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The Aer Arann Story When Aer Arann operated its first commercial flight in 1970, it’s ambition was to provide a reliable, value for money air service to 1,000 islanders, located in Inishmore, off the west coast of Ireland. And to do it with classic island charm. Since those days not only has Ireland, and its islands, changed remarkably but the model of the global airline industry has been rethought and reconfigured, bringing with it a host of challenges – not least of which is the commodisation of what Aer Arann still believe is a highly personalized service. Over the years Aer Arann has implemented a programme of well-managed changes - incremental expansion supported by market investigation and business savvy, investment in best in class technology and unfailing customer driven strategies. There is also another unquantifiable asset – that is the spirit of independence that fuels Aer Arann. This vigor seized the opportunities in the early 80s to branch out from an island service to offering flight services within Ireland, beginning with the Galway to Dublin route. Soon after self-determination saw the company build their own airport and terminal facilities in Connemara, Co Galway. In 1994 ownership of the company changed hands and under the stewardship of Padraig O’Ceidigh and a hard-working team, the untapped potential of offering a complete air link service between major cities throughout the island of Ireland, was to be realised. That year passenger traffic doubled, but just as importantly, the airline won its first award for service. In obtaining the ISO 9000 Quality Award, Aer Arann became the first European airline to achieve this accolade. As a further testament to the company’s modus operandi, in 1998 the Government awarded the contract to operate the PSO Donegal to Dublin route. This was shortly followed by a Sligo to- Dublin service which had been managed by Aer Lingus. The moment had arrived to take the company to the next level and the UK became the obvious target for expansion. Today Aer Arann operates over 600 flights per week, across 40 routes in Ireland to the UK and Northern France. Passenger numbers have grown from 12,000 in its first year to 1.1m in 2006. Aer Arann have engineering bases in Cork ,Galway and the most recently opened Waterford base creating up to 45 jobs. In order to simplify operations and maintenance procedures, and with a view to the next phase of the airline’s development, the company made a key decision to partner with one aircraft supplier, ATR. ATR is a joint venture within the Airbus family, with its final assembly lines in Toulouse alongside Airbus. They enjoy an impeccable track record operating in over 70 countries and flying some 560 million passengers per year in Latin America and Asia Pacific, in tough African climates and throughout the varied terrain of continental Europe Aer Arann last year signed an agreement valued at €180m for the delivery of 10 new ATR 72-500s, the next generation in turboprop technology. .Aer Arann’s decision to purchase turboprop aircraft, as opposed to jet aircraft, was carefully calculated. The procurement rationale was chiefly based on the fact that turboprops are the most economic way to transport passengers on short-haul sectors. Before the end of June this year, Aer Arann will also have launched 6 additional routes between Ireland, UK and France, moved to a new Headquarters in Dublin and opened a new hangar in Galway Airport, the birthplace of the airline.. Aer Arann are committed to continuing what they regard as essential flight experience advantages, such as later check-in times, no extra baggage charges and free newspapers. The company’s excellence in customer service was recognised in 2006 by receiving the Palme D’Or European regional airline award for sustained excellence, reinforcingthe airline’s belief that providing a progressive airline service doesn’t have to compromise the human touch. |
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