JULY 2015
YOUR STAFF MAGAZINE
Hugh's Garden
New Website
From Good to Great
Making a Difference for Temple Street Hospital
aerlingus.com Nears Launch
Service Standards Programme Begins
BUSINESS ETHICS | WINTER SCHEDULE | CRISP SANDWICHES | STATS | COMPETITIONS
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Aertime Latest News
BUSINESS ETHICS
A new confidential, independently managed 24/7 telephone service run by Safecall has been introduced for colleagues who wish to report a genuine concern or suspicion about improper conduct regarding a breach of either the Aer Lingus Code of Business Ethics or Anti-Fraud Policy, e.g. fraud or bribery involving any person (management or otherwise). Any genuine concerns or issues for reporting should be raised in the first instance with your line manager, to your HR business partner if you are not comfortable approaching your line manager, or via the new telephone line if you are not comfortable approaching either your line manager or HR business partner. The introduction of the telephone service follows recent updates to the Whistleblower & Good Faith Reporting Policy and to the Aer Lingus Code of Business Ethics, and the introduction of a new Anti-Fraud Policy. You canIssued contact - April 2015 Version - 1.0 the telephone line 24 hours a day, seven days a week using the toll-free number. This will pass your concern to the Reports Committee. See the Whistleblower & Good Faith Reporting Policy for details. Please note that the telephone line should not be used for routine personnel matters such as rates of pay, conditions of employment etc and these will not be dealt with by the telephone line.
CODE OF
BUSINESS ETHICS Acting with Integrity/ Avoiding Conflicts
Legal / Regulatory Compliance
We have regard to our Values & Behaviours in dealing with customers, suppliers & one another
We comply with laws, regulations and financial reporting requirements
We ensure that there is no conflict of interest between our work in Aer Lingus and any outside personal interest
We support open and fair competition We do not tolerate fraud or any misuse of company resources
We adhere to Aer Lingus Purchasing Procedures and Expenditure Authorisation limits
We do not tolerate any form of corruption or bribery
We take care not to accept inappropriate gifts, hospitality or entertainment
We prioritize safety and report all safety related hazards or occurrences without delay
We do not as an organization make political contributions
We seek to minimize any detrimental impact of our operations on the environment
Confidentiality & Data Protection We do not use / disclose commercial, staff or customer data without appropriate authorization or for any illegitimate purpose We maintain and safeguard the confidentiality, security and integrity of Aer Lingus information assets and that of information / data entrusted to Aer Lingus We report any suspected or actual breach of / threat to information security without delay
Trust and Fairness We strive to maintain a work environment free from discrimination or harassment We are fully committed to equality of opportunity We seek to treat all staff, customers & third parties with respect We offer protection to those who report genuine suspicions of wrongdoing in good faith We continually work to be the airline that offers the smart travel experience to our customers
We do not trade in shares/securities whilst in possession of inside information
Full version of the Aer Lingus Code of Business Ethics Policy can
HAVE YOU RETURNED YOUR PENSION WAIVER FORM YET?
WINGSUIT WORLD CUP
The majority of former members of the IASS pension scheme have now returned their pension waiver forms and drawn down their share of the â‚Ź146.7m made available as part of the pensions scheme solution. An additional cash payment of â‚Ź400 is also payable upon return of a completed waiver form. Only following the return of your individual waiver form can you draw down your share of the money set aside as part of the solution and choose how to invest the lump sum payment.
Aer Lingus was delighted to sponsor the Irish Wingsuit team in the first ever FAI World Cup of Wingsuit Performance Flying which recently took place 12,000ft above Wiltshire, England.
be downloaded from the People Policy & Procedures section of the Intranet
If you still have any questions before you return your individual waiver you can contact the pensions team with your query via pension.queries@aerlingus.com
Leading the team in the sky was Stephen Duffy from our Maintenance and Engineering Team, who finished 18th overall. Well done Stephen!
