Aer Arann extends reach in British market

Sunday Business Post - Done Deal Page - Feb 3 2008

Aer Arann has concluded the first phase of its planned expansion into the British market, with the completion of a €1 million advertising campaign to raise awareness of its services among British customers.

Aer Arann managing director Garry Cullen said that, prior to the roll-out of the campaign last year, Aer Arann was not a well-known brand in Britain.

"There was probably next to zero recognition for us in the UK,” he said. “We are not a major carrier and national advertising spend is not within our budget, so we concentrated on particular areas with radio, metro newspapers and a lot of PR stuff. It is building, but it is still an area we have to do more work in."

Last week, Aer Arann announced passenger numbers for 2007 in excess of 1.15 million - a 10 per cent increase over 2006. The company’s turnover also jumped by 6.5 per cent last year, to total €100 million.

"We were very happy as we reached our targets in what was a fairly difficult year,” said Cullen. “The Ireland - Britain market was not as buoyant as 2005 and 2006, which was the experience of all the operators, including Ryanair and Aer Lingus."

Aer-Arann's Galway-London and Waterford - London routes both carry over 9,000 passengers each month.

"Last year, we concentrated a lot of effort on the Waterford and Galway routes,” said Cullen. “We also added new routes to Birmingham and Manchester out of Waterford. We are very happy with the developments and our services are doing very well."

Established in 1970, and bought by current owner Padraig O'Ceidigh in 1994, Aer Arann now operate over 600 flights per week, across 40 routes in Ireland, Britain and Europe. The company opened new corporate headquarters in Santry in Dublin last year and a new hangar at Galway. It employs 400 staff in both facilities and additional operations in Dublin, Galway and Waterford.

Last year, Aer Arann signed a €180 million contract with French manufacturer ATR, to add ten new ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft to the Aer Arann fleet in the next two years.

"They are brand new aircraft and offer better economics and a better customer experience," said Cullen.