Sir, - On hearing that our son was hoping to travel from London to Dublin recently, we called the Aer Lingus information number to discover the frequency of flights and arrival times on that day. It was impossible to speak to a human, only to make decisions on a choice of, irrelevant, automated information available. The closest option was to listen to a litany of the next ten flight arrivals. To Aer Lingus, and other users of automated systems, may I make a heartfelt plea that they ensure that human contact is an option for the enquiry which is the exception to their perceived norms.
As a result of the lack of available information we visited our local travel agents to consult an Aer Lingus timetable. We then discovered that there has been no Aer Lingus Summer Timetable published this year. The Winter one became outdated in March.
This double inefficiency displays a sad disregard for their customers, despite their vaunted customer care ethos. What has happened to the personal contact and professionalism we have been led to expect of our national airline? - Yours, etc., A. O'Farrell,
Sutton, Dublin 13.
