Summary
- Aer Lingus surprised passengers on a flight to Paris with free Irish Rugby jerseys.
- Seat capability was expanded to bring home advantage to France, with a greater than 2,000% increase in flight reservations.
- Hundreds of passengers have booked flights to Paris for the World Cup at Stade de France.
Ireland’s flag carrier, Aer Lingus, surprised some passengers on a flight to Paris, France, from Dublin with free Irish Rugby (IRFU) jerseys on Friday. The carrier, the official airline of the IRFU, is carrying 1000’s of fans this weekend to support the team in the course of the World Cup Quarter Final.
Seat capability from Dublin and other cities in Ireland was increased this weekend in an effort to bring the house advantage to France. The airline can also be upgrading the equipment on some flights to accommodate the excess of fans.
The ‘sixteenth player’
Aer Lingus provided lucky passengers seated on row 16 on EI524 from its hub at Dublin Airport (DUB) to Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris with special jerseys featuring #16 on them. The flight was operated by an Airbus A321neo that has 184 seats onboard. Since dedicated fans of the team are affectionately generally known as the ‘sixteenth player’, the airline said the #16 jerseys symbolize the passenger’s role as a key player on the Irish team.
After the team’s victory over Scotland, Aer Lingus reportedly experienced a surge in demand for flights to CDG. The carrier said it saw a 2,222% increase in flight reservations to Paris inside only 48 hours of the team’s win, in comparison with last yr’s demand. In consequence, the airline quickly expanded seat capability, making a further 1,381 seats available from Dublin, Cork, and Shannon. The rise brings nearly 6,000 seats offered this weekend for the World Cup.
“Pride for our team”
Aer Lingus’ Chief Customer Officer spoke concerning the airline having the ability to provide additional seat capability.
“Ireland rugby fans are travelling of their tens of 1000’s to be a part of this special sporting occasion and we’re proud to play an element of their rugby world cup experience. The flights have been full of joy, excited anticipation and immense pride for our team, and we stay up for flying 1000’s of Ireland supporters to Stade de France this weekend to bring #HomeAdvantage of the sixteenth Player to the Irish team.”
Photo: Aer Lingus
In keeping with data from the carrier, 1000’s of passengers booked flights to Paris this weekend. Moreover, if the team makes it to the semi-final, the airline predicts much more devoted fans will book flights to France. The match takes place on the Stade de France, situated just north of Paris. It can be the second time France has been chosen to host the competition this yr.
Hundreds of passengers
Aer Lingus said it will operate 30 flights to hold passengers to and from the match this weekend. Throughout this month and September, as many as 140 weekly flights have been reportedly scheduled across thirteen routes. Other destinations have also had more flights added along with larger aircraft getting used to operate some routes.
the airline said.