All the signals are that air travel is taking off again now that Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted. Most of the major airlines in Europe have reported strong bookings for the summer months, which is being put down to a pent-up demand to travel again after two years of tough pandemic restrictions.
The recent long queues at Dublin Airport were a factor of poor management by DAA but also a signal of how determined people were to get away to the sun. The number of flights leaving the country over the bank holiday weekend was about 90 per cent of the pre-pandemic level, again a clear sign of a return to business as usual in air travel.
Yet it is also clear that airlines are having to work hard to attract customers. For example, Aer Lingus is currently offering up to 20 per cent off flights to Dublin from 14 destinations within Europe for travel in August, normally a peak period for the industry when fares are loaded by carriers. The Irish airline will also throw in checked-in luggage for free (for anyone willing to brave the queues).
There are lots of reasons why Ireland might be a hard sell to many Europeans at the minute. The cost of living crisis clearly doesn’t help and maybe our fellow Europeans have heard about the queues at Dublin Airport and decided to avoid Ireland this year.
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Whatever the reason it has prompted the airline to offer this promotion at what would normally be a time for the carrier to make hay. Aer Lingus’s marketing team clearly has a sense of humour. The slogan for this air fare promotion to Dublin is “book your next trip with confidence”. Not even DAA chief executive Dalton Phillips would buy that line.
