News from February 2008

250,000 use Aer Lingus Heathrow service in first year

Published: 04 February 2008

Bookings leap by more than 10 per cent on all routes

AER Lingus today marked its first year of Heathrow operations at Belfast International Airport by announcing that more than 250,000 passengers had used the service in the last 12 months.

Flights to Heathrow began on January 14, 2008 as part of 10 routes launched at the Belfast base in December 2007.

And since the beginning of the year there has been a massive jump in bookings across the entire route network as the impact of the January seat sale kicks in and thoughts turn to summer holidays.

"Belfast was our first base outside the Republic and is a continuing success story," said corporate affairs director, Enda Corneille. "In our first year of operations we took more than 750,000 bookings, that was 50 per cent ahead of our target and we are well on our way to our millionth booking! Watch this space.

"Today we are delighted to celebrate a quarter of a million passengers on Heathrow alone. The service is a resounding success especially when one considers that in just 12 months we've captured around 40 per cent of the market from scratch, from an airline that had the route to itself for years.

"It's clear that the Northern Ireland public were ready for a strong competitor to bmi who have been ripping travellers off for years with ridiculously high fares. People continue to vote with their feet, opting for our winning combination of low fares and high service."

Aer Lingus operate 10 routes from Belfast to London Heathrow, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Munich, Milan, Amsterdam, Faro, Lanzarote and Malaga with Tenerife coming onto the network in September.

"We continue to receive fantastic support in Northern Ireland," said Mr Corneille. "We invested £100m in three aircraft and 100 jobs and our commitment to the base and our ambitions for its future remain strong.

"We are also aware that many people have yet to try our services so the potential for continued future success is extremely encouraging."

Flights with Aer Lingus from Belfast can be booked at aerlingus.com. With the January seat sale ending on January 19, bookings remain strong to all destinations but particularly London, Malaga, Rome and Lanzarote.

To celebrate the first anniversary of Aer Lingus' Belfast to London Heathrow service, Enda Corneille (Aer Lingus Corporate Affairs Director) presents Katie Crooks and Kellie Payne (the 250, 000th passengers to travel on the Aer Lingus Belfast to London Heathrow route) two free flights to anywhere on the Belfast route network. Also pictured is cabin crew member Kacey McCarter