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Aer Lingus

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Aer Lingus
File:Aerlinguslogo.svg
IATA ICAO Call sign
EI EIN SHAMROCK
Founded1936
HubsDublin Airport
Cork Airport
Belfast International Airport
Focus citiesShannon Airport
Frequent-flyer programGold Circle Club
Fleet size41 (+15 orders and 16 further options)
Destinations73
Parent companyAer Lingus Group plc
HeadquartersRepublic of Ireland Dublin, Ireland
Key peopleJohn Sharman (Chairman), Dermot Mannion (CEO)
Websitewww.aerlingus.com

Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of the Republic of Ireland. Based at Dublin Airport, it operates 41 Airbus aircraft serving Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East. The airline is 25.4% owned by the Irish government; it 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). Aer Lingus is a former member of the Oneworld airline alliance, which it left on March 31, 2007.[1] The company employs 4,000 people and has revenue of €1.1 billion as of 2006. Its motto is Enjoy your flight. Aer Lingus transferred 8.6 million passengers in 2006. Aer Lingus has its own frequent flyer programme, the Gold Circle Club programme, featuring three tiers - Gold, Prestige and Elite.

History

Early years

Aer Lingus Teoranta was registered as an airline on 22 May 1936, as a joint venture with Blackpool and West Coast Air Services.[2] The name, Aer Lingus is an anglicisation of the Irish form Aer Loingeas which means Air Fleet (as does one Russian airline, Aeroflot). The name was originally proposed by Richard F O'Connor, who was Cork County Surveyor at the time, and an aviation enthusiast. Five days after being founded the airline opened its first service between Baldonnel Airfield in Dublin and Bristol, England, using a six-seater De Havilland 84 Dragon (registration EI-ABA) (Photo) biplane which was named Iolar (Eagle). The service was operated under the title Irish Sea Airways.[2] Later that year, the airline acquired its second aircraft, a De Havilland 86 Express, a four engined biplane with a capacity of 14 passengers.[citation needed]

The Aer Lingus short-haul fleet now consists exclusively of Airbus A320 family aircraft.

The airline was established as the national carrier under the Air Navigation and Transport Act (1936).[2] 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 1938 Iolar was replaced by a de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide and a second DH86B was also 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 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 on Aer Lingus planes, initially mostly Douglas DC-3s, were painted in a silver and green livery, and the airline's first flight attendants were introduced. In 1946, a new Anglo-Irish agreement gave Aer Lingus exclusive UK traffic rights 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. Three new Lockheed Constellations were ordered but a financial crisis prevented the service from starting. The Constellations were then sold to BOAC and the transatlantic service was put on hold. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Aer Lingus introduced new 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, placed in service in April 1954. In 1956, Aer Lingus introduced a new, green-top livery with a white lighting flash down the windows and the Irish flag displayed on each plane's fin.

First transatlantic service

Aer Lingus used the Carvair automobile freighter with little economic success.

On 28 April 1958, Aerlínte Éireann operated the first transatlantic service from Shannon to New York. Three Lockheed Super Constellations were used for the thrice-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 entered the jet-age on 14 December 1960 when three Boeing 720s were delivered for use on the New York route, as well as for the newest Aer Lingus destination, Boston.

In 1963, Aer Lingus added Carvair's 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. In 1964, Aer Lingus took delivery of the larger Boeing 707.

BAC One-Eleven of Aer Lingus at Zurich Airport in 1975

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, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. A new livery was adopted in the same year, with a large white 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.

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. Aer Lingus later extended the 737 flights to all of their European network.

1970s to 1990s

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 on Aer Lingus planes. The livery included two different colors of blue and one green, plus the white shamrock on the tail/fin.

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 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 Shorts 360 after conducting a trial with the Shorts 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 6 Fokker F50s 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 1-11s were retired and 5 new 737s arrived. In 1991, 4 Saab 340Bs arrived at the commuter division to replace the Shorts 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 last 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 ETOPS service on the North Atlantic route. 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 8 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 International Airport in New Jersey was also added as a destination. Since then these flights have been suspended.

On 1 February 2001, Aer Lingus Commuter was merged back into the mainline operation. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001 Aer Lingus' business was severely reduced. 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 currently positioning themselves as competition to the European no-frills airlines, such as Ryanair, easyJet, Volare and Germanwings, while offering intercontinental flights as well. Business class travel and cargo provisions for short haul flights have both been phased out.

Airbus A321-200 landing

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.[3] 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, Canada from 1966-1979. The great circle distance of 5926 kilometres (3682 miles) is comparable to the current service to Chicago but Los Angeles remains Aer Lingus' longest route at 8338 kilometers (5181 miles). 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.

