a subsidiary company called Aer Lingus Commuter was formed, allowing Aer Lingus to fly to larger cities in Ireland and Great Britain where flight time makes the use of jets unnecessary.. These services were mainly carried out with five of the Short 360s after testing with the Shorts 330. Around the same time, Aer Lingus bought most of the shares of the cargo airline Aer Turas, owner of some Douglas DC-cargo jets. 8.
Between 1987 and 1989, a new Boeing 737 arrived to replace the older models, and 6 Fokker 50s were added to the Commuter fleet. During the 1990s, following the deregulation of the law for the airline industry in Ireland, Aer Lingus had to reconsider its operational policies. The BAC 1-11 was replaced by 5 new 737s. In 1991, 4 Saab 340s joined the Commuter division to replace the Shorts 360 aircraft. In 1992, Aer Lingus replaced the 737-200 fleet and became the first operator to the world with the three versions of the second generation 737. These were the -300, -400 and -500 series, although the -300 did not last long in Aer Lingus service.
Operations with Airbus
In 1994, Aer Lingus began offering direct flight services between Dublin and the United States using the Airbus A330 and in May of that year carried out the first service with the A330 ETOPS on the North Atlantic route. This led to the phasing out of the Boeing 747 and the successor Boeing 767-300ER. On October 2, 1995, the Boeing 747 service ceased operations after twenty-five years of service. By then, around 8 million people had traveled across the Atlantic on Aer Lingus Boeing 747.
In the late 1990s, Aer Lingus returned to Belfast with a service to New York via Shannon. Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey was also added as a destination. Those flights have since been suspended.
On February 1, 2001, Aer Lingus Commuter re-entered core business. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, Aer Lingus' business declined considerably. A staff cut was made, destinations were eliminated and the fleet was reduced. The airline has weathered the storm and, again, has benefits - this has been demonstrated by a strategy of lowering the airline's core costs, upgrading the fleet with modern Airbuses and developing new routes to major European destinations (Aer Lingus had previously neglected much part of the European continent in favor of the United States and British destinations). Currently, they are positioning themselves as a competitor to European low-cost airlines such as Ryanair, easyJet, Volare and Germanwings, while offering intercontinental flights. Business class flights and route provisions for short-haul flights have been removed.
On October 27, 2005, Aer Lingus announced its first scheduled service to Asia beginning in March 2006 and to Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, where executive Dermot Mannion announced to take the company private and buy more aircraft to ensure transportation to this new route. Despite Aer Lingus being described in the press as the first long-haul service outside the United States, it had already been running a previous service to Montreal, Canada from 1966 to 1979. The distance The 5,926-kilometer (3,682-mile) great circle is comparable to current service to Chicago, but Los Angeles remains the longest route at 8,338 kilometers (5,181 miles).
On October 29, 2005, Aer Lingus withdrew its last two Boeing 737 aircraft from service. The EI-CDH (a 737-500) flew the last leg from Dublin to Nice, France and back. The aircraft and its sister, EI-CDG now operate for Rossiya in Russia. This marked the end of Boeing in the Aer Lingus fleet.
On June 6, Aer Lingus consolidated its relationship with the European manufacturer by ordering 6 A350 XWB model aircraft as well as 6 A330-300E. These will be used to expand Aer Lingus' long-haul transport operations as well as the replacement of 3 older aircraft models. Deliveries of the A330E will start in 2009 and the A350 XWB will start in 2014.
Fleet
In preparation for the Aer Lingus trading fleet on the Dublin Stock Exchange, the Irish government agreed to phase out the Shannon call from the end of 2006 in stages.
The company began conditional distributions on September 27, 2006 and was formally listed on the Irish Stock Market and the London Stock Exchange on October 2, 2006. At that time, the Irish government had 28% of shares, and employees 15%.
Aer Lingus withdrew from the Oneworld alliance on April 1, 2007, however it intends to maintain strong bilateral agreements with the various Oneworld members and has no intention of joining any other global alliance.
