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Ryanair Wants A Bigger Portion Of Aer Lingus's Irish Stew

Depending on your opinion of Ryanair, their newest move could either be awesome or a total disaster. The cheap, no frills airline is looking to buy their Irish pals at Aer Lingus. They’ve tried on and off since 2006 to take over the airline, but the Irish government and the European Union keep putting the kibosh on the deal.

Most recently, Ryanair head honcho Michael O’Leary stated that his airline would ultimately succeed in buying their rival. Aer Lingus doesn’t seem as opposed to the idea as they once were, and they might not have a choice since they’ve announced that they have a little problem with burning through their cash too quickly.

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Tags: Nude Travel / London / Airline News / Aer Lingus / LGW / → All Tags

Get Naked for the Sake of Art...Er...Rather, An Airline

How much do you love free airfare? Do you love it enough to get naked for it ... in public?! If so, then have we got some happy new for you: it seems that new routes will be launching in Europe soon, and they're looking to recruit a a whole sea of exhibitionists for a publicity stunt in central London.

To be more specific, the unnamed airline is in need of 999 bare bottoms this Sunday, March 15, and signing up and showing up will yield you a free roundtrip from London Gatwick to any of their eight destinations in Europe.

Frankly, for those in London this week, this is a huge win-win situation; strut your naughty stuff and get more stuff in return. Nonetheless, public nudity is still against the law, and so volunteers will be provided with a little something to "cover their rude bits."

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Tags: Airfare Mistakes / Aer Lingus / Airlines / → All Tags

Fly Ireland to US for €5, Business Class? Nearly!

A few hundred people thought all their Christmases had come at once last Wednesday when they booked business class fares with Aer Lingus, flying from Ireland to the United States for just €5 (US$8).

In the spirit of Malaysia Airlines' recent bargains this was, of course, a mistake. Blame it on a "technical error."

Unlike Malaysia Airlines, however, Aer Lingus won't honor the accidental tickets. At first, they just canceled the bookings altogether, but now they are offering the passengers economy class seats for the price they paid. There's still a chance of a class action against the airline, but yet again, we're just sad we missed out on such a bargain. Bring on the technical errors!

Related Stories:
· Aer Lingus to Honour €5 Seats [Irish Times]
· Aer Lingus Sells €5 Flights [Lost Weekend]
· Aer Lingus coverage [Jaunted]
· We Missed Malaysia Airlines Missing "1" [Jaunted]

[Photo: akanekal]

Tags: JetBlue / Low Cost Carriers / LCCs / Aer Lingus / JFK / → All Tags

JetBlue Teaming Up with Aer Lingus

First it was ze Germans and Lufthansa. Now JetBlue is teaming up with the Irish in the form of Aer Lingus. Starting April 3, passengers will be able to buy tickets connecting the US to Ireland via JetBlue's hub at JFK in New York. There's been no mention thus far of ticket prices.

While Aer Lingus operates Airbus aircraft like JetBlue, they likely won't have the same in-flight entertainment. (The LiveTV system used in the States is ground-based and so it would be useless over the Atlantic.)

Both airlines are claiming that transferring at JFK will be "seamless," but we're a little less than convinced. True, the AirTrain makes it easy enough to transfer between Terminal 4 and Terminal 6--for flyers who know the airport well. But we can imagine more than a few missed connections among passengers less familiar with the maze that is JFK.

Related Stories:
· JetBlue and Aer Lingus To Set Partnership [WSJ]
· Lufthansa Thrills JetBlue, Confounds Us [Jaunted]
· Inside JetBlue's New Terminal 5 [Jaunted]
· JetBlue coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Cubbie_n_Vegas]

Tags: Luggage / Baggage / Airlines / Europe Travel / Ryanair / Aer Lingus / → All Tags

Who's the King of the Lost Luggage?

There's a long list of complaints people often make about airlines, but a recent study by the European Consumer Centre confirms that lost luggage problems top the list, at least in Europe.

In the survey, they found that 33% of all complaints from passengers were about lost luggage, and that the number had doubled since 2005. The biggest offenders were Ryanair and Aer Lingus--funny, because we always thought British Airways was the champion of lost luggage. (Perhaps we got that mixed up with their terrible record of flight punctuality?)

The European Consumer Centre thinks that the penalties airlines pay over lost luggage should be higher, and that there should be a mandatory emergency payment made to all passengers when their luggage is lost. But wouldn't that spoil the fun of trying to use the same set of clothes for three or four days?

Related Stories:
· European Carriers to Receive Harsher Penalties [eTravel]
· Another Bad Day for BA [Jaunted]

[Photo: jasonpearce]

Tags: Aer Lingus / Baggage / Luggage / → All Tags

Jaunted Readers Wanna Know: Can I Carry On My Guitar?

We cover the world of travel non-stop, so we like to think we know a thing or two about airlines. But every now and then we get a question that stumps us, so we're putting it out there to see what you have to say. Our reader Anne wants to know:

I am flying tomorrow: Lyon to Dublin on Aer Lingus. Can I bring my guitar in its soft case aboard the plane? I do not own a hard carrying case.

According to Aer Lingus, musical instruments need their own seat if they're too big to be called hand baggage. And a guitar and case would exceed the 56 cm by 45 cm by 25 cm limits on carry-on bags. Officially, the airline doesn't care if you bring a guitar on board, just as long as it's under the maximum size.

But guitars are funny things, and we've seen our share on board a number of airlines. Our plan of action would be to act extra-polite when checking in and hope the desk agent looks the other way. But remember, Aer Lingus is becoming a low cost carrier, and those LCCs love to nickel-and-dime. So no matter how nice you are, getting that guitar on board isn't a sure thing.

Related Stories:
· Aer Lingus Baggage Policies [Official Site]
· Aer Lingus coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: odegaard]

Tags: Flight Reviews / Airlines / RyanAir / Aer Lingus / → All Tags

No Lucky Irish At Aer Lingus This Week

The national Irish airline, the needs-a-name-change Aer Lingus company, is in chaos right now: conflict over a proposed change of base to Belfast along with the connected salary and working conditions have sent pilots into a two-day strike, beginning tomorrow. All long-haul flights have been canceled and other services are being run on a limited basis.

At the same time, Aer Lingus has been getting a few nasty comments on the web. Guess that is what happens when you start charging for online seat selection, anything up to £10 per leg.

But don't worry, despite the nasty message you might get from the Aer Lingus website if you don't assign yourself a seat and pay up, you can still fly. Ponying up for a seat assignment simply is not part of your contract of carriage.

Aer Lingus is partly owned by RyanAir (now 28%) so perhaps there's some kind of budget takeover in the, um, wings.

Related Stories:
· Aer Lingus [Official Site]
· Pilots Meet To Discuss Aer Lingus Offer [Belfast Telegraph]

[Photo: ValterJacinto]