Do you have a story we could feature in Aertime? Then email us at: aertime@aerlingus.com
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Latest News Aertime
LARCC logo.pdf
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CANCER SUPPORT GROUP The Lazarus Community Forum is the brainchild of Frank Russell, a former pilot and retired Inspector of Air Accidents from Dublin, who has been diagnosed and treated for cancer twice. Frank’s brother Kevin died from cancer in 2012 and is an ex-Aer Lingus captain who flew with Aer Lingus for many years. Based in Multyfarnham in County Westmeath, LARCC is the only cancer support centre in Ireland that runs a residential programme. The forum can be found at cancersupport.ie, which is the website of Cancer Support Sanctuary LARCC (Lakelands Area Retreat and Cancer Centre).
PICTURED: Cabin Crew member Roxana Vasiloaie and Chief Commercial Officer Mike Rutter at the announcement of our new Dublin to Liverpool service.
‘IMAGINE’ NO MORE
LARCC is a registered charity (No. 14959) and is mainly funded through donations and contributions from the public. For further information visit: cancersupport.ie.
AER LINGUS TO FLY TO JOHN LENNON AIRPORT
This winter will see Aer Lingus adding an additional 275,000 seats for sale as part of the biggest growth to our schedule in the past 10 years. A new daily service between Dublin and Liverpool was also announced as part of the winter 2015/2016 schedule. The new service will commence on October 23rd with a total of 16 flights per week. The Dublin to Liverpool route significantly boosts our presence in the UK’s north west region and strengthens the historic ties between the two cities. It adds further strength to Aer Lingus’ offering between Ireland and the UK, covering 19 UK airports and a total of 32 routes. There are over five million short haul seats in the winter programme, representing an increase of 5% growth year on year.
NEW ROUTE: CORK TO DÜSSELDORF
PICTURED: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe TD at announcement of CorkDüsseldorf route
We also recently announced a new Cork to Düsseldorf route for summer 2016. The new service, which will commence in May 2016, will operate twice weekly on Wednesday and Sunday. Germany is the third largest market for visitors to Ireland and Düsseldorf is also a significant international business and financial centre. The addition of a Düsseldorf route complements our existing year-round Cork Munich service.
AER LINGUS EMPLOYEE WINS AT THIS YEAR’S SHANNON AIRPORT RUNWAY RACE James Liddane from our Cargo Department in Shannon came out victorious in this year's Shannon Airport Runway Race, which took place on Friday June 24th. James finished ahead of 2,000 other competitors with an incredible time of 16:00. What makes the time even more remarkable is the fact that James had just finished a late shift before he took part in the race! James is no stranger to coming out on top in competitive running: last year he beat a highly competitive field from around the world to win the 10K World Airline Road Race in Dublin with a time of 33:37. Well done James!
Do you have a story we could feature in Aertime? Then email us at: aertime@aerlingus.com
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Aertime Latest News
AER LINGUS EMPLOYEES RAISE €4,585 FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS As official airline for Special Olympics Team Ireland, we were delighted to support this year’s Special Olympics national collection day in May. Through on-board collections and local collections around the company, Aer Lingus employees helped to raise an excellent €4,585. The special collection day forms part of our partnership with Special Olympics Team Ireland and saw the team of 88 athletes and 40 management departing Dublin on July 21st and travelling to the World Summer Games in Los Angeles, USA. The World Summer Games will be one of the largest sporting events in the world this summer with 7,000 athletes, 500,000 spectators and 30,000 volunteers taking part. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the collection.
PICTURED: Mr Tayto recently visited Dublin Airport to drop off extra crisp sandwich supplies. Eddie Boyle from the Loading section was on hand to assist the delivery.
PICTURED (L to R): Sarah Nolan, CCM Dublin; Taoiseach Enda Kenny; Kevin O’Malley, US Ambassador to Ireland and Tracey Johannsson, CCM Dublin.
DEMAND FOR TAYTO CRISP SANDWICH IS SKY HIGH!
AMERICAN FOOTBALL – AER LINGUS TITLE SPONSOR
Our new summer bia menu launched in June and includes lots of new options for our guests including a hot sausage sandwich, Tayto salt & vinegar, Pringles Paprika and the return of the very popular Ciabatta Melt and Quarter Pack sandwiches.
