Early years
Aer Lingus was founded on 15 April 1936, with a capital of £100,000. Its first chairman was Seán Ó hUadhaigh.[13] Pending legislation for Government investment through a parent company, Aer Lingus was associated with Blackpool and West Coast Air Services which advanced the money for the first aircraft, and operated with Aer Lingus under the common title "Irish Sea Airways".[14][15] Aer Lingus Teoranta was registered as an airline on 22 May 1936.[16] The name Aer Lingus was proposed by Richard F O'Connor, who was County Cork Surveyor, as well as an aviation enthusiast.
On 27 May 1936, five days after being registered as an airline, its first service began between Baldonnel Airfield in Clondalkin, Dublin and Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport, the United Kingdom, using a six-seater de Havilland DH.84 Dragon biplane (registration EI-ABI), named Iolar (Eagle).[17]
Later that year, the airline acquired its second aircraft, a four-engined biplane de Havilland DH.86 Express named Éire, with a capacity of 14 passengers.[15] This aircraft provided the first air link between Dublin and London by extending the Bristol service to Croydon.[18] At the same time, the DH.84 Dragon was used to inaugurate an Aer Lingus service on the Dublin-Liverpool route.
The airline was established as the national carrier under the Air Navigation and Transport Act (1936).[16] 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 April 1937, Aer Lingus became wholly owned by the Irish government via Aer Rianta.
The airline's first General Manager was Dr J. F. (Jeremiah known as 'Jerry') Dempsey, a chartered accountant, who joined the company on secondment from Kennedy Crowley & Co (predecessor to KPMG Ireland[19][20]) as Company Secretary in 1936 (aged 30) and was appointed to the role of General Manager in 1937. He retired 30 years later in 1967 at the age of 60.
In 1938, a de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide replaced Iolar, and the company purchased a second DH.86B. Two Lockheed 14s arrived in 1939, Aer Lingus' first all-metal aircraft.
In January 1940, a new airport opened in the Dublin suburb of Collinstown and Aer Lingus moved its operations there. It purchased a new DC-3 and inaugurated new services to Liverpool and an internal service to Shannon. 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, Aer Lingus aircraft, initially mostly Douglas DC-3s, were painted in a silver and green livery. The airline introduced its first flight attendants.
In 1946, a new Anglo-Irish agreement gave Aer Lingus exclusive UK traffic rights from Ireland in exchange for a 40% holding by British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA). Because of Aer Lingus' growth, the airline bought seven new Vickers Viking aircraft in 1947; however, these proved to be uneconomical and were soon sold.
In 1947, Aerlínte Éireann came into existence to operate transatlantic flights to New York City from Ireland. The airline ordered five new Lockheed L-749 Constellations, but a change of government and a financial crisis prevented the service from starting. John A Costello, the incoming Fine Gael Taoiseach (Prime Minister), was not a keen supporter of air travel and thought that flying the Atlantic was too grandiose a scheme for a small airline from a small country like Ireland.[21]
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Aer Lingus introduced routes to
First transatlantic service
On 28 April 1958, Aerlínte Éireann operated its first transatlantic service from Shannon to New York.[25][26] In 1960, Aerlínte Éireann was renamed Aer Lingus.[26]
Aer Lingus bought seven Fokker F27s, which were delivered between November 1958 and May 1959. These were used in short-haul services to the UK, gradually replacing the Dakotas, until Aer Lingus replaced them in 1966 with secondhand Viscount 800s.[27]
The airline entered the jet age on 14 December 1960 when it received three Boeing 720 for use on the New York route and the newest Aer Lingus destination Boston.
In 1963, Aer Lingus added Aviation Traders Carvairs to the fleet. These aircraft could transport five cars, which were loaded into the fuselage through the nose of the aircraft. The Carvair proved to be uneconomical for the airline, partly due to the rise of
Jet aircraft
Conversion of the European fleet to jet equipment began in 1965 when the BAC One-Eleven started services on continental Europe.[27] The airline adopted a new livery in the same year, with a large green shamrock on the fin.[28] In 1966, the remainder of the company's shares held by Aer Rianta were transferred to the Minister for Finance.
In 1966, the company added routes to Montreal and Chicago.[27] In 1968, flights from Belfast, in Northern Ireland, to New York City started, however, it was soon suspended due to the beginning of the Troubles.[29]
Aer Lingus introduced Boeing 737s to its fleet in 1969 to cope with the high demand for flights between Dublin and London.[29]
1970s to 1990s
On 6 March 1971, Aer Lingus took delivery of the first of two Boeing 747s for use on transatlantic routes.[30][31] The company later purchased a third for its fleet but quickly offered it for lease because it was not initially profitable for the company to fly 747s across the Atlantic. In 1974, Aer Lingus unveiled a new livery which eliminated the word International and/or Irish from the fuselage titles. The livery included a dark green cheatline, light green upper surfaces and tail, split by a thinner blue line, plus a large white shamrock on the tail fin.