On November 19, 2006, Aer Lingus stated that it would soon announce agreements with American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas. However, negotiations with British Airways have not yet been concluded. The decision to leave the alliance was due to the fact that Aer Lingus was positioning itself again as the low cost transport company.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, on February 6, 2007, the airline announced its intention to form a new alliance with JetBlue Airways. This new alliance implies that Aer Lingus customers will be able to book their destinations including those of JetBlue on the Aer Lingus website, and vice versa from JetBlue. With the Aer Lingus fleet listed, Aer Lingus is planning to expand its route network with new destinations to Europe, North America and possibly Asia as well.
Ryanair takeover bid
On 5 October 2006, Ryanair launched an offer to buy Aer Lingus for €1.48bn. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said the move was a "unique opportunity" to form an Irish airline. The "new" airline would carry around 50 million passengers a year. Ryanair said it had bought 16% of Aer Lingus and was offering €2.80 for the remaining shares. On the same day Aer Lingus rejected Ryanair's proposed takeover offer. Ryanair confirmed that it had increased its stake to 19.2%, and He further said that he had no problem with the Irish government keeping 28.3%. It was also reported in The Irish Times that the Government would possibly take the case to trial, and referral to the competition authorities in Dublin - although this would be automatic under European regulation, as the combined group would control 78% of passenger traffic. from Dublin - London.
On November 29, 2006, Ryanair announced that it had raised its stake in the airline to 26.2%.
On December 21, 2006, Ryanair announced the withdrawal of its current offer for Aer Lingus, with the intent to pursue another offer in the future, after the European Commission finished investigating the current offer. The European Commission commented that the takeover would reduce consumer choice and increase prices.
On June 27, 2007, the European Commission announced its decision to block the offer on the grounds of competition that the two airlines control more than 80% of all European flights to and from Dublin Airport.
Destinations
Partnerships
Aer Lingus is a long-standing member of the Oneworld airline alliance, ending its association with the group in 2007 to pursue a low-cost, high-performance business model. The airline currently has a code share with JetBlue (from Dublin and Shannon to/from the United States), American Airlines (from Cork to/from London; Dublin to/from Boston, Chicago, Glasgow, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Manchester, New York and Shannon; Shannon to/from Boston, Chicago, Dublin and New York), KLM (Cork and Dublin to/from Amsterdam) and British Airways (Belfast, Cork and Dublin to/from London Heathrow).
The alliance between British Airways and KLM allows passengers to depart from Dublin, Cork or Belfast and connect with a flight to the rest of the world through the airlines' three hubs (Heathrow and Schiphol). Qantas, Australia's national transport company, allows its frequent flyers to earn points when they fly with Aer Lingus.
On April 8, 2008, Aer Lingus and United Airlines announced a codeshare between the two airlines that will make it possible to book flights between the carriers involved as of November 1, 2008. The codeshare also simplifies bookings, ticket collection, and coordinated handling of passenger luggage. It allows Aer Lingus passengers access to around 200 destinations on the United Airlines network and, in return, allows United Airlines passengers access to destinations in Europe and Ireland. The agreement was signed by Aer Lingus CEO Dermot Mannion and United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton in Chicago.
Short-distance routes
Aer Lingus has an extensive European short haul network with 64 destinations, although some of these have been offered only occasionally. Aer Lingus announced 5 new routes for winter 2007 from Dublin to Copenhagen, Helsinki, Bucharest, Funchal and Agadir. It also reintroduced the Dublin service to London Gatwick Airport in late 2007.
Its European network has been designed to compete with the low budgets of the low-cost airline Ryanair. It has only one class in its short-haul fleet and passengers must pay for any luggage they carry. If passengers pre-check their baggage while booking the flights online they will be charged €15 per package (€30 for roundtrip flight). However, if passengers arrive at the airport without having pre-checked their luggage, they will be charged €12 per package.
