 14 th July 2005, Aer Arann, Ireland’s premier regional airline, today announced that it will begin operating its first route to France from Cork on the 23 rd July 2005 with the launch of a service to Lorient in South Brittany.
The service will initially operate one day a week on Saturday and will be operated by an ATR72 aircraft. The airline projects that it will carry in excess of 2,500 passengers on the route during the coming months.
The Cork to Lorient service will depart Cork Airport at 0820 on Saturday arriving in Lorient Airport at 1055 local time. The return flight will depart Lorient Airport at 1125 arriving in Cork Airport at 1205. Fares on the route will start from €49.99 one way including tax.
Commenting on the announcement Micheal O Callarain, Marketing Manager Aer Arann said “we are delighted to be launching our first French route from Cork to Brittany, which is the most popular French destination for Irish passengers after Paris. We believe that there is considerable untapped demand from Cork to Brittany and we look forward to working with both airports to establish this service over the coming months”
Dedicated Domestic Departure Channel for Aer Arann Passengers at Dublin Airport
Aer Arann is delighted to announce the introduction of a new dedicated departure channel for domestic passengers travelling through Dublin Airport effective from 24th June 2005.
This move will speed up transit through the airport for domestic passengers travelling on Aer Arann flights to Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry and Sligo as they will now be able to avoid queuing with passengers travelling on International and long haul flights.
Commenting on the announcement Micheal O’Callarain, Marketing Manager Aer Arann said “We raised this issue with the Dublin Airport Authority some time ago and very much welcome today’s decision to introduce this new channel. As we are in the midst of the peak summer season, we believe that it will provide considerable benefit to domestic commuters by speeding up transit times through the airport, reducing the need for queuing and ultimately providing a more seamless travelling experience for Aer Arann passengers. ”
Aer Arann celebrates PSO contract win
26 th May 2005, Aer Arann Ireland's leading regional airline welcomed the announcement today by the Department of Transport that the airline has been successful in renewing its tender to operate the Kerry, Galway, Donegal and Sligo Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes.
Aer Arann has been successfully operating these routes since 2001 and today's announcement confirms that the airline will continue to operate these services until July 2008. Aer Arann currently operates over 500 flights per week across 17 UK, 6 domestic and 2 French routes and has experienced considerable growth in the past three years carrying just under 1 million passengers in 2004.
Commenting on the announcement Padraig O'Ceidigh, Managing Director for Aer Arann said " We are delighted to have been awarded the contract to continue operating the Kerry, Galway, Donegal and Sligo PSO routes and are exceptionally well positioned to provide an excellent service to these regions. In the past we have worked closely with the airports and business and tourism interests to increase passenger numbers to these regions and we look forward to further developing these routes over the next three years. "
He added " We are disappointed that we have not been given the opportunity to continue operating the Knock-Dublin route and I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the professionalism of the Knock Airport staff and management team. We have enjoyed working with them and regret that Knock will no longer form part of our domestic route network"
Aer Arann was awarded the European Bronze Airline of the Year Award for 2004 by the European Regions Airline Association and was chosen from among 65 airline members throughout Europe to win the coveted award.
Aer Arann scoops prestigious Marketing Award
 28th April 2005, Aer Arann Ireland’s leading regional airline was presented with the Sean F. Lemass Award by the Marketing Institute of Ireland at the Institutes Presidents Night which took place at the King’s Inns in Dublin.
Aer Arann was chosen as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Sean F. Lemass Award in recognition of the business success achieved by the airline and the successful implementation of the marketing strategy adopted.
The Sean F. Lemass award was initiated by the Marketing Institute in 1974 and is awarded to no more than one Irish company a year for exceptional performance and excellence in the marketing arena. The first recipient in 1974 was Waterford Glass and in the intervening 31 years it has been presented to twelve companies including Kerry Group, IAWS and the Jury’s Doyle Hotel Group.
Aer Arann currently operates over 500 flights per week across 17 UK, 6 domestic and 2 French routes. In 2004 the airline carried just under 1 million passengers and now carries as many passengers in three months as it did for the entire year in 2001.
Commenting on the announcement Padraig O’Ceidigh, Managing Director Aer Arann said “I would like to thank the Marketing Institute for this huge honour. We have achieved phenomenal growth in the past five years and this award provides valuable recognition of the hard work and commitment of all our team. We are delighted to be joining such a prestigious list of former recipients including world renowned brands like Waterford Crystal and Kerry Group.” ~
He added “I would also like to take this opportunity to pay a special tribute to our loyal passenger base for their continued support. We look forward to continuing to provide them with the high levels of service they have come to expect from one of Europe’s best and fastest growing
Aer Arann celebrates 3 millionth passenger as it announces summer 2005 schedule
 22nd February 2005 , Aer Arann, Ireland’s premier regional airline, announced today that it had carried its three millionth passenger across its seventeen UK, six domestic and two French routes. Mr Denis O’Sullivan, a frequent flyer on the Cork-Dublin route was presented with a travel voucher to the value of €1,000, flowers and champagne by Padraig O’Ceidigh, Managing Director, Aer Arann to celebrate being named the three millionth passenger to travel with the airline.
With a staff of 350, a turnover in excess of EUR94 million and passenger numbers of just under 1 million in 2004, Aer Arann is one of the fastest growing regional airlines in Europe. The airline experienced a 62% increase in passenger numbers last year, launched a total of nine news services and took delivery of two 66 seater ATR72 aircraft bringing its total fleet size to ten ATR aircraft.
Today’s announcement coincided with the launch of the airlines summer 2005 schedule, which confirmed that the airline will operate a direct service from Waterford and Galway to Lorient in South Brittany effective from 11 th May 2005. The services, which will run three days per week on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday will be operated by a 66 seater ATR72 aircraft with one way fares starting from €89.99 including tax.
Aer Arann is also increasing frequency on its Cork-Dublin commuter service to offer a total of 11 flights per day each way on the route Monday-Friday to accommodate business and leisure passengers. Direct services from Kerry to Manchester and Donegal to Glasgow Prestwick will continue to operate three days per week for the summer period.
Commenting on the announcement Padraig O’Ceidigh, Managing Director, Aer Arann said “Carrying our three millionth passenger is another significant milestone for the airline. We have achieved phenomenal growth in the past three years with a turnover in excess of €94 million, passenger numbers of just under 1 million for 2004 and 350 employees in Dublin, Cork and Galway.” |
14th October 2005, Aer Arann, Ireland’s premier regional airline was awarded the prestigious Bronze Airline of the Year Award last night for the second consecutive year by the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) at an awards ceremony in Gothenburg, Sweden. The event which forms part of the Associations Annual General Assembly was attended by over 600 international press and airlines' delegates.