In 1973 Aer Lingus opened the London Tara Hotel.[32]
In 1976, Aer Lingus purchased Dunfey Hotels from Aetna.[33]
In 1977, Aer Lingus recruited its first female pilot, Gráinne Cronin – the airline was the second in Europe (after Scandinavian Airlines
2000s to 2010s
On 1 February 2001, Aer Lingus Commuter merged back into the mainline operation. The business was severely affected by the 9/11 attacks in the United States. In response, the airline cut staff numbers and destinations and reduced its fleet. As a result, it weathered the storm and returned to profit, largely through 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. It positioned itself as competition to the European no-frills airlines while offering intercontinental flights, phased-out Business class travel for short-haul flights, but retained cargo services on a small number of routes.
A large order for A320 aircraft saw deliveries commencing in 2004 and continuing to 2011. The delivery of these aircraft allowed the withdrawal of the Boeing 737. On 29 October 2005, Aer Lingus withdrew its last two 737 aircraft from service, marking the end of Boeing aircraft at Aer Lingus, and the beginning of an all-Airbus fleet.
On 27 October 2005, Aer Lingus announced its 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.[37] 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 from 1966 to 1979. The great circle
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 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%. The stock IPO offer price was €2.20.[41][42]
Aer Lingus withdrew from the Oneworld airline alliance on 31 March 2007, instead, entering into bilateral agreements with airlines including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Air Lines, KLM, and United Airlines. Aer Lingus explained the move stating the carrier was repositioning as a low-cost carrier, which did not fit with Oneworld's pitch to the premium international frequent flyer.
First Ryanair takeover bid (2006)
On 5 October 2006, Ryanair launched a 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 for the remaining shares, a premium over the €2.20 the shares were trading for. The firm was trading at €1.13bn but Ryanair's offer valued it at €1.48bn.[43] On the same day Aer Lingus rejected Ryanair's takeover bid.[44] 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%. The Irish Times reported 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.[45]
On 29 November 2006, Ryanair confirmed it had increased its stake to 26.2%.[46]
Cross border expansion
On 7 August 2007, the airline announced that it would establish its first base outside the Republic of Ireland at Belfast International Airport in Northern Ireland. Services from Belfast International commenced in December 2007. As of July 2008, the airline had three Airbus A320 aircraft based at the airport, serving eleven European destinations. Significantly, this move restored the Belfast International to London Heathrow link and Aer Lingus cooperated with its codeshare partner British Airways on this route to connect with BA's network at Heathrow. To do so, the airline discontinued its Shannon-Heathrow service, a move that generated political controversy in the west of Ireland, particularly as the Shannon-London route was still profitable. The airline predicted that this move would add one million additional passengers annually.[49][50] The Shannon to Heathrow service has since been reinstated.
After five years at Belfast International Airport, Aer Lingus announced on 19 July 2012 that it would be moving its operations to George Best Belfast City Airport. The airline transferred its Belfast – London Heathrow flights to there, and also announced the operation of a thrice-daily London Gatwick service (no longer operated), and on 31 March 2013, launched services to Faro and Málaga. Aer Lingus based two aircraft in Belfast City Airport for the Winter 2012–2013 season and a third aircraft arrived for the Summer 2013 season.
Open Skies
On 22 March 2007, as a result of the EU–US Open Skies Agreement, Aer Lingus announced three new long-haul services to the United States. From Autumn 2007, Aer Lingus commenced direct flights to Orlando, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.-Dulles, facilitated by the arrival of two new Airbus A330 aircraft in May 2007. The airline also serves Boston (Logan International Airport), Chicago (O'Hare International Airport) and New York (JFK Airport). Aer Lingus ended its Middle-Eastern Route to Dubai in March 2008 and ended its Los Angeles route in November 2008. The Washington D.C. and the San Francisco routes were discontinued as of 24 October 2009. Services from Washington, D.C., resumed on 28 March 2010 when the airline began flights from Washington, D.C., to Madrid, Spain in a joint venture with United Airlines. The airline terminated this route on 30 October 2012.[51] Service to San Francisco resumed on 2 April 2014. Dublin–Washington Dulles service began in May 2015. The Dublin–Los Angeles route was reintroduced on 4 May 2016. Other US destinations include Hartford, introduced on 28 September 2016; Seattle, introduced on 18 May 2018; Minneapolis-St Paul, introduced on 1 July 2019.
