AUGUST 2014
Your Staff Magazine
Let's Go To
WARR Dublin Hosts the World Airline Road Race
Terminal 2 Takes Off New Heathrow Facility Opens
All-New Business Class A330s to Receive New Lieflat Beds
Half-year Results // New First Wave // Patrick Loureiro // Milwaukee Irish Fest // Carrauntoohil Challenge // Coffee & Tea Festival
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Aertime Latest News
Half Year Results
v
Carrauntoohil Challenge
On July 30th we announced our financial results for the first half of 2014, reporting a significant 39.6 per cent improvement in the H1 2014 operating result compared to 2013. Some of the performance highlights are as follows:
H1 2014 Financial and Operating Highlights • Strong revenue growth of 6 per cent in first six months of 2014 despite actual and threatened industrial disruption having an effect of €10 million on the results • Significant 39.6 per cent improvement in H1 2014 operating result compared to prior year • Average fare revenue per seat and passenger per seat up 5.5 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively • Aer Lingus Regional (operated by Stobart Air) passengers up 25.8 per cent in H1 2014 • 16.7 per cent growth in net cash in the first six months of 2014, and 26.3 per cent increase in free cashflow despite industrial action • Dividend of €21.3m paid in May 2014. Commenting on the results, Christoph said: “We are delighted to announce that Aer Lingus’ successful business model has delivered a 40 per cent improved operating result and a 26 per cent increase in free cash flow in H1 2014. “We continue to attract more and more passengers in the North Atlantic transfer market from both European and US locations, most of them through our online booking portal. Improved connectivity via Dublin now allows us to significantly extend our addressable markets into continental Europe whilst also enabling us to grow further in secondary UK markets from already solid market positions. “Based on recent trading trends we once again expect that full-year 2014 operating profit (before net exceptional items) will be at least in line with 2013 (i.e. €61.1m).
On August 13th, 26 Cork-based Aer Lingus colleagues took part in the Aer Lingus Carrauntoohil Challenge 2014 in support of the Children’s Leukaemia Association. The team climbed and descended Carrauntoohil in Co Kerry, Ireland’s highest peak at 3,406ft, in just over seven hours. Based in Cork, the Children’s Leukaemia Association supports and assists families affected by children’s leukaemia; funding accommodation, nursing staff, medical equipment and additional services during the course of on-going treatment. The initiative was supported by the generosity of our travelling passengers, who donated on board our flights in the week prior to the climb. To date, the team has raised over €20,000 in support of the association. Congratulations to all who supported and took part in the charity initiative.
Aer Lingus at Milwaukee Irish Fest The 34th Annual Milwaukee Irish Fest – the largest celebration of Irish music, culture, dance, food and sports in North America – took place between August 14th and 17th. With an audience of some 150,000 visitors, the fourday festival was the ideal opportunity to showcase Aer Lingus as the carrier of choice when travelling to Ireland and Europe from North America. Over the course of the weekend, the Aer Lingus stage was filled with all things Irish with a wide variety of acts such as the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance, Sharon Shannon, Gaelic Storm and The Red Hot Chilli Pipers taking part.
Do you have a story we could feature in Aertime? Then email us at: aertime@aerlingus.com
Latest News Aertime
Launch of New First Wave Process In April of this year, a process improvement team was created to improve the performance of our first wave departures in Dublin Airport. A good first wave is crucial for the operation in pursuit of achieving on-time performance excellence. Mark Gill (Ground Ops), Percy Cleere (M&E), Craig McComish (IFS), Dave Leonard (IOC), Antoinette Bucke (Catering) and Captain Peter McDonnell (Flight Ops) ensured that all stakeholders Pictured (L to R): Damian Murphy, Dave Leonard, Antoinette Bucke, in the first wave process had Mark Gill, Percy Cleere and Craig McComish a voice on the project team. A number of process improvement methodologies including lean thinking and project management were used to analyse and then improve our first wave performance. After completing numerous trials, a risk assessment process and the testing of multiple process improvements, the team were confident that they had identified numerous process improvements that would make a noticeable difference to our first wave performance. The new first wave process went live on July 15th and since that date a number of benefits have been identified including: • A steady increase in our on-time performance • The introduction of the ACARS load sheets • An earlier order-of-departure plan has significantly minimised the towing of aircraft • Gate agents have adequate time to implement the baggage policy, which makes the boarding process easier • Green light boarding facilitates a smoother and calmer boarding process for everybody • Achieving ready-to-push at -10 minutes facilitates the management of last minute issues. Project Leader Mark Gill thanked all the areas involved for their backing: “The support from all of the stakeholders and the senior management team was first class from day one. Very quickly it became evident that the new process was simple, effective and fit-for-purpose.” Damian Murphy adds: “On behalf of the entire first wave team I would like to extend a sincere thank you to all of the process stakeholders and senior management for making this an operations and customer success story.”