On 7 August 2007, Aer Lingus announced that it would cease flights between Shannon and Heathrow from January 2008. This sparked controversy in the media and among the public. At the same time, Aer Lingus announced that it would establish a new base at Belfast International Airport, with three aircraft. They also confirmed new routes, including Belfast-Heathrow and Belfast-Amsterdam. The airline announced more destinations outside of Belfast, including Rome, Barcelona, Faro, Malaga, Genoa, Nice, Budapest and Paris. Flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Genoa and Heathrow began on January 14, flights to Paris began on March 30, and flights to Nice began in early April. Service to Genoa ceased on March 29 due to the end of the European ski season.
On February 28, 2008, Aer Lingus announced that it would begin the first scheduled flights from Ireland to Bulgaria with flights to Burgas beginning in mid-June. The service will operate seasonally. In addition, beginning October 26, 2008, Aer Lingus will operate two flights per week from Dublin to Sofia, Bulgaria.
Long-distance routes
Aer Lingus' long-haul division serves Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, Orlando and San Francisco in the United States. With the arrival of the new long-haul Airbus aircraft for 2009, it is speculated that new routes will open to South Africa (Cape Town), Canada (Toronto), Mexico (Mexico City) and Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong in East Asia.. (Aer Lingus used to serve Montreal in the 1970s (as a stopover for its Dublin-Chicago service)). It is thought that the airline will confirm the new long-haul destinations by the end of 2008.
On March 22, 2007, the European Union and the United States signed an "Opening Heaven Agreement" allowing European airlines to fly to any city in America, and vice-versa for American airlines. The new agreement took effect in March 2008. As a result, Aer Lingus announced new long-haul services to Orlando, operating 3 times a week, San Francisco, operating daily until May 5, 2008, and Washington DC (Dulles International Airport).), operating four times a week. Aer Lingus is expected to expand its current transatlantic network to cities including Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans
On November 7, 2007, Aer Lingus announced that it would cease operations to Dubai effective March 2008, dedicating the long-haul fleet to expanding the US network.
On June 6, 2008, Aer Lingus announced that it would cease operations to Los Angeles effective November 2008. The airline also announced plans to cut capacity on US long-haul routes by 15% [1].
Aerlingus operates a daily direct flight between Madrid and Washington.
Fleet
Current Fleet
All Aer Lingus aircraft are named after an Irish saint. The Aer Lingus fleet consists exclusively of Airbus and Boeing aircraft (as of August 2022):
| Airplane | Total | Passengers (Premier/Economic) | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|
Airbus A320-214 | 31 | 174 | Short-medium range |
| Airbus A320neo | 2 | Short-medium range | |
| Airbus A321LR | 7 | Short-medium range | |
Airbus A330-202 | 3 | 272 (24/248) | Average range |
Airbus A330-302.jpg) | 11 | 322 (24/298) | Average range |
| Total | 54 |
As of August 2022, the average lifetime of aircraft in the Aer Lingus fleet is 12.6 years.
On March 13, 2007, Aer Lingus announced at a press conference on its preliminary results that the airline had placed orders with Boeing and Airbus for the 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350 XWB and that they intended to place an order for 14 long-haul aircraft in the second quarter of 2007.
On June 6, 2007, and confirmed by shareholders in 2008, Aer Lingus announced the purchase of 6 Airbus A330 -300EOn aircraft with a delivery date in 2009 and 6 Airbus A350 -900 aircraft currently under development with a delivery date of delivery in 2014. By 2014, Aer Lingus says it will have doubled its long-haul fleet:
On February 27, 2008, Aer Lingus announced the purchase of 4 Airbus A320 aircraft with delivery dates in late 2010 and early 2011, bringing its short-haul fleet to 39 aircraft.
On April 10, 2008, Aer Lingus shareholders approved the purchase of 18 new aircraft, which are valued at $2.2bn. The order includes the purchase of 6 Airbus A330 and 6 Airbus A350 -900 with a delivery date between 2009 and 2016. These aircraft will be used for the further expansion and modernization of Aer Lingus' long-haul fleet and increase the long-haul network.. The other aircraft purchases will mainly be Airbus A320-200s, which will be used in the airline's European expansion plans.