Effect of 2008 recession
After reporting losses of €22 million for the first half of the year, in October 2008, Aer Lingus announced a €74 million cost-saving plan.[52] This plan included cutting up to 1,500 jobs, scaled back ground operations at Cork Airport, and outsourced all ground staff at Dublin Airport.[52] This met with a largely negative response particularly from trade unions.[53]
In December 2008, Aer Lingus announced that the Shannon – Heathrow service would resume from 29 March 2009 following new arrangements with the trade unions on staff costs and the Shannon Airport Authority on airport charges.[54] However at the end of June 2009, the company had accumulated losses of €93 million and Chairman Colm Barrington confirmed this situation could not continue.[55] In October 2009, newly appointed Chief Executive Christoph Mueller announced a radical cost-cutting plan that would lead to the loss of 676 jobs at the company and see pay and pension reductions for those being retained. The total plan aimed to achieve savings of €97 million between then and 2011.
Second Ryanair takeover bid (2008/2009)
On 1 December 2008, Ryanair launched a second takeover bid of Aer Lingus, making an all-cash offer of €748 million (£619M; US$950M). The €1.40 offer was a 28% premium on the average closing price of Aer Lingus stock during the 30 days to the 28 November (€1.09), but half what Ryanair had offered in 2006. Ryanair said, "Aer Lingus, as a small, stand-alone, regional airline has been marginalised and bypassed as most other EU flag carriers consolidate." The two airlines would operate separately and Ryanair claimed that it would double the Aer Lingus short-haul fleet from 33 to 66 and create 1,000 new jobs.[57][58][59] The Aer Lingus Board rejected the offer and advised its shareholders to take no action.[60] The offer was eventually rejected by a majority of the other shareholders. It was the second failed attempt by Michael O'Leary to take over the national flag carrier. Ryanair initially left the offer open to Aer Lingus until it withdrew the bid on 28 January 2009.[61]
Gatwick base
On 19 December 2008, Aer Lingus announced that it would open a base at Gatwick Airport. Four aircraft were based there beginning April 2009, serving eight destinations that included Dublin, Faro, Knock, Málaga, Munich, Nice, Vienna and Zürich. CEO Dermot Mannion also said the company expects to increase the number of aircraft based at Gatwick to eight within 12 months.[65]
As of 6 June 2009, the airline based an additional A320 aircraft at Gatwick, bringing the total number to five and making Gatwick its biggest base outside Ireland. This resulted in six new routes to Bucharest, Eindhoven, Lanzarote, Tenerife, Vilnius and Warsaw which commenced in late October 2009. The Gatwick to Nice route was suspended for the winter months.[66]
On 8 January 2010, due to the weak demand in air travel, Aer Lingus announced that it was to reduce the number of aircraft based at Gatwick from five to three. The three remaining aircraft were to operate the carrier's services to Dublin, Knock and Málaga, as well as a new route to Cork.[67]
In January 2011, Aer Lingus announced a new daily service from Gatwick to Shannon starting at the end of March. The service has since been suspended.[68]
Appointment of Christoph Mueller as CEO
On 6 April 2009, CEO Dermot Mannion announced his resignation from the airline after four years as Chief Executive.[71] He was replaced by German-born Christoph Müller (alternative spelling "Mueller"), former head of TUI Travel and Sabena, who joined Aer Lingus on 1 October 2009.[72]
On 2 December 2009, Aer Lingus announced that talks with its unions had broken down. As a result, the board voted to reduce capacity, and with it associated jobs, as a response. According to Mueller, concessions offered by unions were of a short-term nature, and the airline was asked for high compensation in return. Aer Lingus did not identify the routes or jobs to be cut, but they would most likely "commence immediately and will be compulsory," according to Mueller.[73] As of April 2010, all employees' groups had passed votes on the acceptance of the 'Greenfield' cost-cutting plans which were expected to save €57M annually. Once implemented, the second phase of cost-cutting was to commence which aimed to save €40M annually by reducing 'back office staff' numbers by up to 40% according to the CEO.