Aer Lingus Blog Continuing our extended web presence into social media over the past 18 months, our Social Media team recently opened an additional online communications channel: the Aer Lingus blog. The blog allows our social team to publish news and information directly to our customers and to a wider audience, while maintaining full editorial control over content. Social Media Manager Paul Buckley explains: “The goal of the blog is to shine a light on the positive and innovative work that we do as a company. Whether it is developing our guest experience, opening new routes, supporting community and business events or investing in our people through cadetships and apprenticeships, the blog allows us to communicate in an open and friendly way.” Paul and his team have big plans for the future. “The platform provides us with the scope to expand on topics of historical interest and company milestones. We are also busy scheduling entries from guest bloggers such as travel writers, celebrities and staff, which we think will be a lot of fun and provides a new channel to promote Aer Lingus destinations.” Blog posts (which can include text, images and video) will be scheduled, composed and managed by the social media team. Ideas for posts are welcome by emailing eoin.mcgirl@aerlingus.com. The blog can be accessed via http://blog.aerlingus.com.
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Industry News
American Airlines drops meals
Passengers expecting some kind of meal on American Airlines short haul flights from September 1st will find that they are disappointed. The carrier will stop serving free meals to first and business class passengers on flights shorter than 2hrs 45mins. The change is part of American Airlines' merger plans with US Airways, which include adopting a standard cabin service on the two airlines. US Airways previously had only served full meals on flights longer than 3hrs 30mins. In April it reduced that time to 2hrs 45 mins. The airlines will continue to serve snacks such as fig bars, pretzels, fruit and cookies on shorter flights. Passengers in the economy sections can buy meals on flights longer than 2hrs 45mins.
Hand baggage and BA
British Airways has extended its hand baggage-only fares to include all short haul flights from Gatwick, Heathrow and London City airports and in all fare classes. The airline first introduced the option – which sees fares typically £20 cheaper for a return ticket or £10 less for a single – on some flights from Gatwick in September 2013, having already introduced it at London City. Passengers choosing the hand baggage-only fare can carry on a case measuring up to 56x45x25cm, plus a handbag or laptop bag. The weight limit for cabin baggage is 23kg.
Do you have a story we could feature in Aertime? Then email us at: aertime@aerlingus.com
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Aertime Latest News
Patrick's story
Back Row (L-R): Martin Gallagher (third pilot), Claire Donnelly, Anne Cussins, Anne Sherry, Maria Murphy, Gemma Cartwright and Rian Tinnan (Onboard Catering Manager). Middle Row: Evelyn Dunne, Particia O'Rourke, Maeve Derham, Robert Somers (Executive Flight Operations and Contract Flying), Maureen Rowe, Mutsumi Saga-Walsh (Corporate Safety and Risk Office), Paul Buckley (Social Media Manager), Rosemary Rowley, Katie Wyse. Front Row: Eoin McGirl, Jacqui Ryan, Patrick.