Aer Lingus will be the title sponsor of the 2016 Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Boston College and Georgia Tech in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, September 3rd 2016.
However, it is the introduction of one new snack option that has got our guests talking – the Tayto crisp sandwich. Since its introduction there has been phenomenal interest in this uniquely Irish ‘delicacy’, with it generating a huge amount of commentary on social media in particular. The sandwich even featured as part of a taste test segment on TV3’s Midday programme. Sinead O’Neill, Retail Manager, commented: “We’re delighted with the initial reaction to the Tayto crisp sandwich coming on board. It’s fair to say the crisp sandwich has experienced a bit of a revival in recent months following the Tayto pop-up shop in Dublin as well as a dedicated crisp sandwich café opening in Belfast, so we recognised there was a definite demand for the product. “Tayto crisps evoke a taste of home that we all know and love, stemming right back to childhood and there is a certain nostalgia associated with it. For this reason we made the decision to include it on our bia menu and we’re thrilled it has been so warmly received.” The Tayto crisp sandwich is available as part of the new summer bia menu for €4/£3 on short haul flights.
The game sees the Boston College Eagles kick off the 2016/17 NCAA Division I College Football Season in an Atlantic Coast Conference game against the formidable Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. It is expected that 25,000 people will travel from the US and Europe to the game. As title sponsor of the event, Aer Lingus will feature throughout all promotional activity for the event in Ireland, Europe and the United States, providing us with a new platform to promote Aer Lingus as the smart choice for guests looking to travel between the United States and Europe. Chief Executive Stephen Kavanagh said: “We are very proud to partner with Boston College and Georgia Tech for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in 2016. Aer Lingus operates three daily services from Boston connecting to Ireland and beyond and we are delighted to support our local team. 2016 is a very special year for Aer Lingus as we will celebrate our 80th anniversary. We look forward to offering guests a warm welcome on board our flights, and we wish the organisers all the best in their preparations for what promises to be a great sporting event.” More details can be found via www.collegefootballireland.com.
Do you have a story we could feature in Aertime? Then email us at: aertime@aerlingus.com
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Latest News Aertime
JUNE PUNCTUALITY ON-TIME:
< 15 MINS:
YEAR TO DATE ON TIME:
43 71 54 %
%
%
YEAR TO DATE < 15 MINS:
79
%
LOAD FACTOR:
twitter favourites
0.3%
louise kavanagh @loukav22 Great experience traveling with my 5 week old baby thanks to @AerLingus and @DublinAirportT2 #amazingstaff
Emma Sneddon @Fithealthyfabem I love love love @AerLingus business class! Best staff, best seats, awesome food #business #businessclass #dublin
Michelle Jerson @MichelleJerson Great flight with @AerLingus from JFK. Staff on the ground and in the air were very friendly and helpful! Smooth ride to Shannon!
Overall guest load factor during June 2015 was up to
85.8% from 85.5% a year ago.
Kevin O'Callaghan @ocallaghan74 Hard flight with V cranky crying twins. The staff @AerLingus were so patient & helpful, sometimes U just don't know what it means, thank you.
Chris O'Connor @ChrisieOC
GUEST NUMBERS:
@AerLingus currently in your new lounge in JFK. Vast improvement. Well done.
Shane Naughton @inundata the new @AerLingus trans-atlantic business class setup is fantastic; a game changer... well done #EI109
2.0%
Francesco Accatino @FraAccatino @AerLingus the time to the connecting flight was very short, thanks for accompanying me through Dublin airport.
shane @shane_ajk @AerLingus big shout out to the crew of EI239. Great Irish welcome and smile very friendly and great service.
Total traffic for the month, including Aer Lingus Regional flights, was up 2% to
1,148,000 guests compared to 1,125,000 guests in June 2014.