On 29 October 2005, Aer Lingus withdrew its last two Boeing 737 aircraft from service. EI-CDH (a 737-500) operated the last sectors from Dublin to Nice, France and back. The aircraft and its sister ship EI-CDG now operate for Rossiya in Russia. This marked the end of Boeing content within Aer Lingus' fleet.

On 6th June Aer Lingus strengthened its relationship with the European manufacturer by ordering 6 of the new A350 XWB as well as 6 A330-300E aircraft. These will be used to expand Aer Lingus' long haul operations as well as replacement aircraft for 3 older models. Deliveries of the A330E will begin in 2009 and the A350 XWB will 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%.

Aer Lingus withdrew from the Oneworld airline alliance on 1 April 2007, however it intends to maintain strong bilateral links with various Oneworld members and has no intention of joining any other global alliance. On 19 November 2006, Aer Lingus declared that it would shortly announce agreements with American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas. However negotiations with British Airways have yet to be concluded. The decision to leave the alliance was due to Aer Lingus repositioning itself as a low-fares point to point carrier, which is at odds with Oneworld's pitch to the premium international frequent flyer, and the cost involved for Aer Lingus with the acceptance of new members to the alliance. On 6 February 2007, however, the airline announced its intention to form a new alliance with JetBlue Airways. This new alliance will be a weblink between the two airlines, meaning Aer Lingus customers will be able to book JetBlue destinations from the Aer Lingus website, and vice versa for JetBlue for customers.

With the flotation of Aer Lingus on the stock exchange, Aer Lingus is planning to expand its route network. New destinations to Europe and North America are planned, and further destinations to Asia also.

Ryanair takeover bid

On 5 October 2006, Ryanair launched a €1.48bn 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 per share for remaining shares.[4] On the same day Aer Lingus rejected Ryanair's takeover bid.[5] 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.[6]

The Aer Lingus logo on an Airbus A330 winglet.

On 29 November 2006, Ryanair confirmed it had taken its stake to 26.2% of the airline.[7]

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.[8]

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. [9]

Cross Border expansion

On 7 August 2007 the airline announced that it was to establish its first base outside the Republic of Ireland at Belfast International Airport in Northern Ireland. Services from Belfast International commenced in December 2007, and by February 2008 the airline will have three Airbus A320 aircraft based at the airport which will serve eight European destinations. Significantly, this move restores the Belfast International to London Heathrow link, and will cooperate with its codeshare partner British Airways on this route to connect with British Airways' network from Heathrow. In order to do so, the airline is discontinuing its profitable Shannon-Heathrow service, a move that has generated serious political controversy in the West of Ireland. The airline expects this move to add one million additional passengers annually.[10][11]

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, It will commence direct flights to Orlando (3x weekly), San Francisco (daily from March 2008) and Washington D.C.-Dulles (4x weekly). These services will be facilitated by the arrival of two new Airbus A330 aircraft in May 2007. The airline already serves Boston (Logan International Airport), Chicago (O'Hare International Airport), New York (JFK Airport) and Los Angeles. Due to the particular success of the San Francisco route, Aer Lingus is ending its Middle-Eastern Route to Dubai on 29th March 2008. This will allow the airline to provide a daily service to San Francisco, Aer Lingus' second longest route after Los Angeles. The Airline has said that it may re-open the Dubai route on a seasonal basis in the future. It appears the route had poor returns in terms of passenger numbers, some flights reportedly being less than half-full. With the arrival of new long-haul Airbus aircraft from 2009, there is speculation the airline will open up new routes to South Africa and the Far East.

Destinations

File:1088669.jpg
Airbus A330-300 departing Dublin

Alliances

Aer Lingus is a former member of the OneWorld airline alliance, ending it's association in 2006 to pursue a high end low cost business model. The airline currently has code share agreements with Jetblue, American Airlines, KLM and British Airways. The British Airways and KLM alliances allow passengers to depart from either Dublin, Cork or Belfast and connect on a flight worldwide through these airlines hubs (Heathrow and Schiphol respectively).

Routes

Aer Lingus has plans for expansion in the long-haul programme. Its long-haul division serves Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, Dubai, Orlando and San Francisco.

On 22 March 2007, The European Union and the U.S signed the "open skies" agreement, de-regulating North Atlantic air travel and allowing European airlines to fly into any American city and vice-versa for American airlines. The new agreement will come into full effect in March 2008. As a result, Aer Lingus announced new long-haul services to Orlando, operating 3 times per week, San Francisco, operating four times per week and Washington-Dulles, operating four times per week.

A recent article in the Irish Examiner shows the airline wants to expand its US network to include further destinations along the East Coast during 2008.