Back in June, our social media team got an interesting email from Mutsumi Saga-Walsh in the Corporate Safety and Risk Office. Mutsumi had found a picture that was posted to a private Facebook group of a family on board a plane. The mother looked to have just delivered a baby, and the background provided was quite unbelievable: it was 1975, and this baby had just arrived while flying on a charter flight from Mozambique to Lisbon. It was also suggested that the baby had been named Patrick after the aircraft they were travelling on! Mutsumi wondered if we could find out whatever happened to the baby, and whether we could get back in touch. Eoin McGirl from the Social Media team explains. “We were a little sceptical about the chances of finding a boy without his surname who flew with us on a charter flight 39 years ago, but we said we'd give it a shot – it was too good a story not to try!” Pretty quickly, Eoin and the team found a massive clue in the form of a newspaper article from the Irish Independent in 1975. With confirmation that the story was true and a surname for Patrick Loureiro, the Social Media team turned to our Facebook community for help. Through a lot of sharing, their Facebook post looking for Patrick reached almost 90,000 people! The next big breakthrough came when Joana Henriques de Lucas, from Portugal, commented that the original Irish Independent article from 1975 had omitted a letter from Patrick's surname, hence the reason why we had been having no luck searching up to that point! Now the team were getting somewhere, but Facebook was still showing over 40 profiles
in the name of Patrick Loureiro, with many more on LinkedIn. Luckily, Nicole Weldon Hennessy took the time to have a look at many of those Patrick Loureiros on Facebook, and very soon she private messaged the Social Media team to advise that she had found Patrick! Patrick was clearly proud of his unusual place of birth, and pictures of the first day of his life on board St Patrick were visible on his profile page. He could be seen, as a baby, in the arms of cabin crew member Jackie Ryan and the aircraft's captain, both of whom became Patrick's godparents! Amazingly, Patrick still feels a connection with Aer Lingus, and is sometimes seen wearing a winged shamrock on his lapel. The Social Media team arranged for Patrick, his wife Laura and his daughter Sara to travel to Dublin Airport on July 30th. It was their first visit to Ireland, and the first time since June 1975 that Patrick had met many of the people who crewed the flight on which he became the first and only baby to have been born on an Aer Lingus flight. It was a very happy occasion and some incredible stories of the eventful flight from Mozambique were shared. Patrick’s unique story received widespread national media coverage, with articles covering his visit appearing in a number of newspapers including the front page of the Irish Examiner. Patrick is already planning his next trip back to Ireland with his parents to spend some more time with the crew of his famous flight.
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Latest News Aertime
July Punctuality On-time:
45
%
Target:
67
%
within 15 Mins:
75
%
Target:
88
%
July operations saw Aer Lingus services begin to turn a corner in relation to on-time performance. On-time departures increased 4 per cent over June 2014, while network first wave departures showed some steady improvements.
The impact of this can be seen in our London Heathrow ranking stats, which show Aer Lingus at a 12-month low at the airport for departures and arrivals, and place fourth of large operators departing the airport.
Significant challenges were still seen throughout the network, with thunderstorm activity prevalent across the skies of central Europe and England. This caused long delays to services including to LHR and AMS, while other European flights faced unscheduled overnights and diversions.
In July, we achieved 45 per cent on-time and 75 per cent within 15mins for Departing flights.
Favourites wgillianhennessy @gillianhenness2 Thank you @AerLingus for such a pleasant flight to Chicago last Friday & returning to Dublin Wednesday cabin crew were so nice & helpful Ruth-Anne Kilty @rkilty Have to say @AerLingus staff are just the nicest people! So friendly and helpful! Perfect way to start the day #thankyou @DublinAirport Darrah Blair @darrah_blair @AerLingus belfast to faro and back on 17th to 28th July, outstanding, and credit is deserved to every member of staff (airport &plane) Paul Rouke @paulrouke Just boarded an Air Lingus flight to Cork. Possibly the friendliest on board crew I’ve ever experienced #irishcharm Simon Coveney @simoncoveney Catching a flight out of cork - great friendly customer service from Aerlingus, a pleasure to travel with... Michael Kelly @Michaelkelly707 On my way back to Dublin using #AerLingus #WiFi. Simply a superb product. pic.twitter.com/ymanVohLYG
Read more at twitter.com/aerlingus/favorites
Total flown passenger numbers, including Aer Lingus Regional operations were
6.2%
1,212,000 an increase of 6.2% compared to July 2013
Load Factor:
Total flown passenger load factor in June 2014 was
87.3%
A decrease of 0.6%
0.6%
compared to July 2013 (excludes Aer Lingus Regional)
Current Share Price
share Price:
listed on the Irish Stock Exchange was
a1.35 Down €0.01 from the previous edition of Aertime
a0.01 from last month
*at time of print
Patrick @PatrickMcW1 The new @AerLingus Business Class website looks great! Even on an iPad! All airline websites should be like this!! #AerLingus
Passenger Numbers:
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Aertime Feature
Terminal 2
Takes Off
On July 9th, Aer Lingus moved from the outdated Terminal 1 to the brand new Queen's Terminal, Terminal 2 in London Heathrow. Aertime catches up with Regional Operations Manager Ciaran MacDonagh to hear about the move and how the team are settling in.