Mueller indicated that Aer Lingus intended to reposition itself again, moving away from head-to-head competition with
75th anniversary
Aer Lingus celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2011. On 26 March, the company presented its latest aircraft which has been painted in the 1960s livery and the crew was wearing a selection of historical uniforms.[76]
Third Ryanair takeover bid (2012)
On 19 June 2012, Ryanair announced its intention to launch another bid to take over Aer Lingus, at €1.30 per share, for a total of €694 million.[77] Ryanair expressed the hope that the competition authorities would not block this attempt, pointing to the recent takeovers of bmi and Brussels Airlines by International Airlines Group (IAG) (parent company of Iberia and British Airways) and Lufthansa, respectively.[78]
On 20 June 2012, Aer Lingus issued a press release stating that having reviewed Ryanair's proposed offer, the company board rejected it and advised the company's shareholders not to take any action concerning it. The statement pointed out that any offer from Ryanair was unlikely to be capable of completion due to, firstly, the EU Commission's 2007 decision to block the airline's bid for Aer Lingus at the time, and, secondly, the UK Competition Commission's ongoing investigation of Ryanair's minority stake in Aer Lingus. Furthermore, the press release stated that the Aer Lingus board believed that Ryanair's offer undervalued Aer Lingus, considering the airline's profitability and balance sheet, including cash reserves over €1 billion (as of 31 March 2012).
Virgin Atlantic wet-lease agreement
In December 2012, following the acquisition of British Midland International by British Airways, Virgin Atlantic was awarded slots to fly domestic routes in the UK from Heathrow Airport, ending the monopoly on these services that BA had held since its successful takeover. Aer Lingus supplied on a wet lease agreement four Airbus A320-214 aircraft (painted in Virgin's colours but under Irish registration[39]) as well as crew for these services, which operated from London Heathrow to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Manchester. Services began on 31 March 2013 to Manchester.[81] This wet-lease agreement ended in September 2015, as Virgin Atlantic cancelled its domestic services.[82]
Long-haul expansion
In July 2013, expansion into North America was announced launching in 2014; including a direct service from Dublin to San Francisco five times weekly and a daily service from Dublin to Toronto to be operated by Air Contractors with Boeing 757s on behalf of the airline. It was also announced that transatlantic services from Shannon to Boston and New York would operate daily all year round from January 2014 to Boston and from March 2014 to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport; however, the airline would lease Boeing 757 aircraft from Air Contractors to operate these routes, rather than using its Airbus A330 aircraft as it had done before.[83] In addition, Aer Lingus service to Washington Dulles airport resumed 1 May 2015, with four flights weekly, and flights to Los Angeles, Newark, Miami, Philadelphia, and Seattle all started between 2015 and 2018.[84] Flights from Dublin to Minneapolis operated from 2019 until being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic; they were scheduled to resume 29 April 2024.[85]
On 24 March 2021, Aer Lingus announced the launch of four new routes from Manchester Airport; New York John F Kennedy and Orlando from 29 July 2021, Barbados from 20 October 2021 and Boston from summer 2022.[86]
Change of CEO
On 18 July 2014, Aer Lingus said it had "been agreed" between the company and Mueller that he would step down as CEO and director in May 2015. Mueller left to join Malaysia Airlines as part of its restructuring exercise.[72] On 16 February 2015, the company announced that the new CEO and director would be Stephen Kavanagh, beginning 1 March 2015.[87] As of 1 January 2019, Sean Doyle became the new Aer Lingus CEO.[88] As of 6 April 2021, Lynne Embleton became the new Aer Lingus CEO.
IAG takeover (2014/2015)
On 14 December 2014, International Airlines Group (IAG), owner of British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, launched a €1 billion takeover bid (€2.30 per share) for Aer Lingus Group plc. The Aer Lingus Board rejected the offer on 16 December 2014, with Aer Lingus commenting that the offer was, "preliminary, highly conditional and non-binding". It was further noted: "The board has reviewed the proposal and believes that it fundamentally undervalues Aer Lingus and its attractive prospects. Accordingly, the proposal was rejected".[89]
On 9 January 2015, Aer Lingus rejected a second bid from IAG, proposing a €2.40 per-share takeover.[90] On 24 January 2015, IAG launched a third bid for Aer Lingus, proposing a €2.55 per-share takeover offer, totalling close to €1.4 billion.[91] On 27 January 2015, Aer Lingus's board announced that "the financial terms of IAG's third proposal for the airline are at a level it is willing to recommend", Aer Lingus said it noted, "IAG's intentions regarding the future of the company, in particular, that Aer Lingus would operate as a separate business with its own brand, management and operations".
2020s
On 25 February 2020, Aer Lingus noted it had been advised by the Department of Foreign Affairs that travel restrictions were being placed on several Italian towns within Italy's Lombardy region as a result of an outbreak of COVID-19 there,[94] however, it stated all flights would continue to operate,[94] further advising all flights operated would continue to comply with guidelines locally from the HSE as well as from the WHO and EASA.[94]
On 28 February, Aer Lingus had been informed that a passenger had travelled with COVID-19 on a service from Milan-Linate to Dublin[96] and that it was cooperating fully with the HSE and Department for Foreign Affairs.[94] Four Aer Lingus cabin crew were also placed into self-isolation from the flight in question.