Do you have a story we could feature in Aertime? Then email us at: aertime@aerlingus.com
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Aertime In Focus
“After watching the videos and reading up on our move from Good to Great it’s very inspiring to see the wonderful direction we’re going.” (Karen Duke, Cabin Crew)
“Product improvements by major competitors are closing the gap between Aer Lingus and our closest rivals – for this reason, consistent application of our Service Standards and attaining a Skytrax 4-star rating will reinforce Aer Lingus’ position as the smarter travel experience. This is a must-do for us.” (Mike Rutter, Chief Commercial Officer)
GOOD GRE THE MOVE FROM
TO
OUR NEW SERVICE STANDARDS PROGRAMME WAS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED EARLIER THIS SUMMER. WE SPEAK TO SOME OF THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE THIS KEY MILESTONE FOR AER LINGUS IN OUR MOVE FROM ‘GOOD TO GREAT’ TO FIND OUT WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT, HOW IT HAS BEEN RECEIVED BY COLLEAGUES TO DATE AND THE NEXT STEPS…
For the first time since 1999, we have a single documented source of truth on what defines Good and Great service across the airport and on-board guest experience. There has been significant participation from our colleagues across Ground Operations and Inflight Services in developing our standards. Since our official launch, our Service Standards support team across Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast have been hard at work personally delivering booklets to their colleagues and explaining what we’re looking to achieve and what are the next steps.
“Our Service Standards do not represent a ‘silver bullet’ that will fix everything. We're in the middle of our busy summer season and face ongoing resource and operational challenges, etc. As always, positive teamwork, best-in-class service delivery as set out in our Service Standards guidelines and, most importantly, effective service recovery when things go wrong for our guests is what will see us through these challenges.” (Marc Giles, Guest Experience)
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“Our Service Standards reinforce the great work done by many of our colleagues on a daily basis so that the best levels of service delivery can be replicated among all staff. I’d like to thank my crew colleagues for receiving our Service Standards guidelines in such a positive way, even though there is a lot going on at the moment with lots of challenges.” (Lydia Jones, Senior Cabin Crew) “It’s a privilege to be a part of the Service Standards team representing Inflight Services and our colleagues across Aer Lingus delivering the solid guest experience that sets us apart from our competitors.” (Killian O’Brien, Cabin Manager)
STARTS
EAT HERE “If we want to see improved consistency in how we serve our guests, we need a clear definintion of what they should experience at each stage of their end-toend Aer Lingus experience. That’s what our new Service Standards will provide.”
“The feedback from Ground Ops staff has been very positive. Having a companywide renewed focus on customer service has been really beneficial for us because even as we have always strived to keep our guests as a priority, the new guidelines show us the best ways to do that. By having a cohesive standard, we are all working towards the same goal – going from Good to Great!” (Sheila Byrne Brennan, Customer Service Supervisor)
(Inga Iglesias, Customer Service Supervisor)
TO FIND OUT MORE, VISIT AERLING.US/SERVICESTANDARDS
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Aertime Feature
HUGH’S GARDEN OVER 100 AER LINGUS EMPLOYEES DONATED A DAY OF THEIR TIME LAST MONTH TO TAKE ON THE BIGGEST MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY CHALLENGE YET BY HELPING TO CREATE A NEW GARDEN RETREAT FOR THE FAMILIES OF CHILDREN ATTENDING TEMPLE STREET HOSPITAL. AERTIME WAS THERE TO SEE HOW THEY GOT ON…
T
he annual Aer Lingus Difference Day has over the past number of years created some amazing spaces in the local community. St. Michael's House, Darndale National School and the Muck and Magic Garden in Ballymun have all had spaces transformed over the past number of years by Aer Lingus employees working together to make a difference.
This year’s challenge was to transform a derelict yard into a wonderful woodland garden for children and their families attending Temple Street Hospital in Dublin. The garden forms the newest part of Hugh's House – the inspiration of Ade Stack and Marty Curley, who felt compelled
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to help other parents and children after their youngest son Hugh was a patient at the hospital. The eight-month-old, who had a neurodegenerative condition, sadly passed away in August 2013. Hugh's House is located on the corner of Belvedere Place and Mountjoy Square and will be used by families who have children attending Temple Street Hospital. According to the organisers, the decision to choose Hugh’s Garden for this year's Make a Difference Day project was an easy one: “As soon as we heard about Hugh’s story, Hugh’s House and Ade and Marty’s vision for the project, we knew we had to take on this wonderful project.”