W
hen Aertime last spoke to Ciaran MacDonagh, in April, the Heathrow-based Regional Operations Manager was quietly confident. He and his team were preparing to move all of our key Heathrow operations to the extraordinary new £2.5 billion Terminal 2, with its vastly improved customer experience, infrastructure and working environment. The date was set for July 9th. And that’s exactly what happened. “The move went really well,” Ciaran explains happily. “The first departure from here was EI149 and it departed two minutes early! Overall, it’s been a great success.
We’re all really pleased with how it’s gone – Terminal 2 really is a fabulous terminal. “It’s a huge improvement over what we were offering our customers in Terminal 1. There are much shorter walking distances, the transfer of passengers is a much-improved process, with in-terminal connections with a number of our codeshare partners including United and Air Canada.” Our customers now enjoy the best terminal-to-terminal experience in Europe. Improved signage and passenger flow give a huge boost, not to mention so many important connections being under
one roof. This means that our connecting customers no longer have to disembark at the rear of the aircraft to transfer. “Generally, it’s a much-improved terminal experience for everybody,” he says. We have operated from Terminal 1 for the best part of 50 years and according to Ciaran, it was a fundamental shift moving to Terminal 2. We operate 24 departures and 24 arrivals a day: 48 fights. Such a smooth move has been a huge achievement.
Positive feedback It’s clearly something that our customers have appreciated. “Our social media team and customer relations department
Feature Aertime
Terminal 2 in a nutshell l Five Aer Lingus check-in desks and two ticket desks are prominently located in Zone C, in the centre of the terminal, next to security. (L-R): Keith Tenn, Giovanni Ciocari, Bob Barker, Joanne Perry, Robbie Lynch, Michelle Boston, Sheila Mahoney, Valerie Kelly
l Aer Lingus flights depart from gates A21 to A26. l Kerb-to-gate walking time is halved compared to Terminal 1. l 24 departures and 24 arrivals a day l That’s a total of 6,000 passengers l There are 52 new retail outlets and 17 restaurants and bars in Terminal 2.
(L-R): Robbie Lynch, LHR Duty Manager; Sheila Mahony, LHR Duty Manager; Ciaran MacDonagh, Station Manager
l The flight transfer procedure will be much smoother, with clear signage. l Terminal 2 offers connections to over 100 destinations worldwide. l One in five Aer Lingus passengers will be making connections. l In total, Terminal 2 will be used by 20 million passengers a year.
Our customers have been keen to share their praise of our new lounge in a comments book in the new lounge reception area
have been picking up feedback: the feedback from customers has been overwhelmingly positive. You can’t fail to be impressed by Terminal 2. It’s a brand-new facility. The retail and catering facilities are much better than Terminal 1.” It’s also a huge boost to our London Heathrow-based colleagues, with a much improved working environment and new infrastructure. “Everyone is enjoying settling in,” he says. “We’re still working through bits and pieces around the fit-out of offices but as part of the move we have been provided with new offices, new IT, and we are all very positive about the move. “This project has been a long time coming – I’ve personally been working on it for almost two years. I’ve had support from a huge range of people across Aer Lingus and externally from Heathrow Airport.” Was it a relief when
l The old Terminal 2 handled 8m passengers. It was designed for 1.2m.
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Twitter - LHR Fionn Davenport @fionndavenport Aug 15 The @aerlingus experience at #HeathrowT2 is efficient, easy and fast - about 300m from gate to door. Philip Nolan @philipnolan1 · Aug 15 Very impressed with Heathrow T2, the new home for @AerLingus. No more cigar tube panic! John Compton @joncom Aug 1 First trip through Heathrow Terminal 2- huge improvement over Term 1 - helped by great @ AerLingus lounge and staff john conroy @JC_DOP Jul 26 @AerLingus In the new Gold Circle lounge in @HeathrowAirport T2 Top Class!!! Beautiful design and great new terminal. Eamonn Medlar @_alias_root Jul 24 The trip from security at T2 LHR to the Aer Lingus lounge is fantastically short. Well done @ AerLingus #superjob
EI 149 pushed back from Gate 21B? “Because of the work that a lot of people have put in over the course of the last two years, relief is probably the wrong word because it suggests nervousness. But there was a quiet confidence that things were going to go well, and it was a reassuring moment when that first flight departed early.”