Aer Lingus also has an extensive short-haul European network with 84 destinations, although some of these are only offered on a seasonal basis. Aer Lingus has announced 5 new routes for Winter 2007 from Dublin to Copenhagen, Helsinki, Bucharest, Funchal, and Agadir.

Aer Lingus A320 At Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

Its European network has been designed to compete with low-frills budget airline, Ryanair. It has only one cabin class in its short-haul fleet and passengers must pay for baggage carried in the hold. If passengers pre-book their baggage while reserving flights online they will incur a €9 each-way charge per bag (€18 per bag for return flight). However, if passengers arrive for check-in at the airport without hold baggage pre-booked they will incur a €12 charge per bag each way.

On the 7th August, Aer Lingus announced that it would be ceasing flights between Shannon and Heathrow from January 2008. This has sparked controversy in the media and with the general public. Aer Lingus also announced that they would be establishing a new base at Belfast International with 3 aircraft to be based there, and confirmed new routes as part of the announcement including Belfast-Heathrow, for which Shannon-Heathrow was dropped, and Belfast-Amsterdam, with a codeshare with British Airways on the Heathrow flight and KLM on the Amsterdam flight. Aer Lingus also announced further destinations out of Belfast including Rome, Barcelona, Faro, Malaga, Geneva, Nice, Budapest and Paris. Flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Geneva and Heathrow began on 14th January, flights to Nice begin on 1st April, flights to Paris begin on the 30th March and the remaining routes will begin on 25th February. The Geneva service ceases on 29th March. [12] Aer Lingus also re-introduced its Dublin to London Gatwick service in late 2007.

On 7 November 2007 Aer Lingus announced that it would cease it operations to Dubai from March 2008, stating it would be dedicating the long haul fleet on the expanding US network. However, the airline did not rule out a seasonal service to Dubai in future according to demand.

Fleet

Current fleet

The Aer Lingus fleet consists of the following aircraft[13]:

Aer Lingus Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers
(Premier/Economy)
Notes
Airbus A320-200 25
(3 orders)
(10 options)
174 (174)
Airbus A321-200 6 212 (212)
Airbus A330-200 4 257 (22/235) New aircraft (EI-DUO) seats 272 (24/248)
Airbus A330-300 5
(6 orders)
327 (24/303) New aircraft (EI-DUZ) seats 322 (24/298)
Entry into service: 2009
Airbus A350 XWB (6 orders)
(6 options)
Entry into service: 2014

In February 2008, the average age of the Aer Lingus fleet was 5.2 years.

Airbus A321-200 at takeoff

On 13 March 2007, Aer Lingus announced in a press conference on its preliminary results that the airline 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 Q2 2007.

On 20 May 2007, The Sunday Times reported that Aer Lingus had entered into exclusive talks with Airbus for the renewal of its long haul fleet, after evaluating the Airbus A350 XWB against the Boeing 787.

On 6th June 2007 Aer Lingus announced the purchase of 6 A330-300E aircraft for delivery from 2009 and the purchase of 6 of the new Airbus A350 XWB currently in development with deliveries beginning from 2014. By 2014, Aer Lingus says that it will have doubled its long-haul fleet.

Retired fleet

Transatlantic fleet

European and commuter fleet

Flying with Aer Lingus

Route Aircraft Economy Class Service Premier Class Service
Europe & North Africa All A320 & A321 Aircraft
  • 32" seat pitch.
  • Food & drinks available for purchase onboard.
  • No IFE.
  • Not Available
North America & Dubai
  • EI-DUB
  • EI-CRK
  • EI-JFK
  • EI-ORD
  • EI-LAX
  • EI-EWR
  • 32" seat pitch.
  • Free meals and drinks (charge for alcohol).
  • Overhead Screens showing movies and other programmes.
  • Radio channels.
  • 52" pitch and 20" width Premier seats.
  • Free meals and drinks.
  • Universal power ports.
  • 'Cara' IFE system with up to 9 channels of entertainment.
  • EI-DAA
  • 32" seat pitch.
  • Free meals & drinks (charge for alcohol).
  • 'Cara' IFE system - individual TV screens (Non-AVOD) showing movies and other programmes.
  • Radio channels.
  • 52" pitch and 20" width Premier seats.
  • Free meals and drinks.
  • Universal power ports.
  • 'Cara' IFE system with up to 9 channels of entertainment.
  • EI-DUO
  • EI-DUZ
  • New economy seats with 32" seat pitch.
  • Free meals and drinks (charge for alcohol).
  • Individual TV Screens with AVOD, showing 12 movies, 50 TV programmes, 30 interactive games and dozens of music videos and CD albums to choose from.
  • KidZone - A dedicated area for younger passengers with Disney movies, TV shows, music and games.
  • Universal power ports.
  • New 163° lie-flat, 57" pitch and 22" width Premier seats.
  • Free meals and drinks.
  • Individual TV Screens with AVOD, showing 12 movies, 50 TV programmes, 30 interactive games and dozens of music videos and CD albums to choose from.
  • Universal power ports.

