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THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS have meant good news for Aer Lingus with the airline reporting its passengers figures have increased by almost 3 per cent compared to this time last year.
Aer Lingus carried just over 1.14 million passengers in July in total. The vast majority of the passengers – 1.02 million – were making journeys to short haul destinations.
However the airline saw a big increase in the number of passengers flying further afield: 116,000 passengers flew long haul with Aer Lingus, an increase of 17.2 per cent.
Just over 6 million people have flown with Aer Lingus so far this year – an increase of 2.3 per cent compared to the previous year.
However the airline warned that while many people were still taking their summer holidays abroad, the unexpected warm weather in Ireland may have an impact on its profits later on in the year with people choosing to stay home.
Rival airline Ryanair has offered to sell its stake in Aer Lingus to another EU airline as part of its ongoing discussions with the competition watchdog in the UK which had criticised Ryanair’s 29.8 per cent stake in its competitors.
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I paid extra to fly with them. I just cant take the Ryan Air scrum.
Love flying with aer lingus went to London with them this weekend. Staff are so friendly!
Flew back with Ryanair recently had to wear travel kettle as a necklace ! Got a laugh ….. However wont be flying with them again . Need to be an Olympian to get on that Plane . Aer Lingus from now on
Got the laugh from other passengers not Ryanair
Not surprised the AerLingus figures continue to climb as people try to avoid Ryanair in their droves. The latest price increases for luggage just as high season kicks in,will just burden hard pressed families even more who are trying to scrape together money for a holiday. This is all just pure opportunistic greed in the name of even more profit for Ryanair. Hope the bubble doesn’t burst for you Michael!
Aer Lingus is an Irish Treasure! It has been making a profit.
Sad however, that it’s top heavy with useless management and office staff.
They’re one of the most profitable airlines in Europe. It’s a bit harsh to call their management useless.
The executive team is brilliant. .. Especially Chris Moeller! However, there is still the vestiges of the past found in the offices of Aer Lingus. Middle management and office staff who add no value to the company. They are locked in their jobs and unable to perform at a level necessary to benefit the whole company.
How do you know Marlon ?
Ireland is a small country…. Everyone is bound to know a few Aer Lingus employees.
Marlon Major you must work to have such inside information have you passed on your insight to your manager there
I’m on an Aer Lingus flight tonight from the Middle East via Amsterdam, it does make me smile to hear an Irish accent getting on the flight. However it erks me when they say tourism is up etc. when all it is, is people like me coming home to see my very young children before I have to get on a flight out again. That’s not tourism it’s forced migration.
@M Where in the Middle East are you boarding an Aer Lingus flight ??
Abu Dhabi code share with KLM then AL in Amsterdam
I don’t find Ryanair in the least bit funny. Especially their bag-sizing nazis! Stress to the max!
@darragh .. u obviously aren’t a frequent flyer with ANY airline .. the ‘fasten your seatbelt,lifejacket’ crack is from a safety demonstration for ALL passengers, this demonstration is obligatory and is conducted by ALL airlines around the world. With regards to the sky shopping, again carried out by airlines to deliver a service to passengers who are looking to purchase gift items (the reason why it was invented) not all a lone trait of Aer Lingus but of aviation, Aer Lingus just conduct a classier operation.
Not every day Jessica but been in South Africa, Paris, UK, Amsterdam, Monaco, to name but a few places this year. Probably just flying to much maybe..
I much prefer flying Aer Lingus , but if a flight is a couple hundred cheaper I can’t afford not to use that one. You I get what you pay for in this case. I was lucky in June when flying to Alcudia that Aer Lingus was actual cheaper than Ryanair.
All there profits could be going to the exchequer but we had to sell like muppets.
Again I am confused I thought everyone skint. Ah go on who has been telling porkies?. Noonan will be smiling reading his journal this morning and chewing on his bacon. Mr Noonan will be thinking now I may get more out of these people budget time.
Aer Lingus has been doing more and more business flying people from other European countries to America. Also, inbound tourism figures are up. That won’t stop Mr Noonan looking at how to get more out of those people though.
Your first mistake is o believe the country is skint! If it truly was, and the balance shifted then people would actually get out and protest. Reality is most people are getting by and working hard to do so. Do I think thats good that people are only getting by? no! Do I think its enough to ensure people have decided the best way to maintain their families is continue working hard? Yes.
Yeah I was sitting beside a bunch of Americans when I was flying home from Boston. They were all on their way to Italy via Dublin. Dublin seems to be a good budget option to get to Europe for east coast Americans.
Prefer Aer Lingus but flying Ryanair to spain on Friday. Much better flight times and 100 euro cheaper than Aer Lingus. One thing i will not miss is the Aer Lingus need to communicate every two seconds on a flight – “Sky shopping” “the captain has turned on the seatbelt sign…”To fasten your seatbelt..”"We will shortly be going around with our food and drinks…..” “Good morning ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain Padraig Kelly, we are currently at an altitude of…” blah bkah blah,
Ummm…. Ryanair don’t shut up…. EVER…. You will have all that plus the scratch cards, the smokeless cigarettes, the 4 or 5 runs up and down the aisle asking everyone to pass their rubbish…. Oh it goes on and on…. No Peace on Ryanair…. BUT I LOVE THEM!!!!
To be fair Ryanair are the exact same if not worse when it comes to announcements or selling things!
And you can’t understand the foreign accents of there staff!
And also the triumphant trumpet blare to announce yet “another Ryanair flight arrival on time at our destination!” *eye roll*!
I’ts not hard for them to arrive on time or early. They have 1 hour to do a 40 min flight, so that even if they are 10 – 15 mins late taking off they still arrive early. LOL
Suppose i expect more from Aer Lingus than that. If i want to shop i will go to a mall or online. I just want get from A to B with a breakfast and have a snooze with less over the top announcements. With Ryan Air its almost kind of funny. You know you are going to a market whilst still on a plane.
Oooh and another thing that annoys me with Aer Lingus is when after all that chatter blah blah blah.. as though this is everyones first flight and then they start the whole piece about how you can survive a plane crash by simply buckling your seat belt and putting on your life vest and the whistle to attract attention they then tell you they have run out of breakfast on a 7am flight..happened more than once…
The pre – departure safety announcement is a legal regulatory requirement. It’s not just done to annoy you.
Darragh…..I think you have issues
It will always be someones first flight , just remember that.
It’s a requirement. Most aircraft accidents happen on the ground either during take off or landing; the most critical phases of flight. God forbid anyone is sat next to you if you’re unfortunate enough to be involved in one as you’ll be the numty unable to open the exit. As for the silly seat belt; it’s a reminder. Analysis of previous accidents has shown that a lot of people have reverted back to “car seat belt” mode when in a panic and blocked emergency exits as a result. We’re creatures of habit after all.
Sean, yes indeed, most aircraft accidents happen on the ground. The ones that happen in mid-air are the ones they don’t/can’t train you for………..and survivors are rare, but not unknown.
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Joseph, that’s why I used the word “most”. As a commercial pilot I can tell you we do train for close encounters on a regular basis. There are systems onboard that are the last line of defence if ATC fail to notice aircraft are on a collision course but the system only gives the pilots seconds to react so an abrupt manoeuvre is required.
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