operation and maintaining our customer promise in London Heathrow. We’ve still got a bit of T2 work to do. We’re settled in but we need to make sure that the operational elements work consistently, making sure that our punctuality and performance are delivered consistently, and we’ll continue to improve that over the next few months.
A world-class lounge
“I’ll also be dealing with some of the closure elements in Terminal 1: we had a range of facilities in Terminal 1, which has now closed, and we need to decommission everything.”
The Gold Circle lounge sits prominently above our departure gates and offers a huge boost for our Heathrow offering. As a much bigger and brighter lounge, the design and facilities are a major asset, with the extraordinary view of the Heathrow airfield a real highlight. “It’s a huge improvement – it really is a fabulous lounge and we’re all really excited about it.” So what next for Ciaran, now that things are settling down? “I revert back to my day job, which is managing the
With Aer Lingus’ impressive new Heathrow operation impressing customers, a greatly improved Gold Circle lounge and a better working environment being enjoyed by staff, two years of hard work by Ciaran and his team have come to fruition – and our customer offering in London is all the stronger for it.
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Aertime In Focus
Let's Go to
WARR
This year’s World Airline Road Race will be held in Dublin – and Aer Lingus’ Dave O’Connor, chairman of the 2014 event, is looking forward to an action-packed event.
T
his October, Aer Lingus and Dublin will be at the centre of attention for over a thousand personnel from airlines across the world. That’s because it’s our turn to host the World Airline Road Race, an annual celebration of running, friendship and good fun, held in St Anne’s Park in Raheny this year.
To veteran Aer Lingus Operations employee, athlete and event chairman Dave O’Connor, this is a major milestone in his love for the sport, and in his career at Aer Lingus – as well as being the culmination of months of hard work in organising the event. “I’ve been involved in running since about 1982,” he recalls. “I’ve done the Dublin City Marathon, the London Marathon and triathlons. I’ve raced all over the world and was lucky enough to have represented Ireland in triathlon over the years, and got a bronze medal for a team triathlon in 1984 in Northern Ireland. I’ve also gone to the Mecca of triathlons, Hawaii, for four years and did reasonably well. I can’t complain about my days in sport!” Dave was at the first World Airline Road Race, at which runners from airlines across the globe meet and compete, in San Francisco in 1982. “This will be my 30th WARR.” He’s been to San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, Orlando, Australia, Kuala Lumpur, London, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Capetown, Calgary, Vancouver and Hawaii, among many others. Next year he will travel to Dubai. Dave joined Aer Lingus in 1979 and started in Payroll, working there for around 10 years before two stints in Ground Operations. Then he moved to Operations Logistics in 1989 and has been there ever since: he’s worked in most areas in Operations Logistics and now works in Operations Support, which supports the maintenance of the flight planning system and manuals for the aircraft and Operations staff. He became involved in running and in WARR by joining the Aer Lingus Athletic Club over 30 years ago. Among its members were some top runners: in San Francisco they won
the 5k and 10k, with five runners making up the top seven in the 10k. “It’s brilliant fun. Let me put it this way: WARR, to me, is a place to build friendships and do our best, we run hard, but we also enjoy ourselves. The race is the excuse, and this gives you the opportunity over four or five days to meet up with likeminded people and enjoy the craic,” he says. He’s made some great friends over the years, and he recommends it to anyone regardless of fitness level. You can walk at your leisure if you like. “It’s more of a festival to meet people from the airline community. No-one’s going to ask you what your time was – they’re more interested in meeting you and having a party,” he continues.