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When details of the project where first announced companywide in February, the project team received an overwhelming response. Mary Dunne explains: “The response we received was phenomenal; over 100 colleagues from every area of the organisation had signed up for this year’s project. It took less than seven days to find the numbers required for the day; usually it takes a few months! We had to create a waiting list to deal with the demand.”
THE BIG DAY Kitted out in Difference Day T-shirts, volunteers descended on the Croke Park Hotel early on Difference Day morning to hear from organisers about the plan for the day. After a quick opening speech, teams were created, leaders assigned and everyone was ready to take on the challenge. As volunteers took the short walk from the hotel to Hugh’s garden, newly formed teams had a chance to get to know each other before the real work commenced. Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke, alongside Ade and Marty, greeted volunteers as they arrived on-site and thanked everyone for their help. Shovels were gathered, screwdrivers collected and paint tins opened as each of the teams got to work on their part of the project. Within hours, features such as a ‘Bug Hotel’, a swing in the shape of a bird's nest, a tree wall feature, wall animations, wind chimes, a miniature library and bird boxes started to take shape. Willie McGonagle, one of the organisers on the day explains, “When we first arrived on site, we were all wondering how we
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would get through such a large project in just one day. However, as the day continued it became apparent that with each of the teams working together, we were quickly getting through the work and would complete the project on-time.”
A LASTING LEGACY At about 17:30 in the evening, Hugh’s garden was complete and all the volunteers could relax and take pride in what they had achieved. Director of Operations Logistics, and one of the organising team, Anne Bradley spoke of her delight at seeing the garden completed: “It was a great honour to be part of the Aer Lingus team who made the transformation a reality. It shows how by working together as a team, Aer Lingus colleagues can make a real difference. The garden provides a lasting legacy for those who took part in this year's project and I hope it will provide a peaceful retreat for all the families who will stay in Hugh’s House in the years ahead.”
Owner of Hugh’s Garden, Ade Stack, added: “What can often fall apart is the family who are there for their child, because they don't have any support for themselves, so this is a very loving and caring environment for them to come to and really just take a break from it all. Our hope at the end of all this is that there's a queue down the street of kids trying to get into the garden. I just want to thank everyone in Aer Lingus who helped build it. All we want now is for the garden to be used.” A big thank you goes to the organisers who made the day possible: Willie, Anne, Mary, Dennis and his Difference Day team. There is now a lasting reminder of what an Aer Lingus team can achieve together in a corner of Mountjoy Square in Dublin.
WATCH THE VIDEO You can view a short video reliving the day by visiting: http://aerling.us/Difference-Day-2015
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Aertime In Focus
NEW TO LAUNCH SOON IN THE COMING WEEKS, A BRAND NEW AERLINGUS.COM WILL BE LAUNCHED – BUT DON’T BE SURPRISED IF YOU HEAR MORE ABOUT THE NEW WEBSITE BEFORE THEN.
That’s because a soft launch of the new website is set to take place shortly which will see guests provided with the option to try-out and test the features of the new website in advance of the full launch. With extensive testing of the new site almost complete, the soft launch period will be the final stage of the testing process and will allow our web team to test stability, gather feedback, and iron out any last minute issues prior to a full site switchover. Guests will be provided with an option to try out the new website via the current homepage, as well as through social media and other marketing channels. As Head of Digital Experience, Fergal O’Connell explains that the new website is
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an important development for Aer Lingus: “The launch of the new aerlingus.com will be the culmination of over two years of hard work and planning by a huge team of people across Aer Lingus. We’ve added new ways of exploring all the great destinations we fly to, allowing guests to tailor search by interest, budget or travel period, and we’ve simplified the whole booking process to six easy steps. “The aim from the beginning of the project has been to provide our guests with a smarter travel experience. We looked at every element of the guest experience on aerlingus.com, as well as those of our competitors. Most importantly, we spoke to our guests and listened to their likes, frustrations and expectations.
