AER LINGUS AT MALAGA

Aer Lingus celebrates inaugural flight Among the select few attending were British Consul Steve Jones and Maurice Boland of Talk Radio Europe

N E W S
ON Monday April 6, Aer Lingus
celebrated their inaugural flight from
Gatwick to Malaga, announcing three
new daily flights using the Airbus
A320, with fares from only 29.99
euros, including taxes and charges.
Yes, you read that right! Just 29.99 euros including taxes and charges!
Maurice and Snr Capt. Divena Ptratt

On December 19 Aer Lingus was
pleased to announce the opening of
its new international base at London
Gatwick Airport.
The base is the airline’s first
outside the island of Ireland and will
position Aer Lingus for profitable
growth in Europe’s aviation market.
The three new daily flights will be a
great boost to the Costa del Sol’s
tourist industry. Aer Lingus already
offers services from Malaga to Dublin,
Cork and Belfast.
Aer Lingus will initially locate four
Airbus A320 short haul aircraft at
Gatwick from April 2009 and will
operate services to Malaga, Munich,
Nice, Vienna, Dublin, Knock, Faro and
Zurich.
Within 12 months the new base is
expected to grow to eight aircraft
with the potential for up to 2.5
million passengers a year.
In the first year, with a total
investment of 114 million euros, over
120 new jobs will be created directly
through local recruitment of pilots
and cabin crew. This will grow as
more aircraft are deployed to the
base. Aer Lingus Chief Executive
Dermot Mannion said: “We are very
excited at this opportunity to expand
our business in Europe’s biggest
aviation market and to extend our
low-fares, and high quality to offer
service to new travellers. We are
offering our customers flights to top
European business and leisure
destinations at convenient times and
competitive fares as part of a
superior offering that sets us apart
from our rivals. The Gatwick
operation will complement our
existing services out of London
Heathrow, and position Aer Lingus for
growth as we roll out new routes and
bases in future years.”
The reception was held in the new,
magnificent VIP area set up for heads
of state, and royalty.
Among the select few who were
invited to attend were the new British
Consul Steve Jones and Maurice
Boland, Managing Director of Talk
Radio Europe, who watched the first
flight being greeted by fire trucks
making an arch of water as the
aircraft passed under it.
“Proud to be Irish” was Maurice’s
reaction who went on to say: “I’m
delighted to see Aer Lingus showing
faith in our tourist industry by
dedicating three flights a day to
Malaga. It’s brilliant”!
As the plane drew to a halt, Captain
Devina Pratt came down the steps
waving and smiling at the crowd
telling the media how delighted she
was to make this historic flight. Also
in attendance were Margaret
Shannon, Aer Lingus Head of Sales
Europe, and Aisling Lyons, Aer Lingus
Sale Manager for Spain, Portugal,
Finland and Morocco. Representing
the Costa del Sol Tourist Board was
Natalia Boveda.