Historical Fleet
| Airplane | Total | Introduced | Withdrawal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Boeing 707-300 | ? | 1964 | 1986 | |
Boeing 720 | ? | 1960 | 1971 | |
Airbus A319-100.jpg) | 4 | 2011 | 2016 | |
Airbus A321-211 | 6 | 1998 | 2020 | |
BAC 1-11.jpg) | 4 | 1965 | 1992 | |
Boeing 737-200 | 17 | 1969 | 1997 | |
Boeing 737-300 | 2 | 1987 | 1993 | |
Boeing 737-400 | 9 | 1989 | 2005 | |
Boeing 737-500 | 10 | 1991 | 2006 | |
Boeing 747-100 | 3 | 1976 | 1997 | |
Boeing 757-200_EI-LBR_(14184274326).jpg) | 4 | 2015 | 2020 | |
| Boeing 767-200 | 1 | 2016 | 2016 | |
| Boeing 767-300 | 2 | 1993 | 1994 | |
| Bae 146-200 | 3 | 1998 | 2000 | |
Bae 146-300 | 9 | 1995 | 2004 | |
Avro RJ85.jpg) | 4 | 2018 | 2020 | |
| Douglas DC-8 | 2 | 1990 | 1990 | |
Fokker 50 | 8 | 1989 | 2001 | |
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 | 1 | 2001 | 2001 | Rented several times by World Airways. |
Saab 340.jpg) | 1 | 1991 | 1995 | |
| Lockheed Constellation | ? | 1948 | ? | (Aerlin Éireann) |
| Lockheed Constellation | ? | 1958 | 1960 | |
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar | ? | 1989 | 1998 | Summer 1989 leased by ATA Airlines and again in 1996-1998, leased by Caledonian Airways. |
Aviation Traders Carvair_landing_at_Liverpool.jpg) | ? | 1963 | 1968 | |
Havilland DH.84 Dragon | ? | 1936 | 1938 | |
| of Havilland DH.86 Express | ? | 1936 | 1946 | |
| of Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide | ? | 1938 | 1940 | |
Douglas DC-3 | ? | 1940 | 1964 | |
Fokker F27.jpg) | ? | 1958 | 1966 | |
| Lockheed Super Electra | ? | 1939 | 1940 | |
| Shorts 330 | ? | 1983 | ? | |
Shorts 360,_Dublin,_July_1991.jpg) | ? | 1984 | 1991 | |
| Vickers Viking | ? | 1947 | ? | |
| Vickers Viscount 700 | ? | 1954 | 1960 | |
| Vickers Viscount 800 | ? | 1957 | 1973 |
Flying with Aer Lingus
| Route | Airplane | Economic Class | Premier Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe and North Africa | All A320 and A321 aircraft |
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Golden Circle Club
Aer Lingus offers its own frequent flyer programme, known as the 'Gold Circle Club', with variable points earned depending on flight destination and ticket class. There are 3 grades: Gold, Prestige and Elite.
Gold
- Access to the Golden Circle Lounge.
- It requires 2400 points accumulated over the past 12 months using the Aer Lingus program services.
Prestige
- Access to the Golden Circle Lounge.
- Priority to registration time (check in).
- It requires 4,800 points accumulated over the past 12 months using Aer Lingus program services.
Elite
- Access to the Golden Circle Lounge.
- Priority to registration time (check in).
- Delivery of luggage with priority on transatlantic / Dubai flights.
- Four complementary updates.
- Gold Member for partners
- Guaranteed reservation up to 24 hours before departure
- It requires 8400 points accumulated over the past 12 months using Aer Lingus program services.
The Bank of Ireland and Aer Lingus joined forces to create the Gold Visa Business Card. The card is issued by the Bank of Ireland. Cardholders have access to the Gold Circle lounge but there is no accrual of points for any Aer Lingus flight.
Controversy
The former president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, has used this airline.
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