“By building the website from the ground up, the new website is not just a new coat of paint, it’s built on an entirely new architecture that allows us to deliver on our strategy of providing our guests with a smarter travel experience. “We believe that we have created a solution that is far more engaging and guest focused, and from a business perspective, scalable. We look forward to our guests experiencing it for themselves.” The soft launch phase will provide guests with their first opportunity to experience the new aerlingus.com, which has been rebuilt from the ground up. So, what will see when they access the new website?
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Here is a preview of just some of the features that the new site will offer:
GET INSPIRED A new discover tool will provide guests with a completely new experience when choosing a destination to fly to with Aer Lingus. Guests can explore over 180 exciting destinations at the click of a button. An innovative new Farefinder tool provides guests with route pricing over a 30 day period so that they can make the smart choice when choosing the flight that best suits their travel plans.
PLANNING AND BOOKING Guests can save time and hassle with our new streamlined booking and check-in options. Changing flights and adding purchases has never been smarter, with: • A faster six-step booking process • New improved search functionality • Including recent searches • Consistent steps across flight purchase, manage booking and check-in • Newly fully detailed shopping basket
A SMARTER EXPERIENCE The new website provides guests with an innovative new feature that provides guests with the ability to create an Aer Lingus profile for the first time. This new feature will allow guests using aerlingus.com to: • Login and share details across multiple devices • Save personal, travel companion and payment information for even faster bookings • View previous and upcoming trips, including receipts
MOBILE Mobile has not been forgotten either. A brand new mobile app for iOS and Android is also ready to launch alongside the new website. Featuring the same design style as the website, the app makes it super easy for guests to find best fares, save trips, create profiles and securely save payment details while on the go. For the first time, guests will be able to store all their boarding passes in one place, or add them to Apple’s Passbook. Live imagery and a personalised home screen based on a guest’s next trip will provide a truly ‘smarter’ mobile experience.
With the soft launch of aerlingus.com expected to begin this summer, look out for further details about other great new features that the new aerlingus.com will offer in the coming weeks.
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Aertime Competition
COMPETITION
WIN AN XBOX ONE CONSOLE COMPLETE WITH THE AWARD WINNING ACTION GAME TITANFALL.
This month, AerTime is teaming up with online enterprise social network Yammer to offer one lucky reader an incredible prize – an XBOX One console complete with the award winning action game TitanFall. Yammer is an enterprise social network available internally to everyone in Aer Lingus. Almost 1000 employees have already joined Yammer and are using it to keep up to date on the latest Aer Lingus news. To sign up, simply visit yammer.com via your desktop or smart device and start connecting with your colleagues around the organisation.
HOW TO WIN: To win the incredible XBOX prize, all you have to do is the following before Friday 21st August :
✔ sign up to Yammer using your @aerlingus.com email address ✔ add a profile picture ✔ actively post or like any post on Yammer before the Friday 21st August 2015 deadline. A winner will be randomly chosen and announced after 17:00 on Friday August 21st via Yammer.
SECOND CAPTAINS
COMPETITION
WIN SECOND CAPTAINS MERCHANDISE.
Last month saw the team behind Ireland’s most popular sports podcast, Second Captains, travel to San Francisco to broadcast a week of shows from the Bay area to help promote our daily San Francisco service. The team linked up with long time contributor to the show, Brian Murphy, who hosts a leading breakfast sports show in San Francisco.
HOW TO WIN: As a thank you for helping to make the show a reality, the team have sent us some special Second Captains merchandise to give away. If you would like to get your hands on a branded hoodie/T-shirt /mug, email aertime@ aerlingus.com with the answer to the following question:
How many times a week do Aer Lingus fly to San Francisco?
a) 3
b) 5
c) 7
Closing date for entries is Friday August 21st.
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