Gold Circle Club

Aer Lingus has its own frequent flyer programme, known as the "Gold Circle Club" programme. There are 3 tiers - Gold, Prestige and Elite.

Gold Level (coded as 'GOLD' on boarding passes):

  • Access to the Gold Circle Lounge.
  • Requires 2,400 points accumulation, earned in the past 12 months travelling on Aer Lingus scheduled services.

Prestige Level (coded as 'GPPP' on boarding passes):

  • Access to the Gold Circle Lounge.
  • Priority Check-In.
  • Requires 4,800 points accumulation, earned in the past 12 months travelling on Aer Lingus scheduled services.

Elite Level (coded as 'GXXX' on boarding passes):

  • Access to the Gold Circle Lounge.
  • Priority check-In.
  • Priority baggage delivery on transatlantic / Dubai flights.
  • Four free upgrades.
  • Gold Membership for partner.
  • Guaranteed reservation until 24 hours before departure.
  • Requires 8,400 points accumulation, earned in the past 12 months travelling on Aer Lingus scheduled services.

Bank of Ireland VISA Gold Card:

The Bank of Ireland and Aer Lingus came together to form the Bank of Ireland VISA Gold Card. The card is issued by Bank of Ireland. Cardholders have access to the Gold Circle Lounge but there is no points accumulation for any Aer Lingus flights nor any priority boarding or baggage handling.

Incidents and accidents

Aer Lingus has suffered eight incidents in its history, seven accidents which left planes written-off, of which three were fatal, and one hijacking. The last such incident happened 21 years ago, in 1986, when a Shorts 360 hit high-tension power lines after rolling.

In January 1952, a Douglas DC-3 en route from Northolt to Dublin suffered from extreme turbulence and crashed at Gwynant Lake in Snowdonia killing all 20 passengers and 3 crew on board.

A pilot training flight in 1967 left all three crew on board a Vickers Viscount dead after stalling and spinning in-air near Ashbourne.

In 1968 a Viscount aircraft 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 notably failed to 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 Accidents 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[1]. A subsequent investigation [2] concluded that the accident happened following a structural failure of the port tailplane, and ruled out the possibility that another aircraft was involved.

In 2005, Aer Lingus Flight 132 almost collided with another jet aircraft on the runway at Logan International Airport. The Aer Lingus aircraft was cleared for takeoff from runway 15R, and five seconds later, at 19:39:15, US Airways flight 1170 was cleared to takeoff from runway 9. These runways intersect each other at Logan Airport. Due to the intersection of both runways, the aircraft had essentially been sent on a collision course. During the take-off roll, the US Airways First Officer noticed the other plane and realized that they were going to collide. Some evasive action was taken, and the two planes passed within 170 feet of each other, with the Aer Lingus aircraft flying over the US Airways Aircraft. Shortly thereafter, the US Airways flight continued down the runway and took off safely.

Other activities

Aer Lingus sponsored the Aer Lingus Young Scientist Exhibition from 1965 to 1997, at which point it was replaced BT Ireland.

See also

References

  1. ^ McEnaney, Tom (30 May 2006). "Aer Lingus to quit Oneworld alliance". Irish Independent. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c Lalor, Brian (ed) (2003). The Encyclopaedia of Ireland. Dublin, Ireland: Gill & Macmillan. pp. p 9. ISBN 0-7171-3000-2. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help); |pages= has extra text (help)
  3. ^ http://www.rte.ie/business/2005/1027/aerlingus.html
  4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5408780.stm
  5. ^ http://www.rte.ie/business/2006/1005/ryanair.html?rss
  6. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5412002.stm
  7. ^ http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1732187&issue_id=14940
  8. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8M4T5I01.htm
  9. ^ BBC News (27 June 2007). "Ryanair's Aer Lingus bid blocked". Retrieved 2007-06-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ RTÉ News/aerlingus.html?rss
  11. ^ Belfast International Airport
  12. ^ http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/0807/aerlingus.html?rss
  13. ^ Aer Lingus Media
  • Share, Bernard (1986). The Flight Of The Iolar : The Aer Lingus Experience 1936-1986. Gill And Macmillan. ISBN 0-7171-1457-0.
  • Weldon, Niall G. (2002). Pioneers in Flight: Aer Lingus and the Story of Aviation in Ireland. The Liffey Press. ISBN 1-904148-21-2.

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