Aer Arann headquarters in
Dublin
An Aer Arann
ATR 72 taking off from Bristol Airport
Aer Arann (formerly Aer Arann Express[citation needed]) is a regional commuter airline based in Dublin, Ireland,[1] with its main hub also at Dublin Airport. Its operations include scheduled services to 18 locations across Ireland and the United Kingdom. The airline has a fleet of 14 aircraft, consisting of ATR 42, ATR 72 and Britten-Norman Islander airliners. Aer Arann is owned by Pádraig Ó Céidigh and has expanded from a single aircraft to Ireland's third largest airline behind Ryanair and Aer Lingus, number one and two respectively. Aer Arann's first service, and still an active route was between Galway and the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland, and are still operated by Britten-Norman Islander aircraft.
History
Aer Arann was established in 1970 to provide an island-hopping air service between Galway and the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. Operations, using a single Britten-Norman Islander, began in August 1970.
The turning point for the airline was in 1994 when Pádraig Ó Céidigh purchased the airline. Ó Céidigh began to expand the airline's routes and fleet, launching scheduled services in 1998. Also in 1998, the government awarded the airline the PSO route between Donegal and Dublin followed by the route between Sligo and Dublin.
In 2002, service to the United Kingdom and Jersey was introduced, followed by service to Lorient and Nantes in Brittany in 2004.
In 2007, Aer Arann had a turnover of €100 million and passenger numbers in excess of 1.15 million.
In 2008, in recognition of the company's marketing achievements, the Head of Sales and Marketing, Colin Lewis was awarded the All Ireland Marketing Leader of the Year Award by the Marketing Institute of Ireland.[2]
In 2008, Aer Arann entered into a franchise agreement with Nex Aviation and introduced service to Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Málaga and Faro, using the BAe-146 aircraft during the summer months. The Amsterdam service, which was operated by an ATR 72-500, ended on the 14th of January 2009.
In October 2008, the airline announced that they would be implementing a cost saving programme, due to the downturn in passenger traffic, which would involve some focus on charter flights and leasing of their crews and aircraft to other airlines.[3] The airline stated that up to 100 redundancies would be needed, but this was later revised to 70 which would represent a 20% reduction of staff.[4] The airline's key routes will remain unchanged.
Destinations
Codeshares
On 24 June 2008, Aer Arann and Aer Lingus signed an interline agreement which allows for passengers in Cork to book to any of the Aer Lingus destinations in the United States. Bookings are made on Aer Lingus' website, and include ticketing on the Cork - Dublin flight on Aer Arann.[5] Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways signed a codeshare agreement with Aer Arann on 15 January 2009, allowing passengers from Galway, Cork and the Isle of Man to fly to Abu Dhabi all under the Etihad brand, with their flight numbers being placed on Aer Arann flights to Dublin.[6]
Fleet
An ATR 42 on final approach at Dublin, in an older colour scheme
A plain white Aer Arann ATR 72 at Edinburgh Airport
Aer Arann operates 14 narrow-body regional airliners as of October 2009, with a single economy class service:[7]
The fleet of ATR 42 and 72 aircraft are, as of October 2009, about 13.1 years old.[11]
In May 2006, Aer Arann placed an order worth €180 million for 10 ATR72-500 series aircraft.[12]
In October 2008, Aer Arann announced that as part of a cost saving plan they would lease 4 of their 13 ATRs to other airlines.[13]
Former fleet
Aer Arann operated the following aircraft types (in alphabetical order):
Livery
The current livery of Aer Arann, introduced in 2007,[18] was inspired by Celtic rings, or triskels, in the colours of Aer Arann as well as silver and gold in celebration of the airline.[19] Aer Arann's former livery was a primarily white scheme, with two blue cheatlines and the companies' logo and website on the body, and blue half circles on the tail of the aircraft.[20] The Islander aircraft originally were pained in a dark colour, with a yellow cheatline and the airline name towards the tail of the aircraft,[21] however currently the aircraft are painted in a white colour scheme, still with the name near the tail.[22]
Services
Silver Club
Silver Club is the travel rewards program of Aer Arann. Unlike traditional frequent-flier programmes, there are no points or kilometers to earn, and is an invitation only programme. Benefits of Silver Club include airport lounge access in Dublin and Cork, no change fees, an increase in baggage allowance to 25 kilograms (55 lb), preferred seat selection and a dedicated free-phone number. [23]
In flight services
Aer Arann has a buy on board programme offering Doolittles brand sandwiches, crisps, candy bars as well as alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks for purchase.
Aer Arann are the main shirt sponsors of the Galway Gaelic Football team, and have their logo on the back of the Connaught Rugby Team shirts.
See also
References
External links