A busy weekend There’s a packed itinerary. Registration will be in Dublin Castle, with an opening ceremony and meet-and-greet in the famous Dining Hall of Trinity College on Thursday 2nd. “It’s an impressive place for visitors to come and socialise,” he says. One of the most enjoyable events is the T-shirt swap party: each of the competing airlines designs its own T-shirt based on the destination and theme for the year. This year’s theme is ‘Come for the craic, leave with the memories’. “It’s a serious competition!” says Dave. “Some of the airlines have designed some classics. Then there’s a parade of the T-shirts at the party. It’s another way of meeting and greeting people.” Registration will be in Dublin Castle too, and it will include a goodie bag with a WARR T-shirt. The logo this year has the three turrets of Dublin Castle, the Liffey running through it, the wing for Aer Lingus, a pint of stout, and a Viking: it’s 1,000 years since the Battle of Clontarf, which is a major reason why St Anne’s Park has been chosen for the run on Sunday. After the event, a gala sit-down dinner in the Double Tree Hilton in Ballsbridge will be the perfect culmination to an enjoyable weekend. “We’re hoping that everyone will get onboard, and the more Aer Lingus people take part, the better – for two reasons. One, it shows the other airlines that we’re strong as a community, and two, there’s an interdepartmental competition within the
In Focus Aertime
9
5k: between Engineering, Ground Ops, Cabin Crew, whatever. It’s about participation, not times: the more people you have in your department, the better chance you have of winning. We don’t take it too seriously.”
Hosting WARR This year, 1,000-1,200 visitors are expected – but it’s not the first time Dublin has hosted WARR. “It was in Dublin in 1993, and about 1,200 came,” Dave remembers. “Back then, it was just a few phonecalls to organise a race in the city centre, down Dame Street and Merrion Square and all. Everything’s changed dramatically in the past 20 years!” A return visit was mooted for Dublin last year, to coincide with The Gathering, but that proved impossible. Then it was a surprise to Dave when it was announced for Dublin this year. He met the team captains of British Airways, American Airlines, Lufthansa and other participating airlines in Amsterdam. They said they’d make sure to get the numbers if Dave organised it, so he agreed and contacted Fáilte Ireland to get things under way. “We basically started from scratch again. The ultimate aim, besides having a good event, is to raise some money for charities. The nominated charity this year is Pieta House, and that’s close to me personally because my godson died of suicide and I’ve strong feelings about it. We hope to collect as much as we can.” A strong team of six will help him to get things across the line. “Jim McEvoy has been brilliant. He’s retired now but he’s a great operator with a lot of contacts. Rory Downey in Operations is great on the logistics side. Declan Doherty is looking after media. Karl O’Reilly is a great help. Chris Noonan is looking after transport. We’ve had a lot of help from the DAA and Aer Lingus. It’s all coming together!” Our Corporate Health and Safety Office are also heavily involved: encouraging a healthy lifestyle is an important aim for the office and with that in mind they have secured access to the ALSAA running track at a reduced rate to help colleagues train in preparation for WARR. “Starting on Tuesday 2nd and running throughout September, the ALSAA running track will be open to members and non-members (at a reduced cost of e2) alike each Tuesday from 18:00 to 19:00,” advises Corporate Health and Safety Officer Marion Martin. The sessions are open to all and will allow colleagues from all over Aer Lingus meet and share training tips together. Besides getting people to run, Dave is also looking for more volunteers, particularly marshals and volunteers to meet visitors. “You can never have enough volunteers, but we’re getting there!” Come the first weekend of October, all these plans will have come to fruition – and Dublin will have hosted WARR in St Anne’s Park, 1,000 years after it hosted the Battle of Clontarf.
Dave O’Connor, Chairman of the 2014 World Airline Road Race
To get involved, see www.dublinirelandairlinesrace.com, email warrindublin@gmail.com – or just talk to Dave if you see him around Hangar 6! Training sessions will be held at the ALSAA running track each Tuesday during September between 18:00 and 19:00. Cost: €2. Contact aertime@aerlingus.com to register your interest.
The Schedule Wed October 1st Hotel WARR rates start
Thurs October 2nd Registration in Dublin Castle, WARR opening ceremony and meetand-greet in Trinity College Dublin.
Friday October 3rd Registration in Dublin Castle. 18:00: T-shirt swap party at the Print Room in Dublin Castle.
Sat October 4th Free day. AM only: Registration in Dublin Castle, Team Captains’ meeting.
Sun October 5th 10:00: 10k race. 11:15: 5k race. 18:00 - Gala dinner in the Double Tree Hilton, Ballsbridge, with awards, dinner, Irish entertainment, ‘80s tribute band and disco.
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Aertime In Focus
All-New Business Class New lie-flat beds and a new service will revolutionise Aer Lingus' transatlantic Business Class offering.
F
rom March 2015, all seven of our A330 aircraft will be fitted with brand new lie-flat beds, and a revamped service will offer our guests a whole new experience when travelling across the Atlantic with Aer Lingus. A significant investment of over e20 million has gone into this project to ensure that we are seen as the best choice for travelling to and from the United States. “The seats are being designed and manufactured by an Irish company, Thompson Aero Seats in Portadown, Northern Ireland. In October 2013 we evaluated seats from some of the biggest seat manufacturers in the world at the Convention Centre in Dublin. At this event we asked our top customers, corporate clients and internal stakeholders to try out the seats and give feedback. The overall winner was the Vantage Seat, which is produced by Thompson. The process for getting the seats into manufacture and onboard is a lengthy one, with aircraft LOPAs (layout of passenger accommodation) needing to be drawn and redrawn to ensure that we could get the very best use of our space onboard. In the final layout we will have 30 seats on our A330-300 aircraft (an increase of six seats); and 23 seats on our 200 series, a reduction of one. Structural changes to the bulkheads need to take place to facilitate the new layout, with all the work being carried out during scheduled maintenance checks between January and March 2015. Testing of the seats and fabrics is taking place at the moment, and when final
sign-off is completed in early October, production of the seats will commence. Our guests will notice that we have three different seat types in the new Business Class cabin: single seats along the left-side, double seats in the centre and a mix of single and double seats on the right-side. Stowage space is being maximised in all seats. The cabin layout look and feel has been created in conjunction with Factory Design, a London design agency that specialises in aircraft interiors: why not have a look at our video with the new layout for our A330-300 aircraft on www.aerlingus.com/new-business-class. The Irish link continues with Botany Weaving in Dublin producing the seat covers, carpet and curtains for the new Business Class cabin.
Marketing the new cabin News on our new cabin experience has been trickling out through press releases and business briefings since contracts were signed with seat vendors. In July we launched our Business Class microsite which has a direct link from the aerlingus.com homepage. The video of the cabin layout is embedded in the site, and all feedback so far from customers has been very positive. Both our sales and PR teams are positively enforcing our new business class experience message, and we have included detail on a number of emails to our marketing database. As we have more information about our service and new elements to the customer journey,
In Focus Aertime we will be updating the microsite and communicating accordingly. Later in the year, we plan to launch the new experience with press activity to create hype and buzz around the new product and service. Here is a full overview of the benefits of the new experience: • Completely flat 6ft 7in bed – guaranteeing the best possible sleep pattern • 90 per cent of seats have aisle access • New cabin layout • On-demand snack and beverage service • Personal storage space for all travel essentials • State-of-the-art in-flight entertainment with increased content • Night-time quiet cabin • Pre-boarding night-time dine services in JFK and Boston • New JFK Lounge.
Room with a view Our new business class seat offers our guests four rooms in one, transforming into whatever they want it to be! It’s their all-important bed when it’s time to rest and get a great night’s sleep. Our new Business Class seat is fully lie-flat, with a length of 2m! Our guests will arrive completely rested and ready for whatever their day holds.
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selection of classic movies that never grow old, increasing the number of TV programmes by 100 per cent to 120 hours of the latest TV shows, documentaries, business and lifestyle programmes; and dozens of music videos and thousands of album tracks can be added to personal playlists – all of which are designed to keep our Business Class guests entertained for their entire journey. All of our IFE content is sourced and collated by another Irish company, Inflight Dublin. • 16’’ high-definition touch-screens • 120 hours of TV shows • 50 per cent increase in new release movies • Over 1,000 music albums.
Food worth making a fuss about Our new on-board meal experience will be cooked up using only the freshest foods and the freshest ideas. Our recipes will fuse the best of traditional and modern Ireland to deliver a mouth-watering combination. With food offerings appropriate to the time of day, and an ondemand snack service, we’ll make sure that our guests never go hungry. Our wines will be specially selected to compliment our gourmet food offering, enhancing the taste and giving a truly top restaurant experience.
In-flight essentials
We will also continue to offer our Business Class guests a It’s an office when our guests have work to do, a chill-out range of in-flight essentials when they choose to fly with us. zone when they want to recline to watch a latest release movie or curl up with a book, and a private gourmet restaurant These will include: when it’s time to eat. 90 per cent of our new seats have direct aisle access, so not only will they have free movement on • Free, fast and reliable Wi-Fi board, they’ll also have lots more personal space. • A mobile network to send and receive text messages • Noise-cancelling headphones Storage matters • Specially designed amenity kits filled with neat treats and refreshers, including gorgeous samples from Voya. All will It’s frustrating for our Business Class guests to have to stow be packed in a reusable amenity kit bag that will be changed everything in overhead lockers and wait for a window of on a regular rotation. For example, the current kit bag can be opportunity to get what they need. Our new Business Class reused as a cover for an iPad or tablet seats come with a newly designed stowage system, keeping essentials at hand and providing plenty of room for storing all • Quiet cabins to allow for concentration on work or to get a great night's sleep the items they want in-flight. • USB power outlets and a universal power supply for each seat. Some of the advantages of the new storage system: • No shoe shooing – we’ve made a special home for shoes so our guests can store them at any stage of the journey • A safe place for their laptop – we’ve introduced a custommade storage space to keep their laptop close to hand • Pull-out latches allow guests to keep their coats close to hand if they do not want to hang them up in the wardrobe.
The Dream Screen A personal in-flight entertainment screen has long been a feature of our Business Class service, but now we’re making it bigger and better than ever before. In fact, it’s the highest standard monitor the airline industry has to offer – a 16” Panasonic high-definition multi-touch screen. We are increasing the number of new release movies fresh from the cinema by 50 per cent, continuing with our
Timeline Estimated Timelines for Business Class fit out l January 28th – two planes complete l February 10th – three planes complete l February 24th – four planes complete l February 25th – five planes complete l March 7th – six planes complete l March 21st – all aircraft complete.
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Aertime What's Hot
The first ever Dublin Coffee and Tea Festival takes place from September 12th to 14th in the RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. The festival is a show dedicated to celebrating all that's new and exciting on the coffee and tea scene, and will be brimming with attractions that will ensure visitors have a rich and varied experience. The areas include: The Roasters' Village, hosting an array of coffee and tea micro roasters; the new Home Barista Competition, where members of the public will be invited to display their coffee-making skills; and the semi-finals of the National Barista Championships. Other features will include the Brew School, the barista training workshops and the La Marzocco Chill Zone. To celebrate, AerTime has teamed up with the festival organisers to offer Aer Lingus employees discounted rates on the one-day festival ticket and the three-day coffee addict season pass. To avail of the offer simply enter the discount code AERLINGUS14 when purchasing your festival ticket. This code should be entered on the first page of the ticket purchasing process at https://ti.to/dublincoffeefestival/2014: 1. Choose the desired quantity of tickets you wish to purchase. 2. Underneath the ticket prices, click 'Add a Discount Code' 3. Enter your unique discount code into the field 4. Click 'Continue' 5. You will then be prompted for your billing and payment details. For further information see www.dublincoffeefestival.com.
Competition Salthill Hotel The Salthill Hotel is one of the most popular destinations to explore all the sights and delights of Galway city and county. Set overlooking the stunning Salthill Promenade, enjoy luxury accommodation and contemporary cuisine in the stylish surroundings of PROM Restaurant, with the renowned ambience of the City of the Tribes on your doorstep! During your stay, unwind in the state-of-the-art facilities of Ocean Fitness, Galway’s premier leisure club, or savour a casual bite to eat or drink in the relaxing Blackrock Bar. For bookings visit www.salthillhotel.com or call (091) 522711. Follow ‘Salthill Hotel’ on Facebook for news, giveaways and events. Win a two-night stay at the Salthill Hotel for you and a guest, along with breakfast each morning and dinner in the PROM Restaurant on an evening of choice (subject to availability). To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize, simply email aertime@aerlingus.com with your answer, name and staff number. The closing date is September 30th.
To be in with a chance of winning two free tickets, simply answer the following question: Where will WARR take place? A) St Anne's Park
B) Phoenix Park
C) Marlay Park