Aer Lingus Under Fire From Consumers
Wednesday October 17, 2007
I told you so ... the information policy of Aer Lingus regarding the recently looming non-availability of flights has made the airline few friends. Actually no information at all was released (except the ultimatum to the pilots). Which seems to tally with the number of friends made.
But customer relations appear to have hit a real low with the revelation that Aer Lingus actually had a plan and offered customers a free change to flights - if the customers had called on the phone. With more and more business done on the web and the announcement of such a "change-for-free" policy being on the Aer Lingus website in past months, one cannot help but wonder why it was not done this time. What I cannot wonder about, on the other hand, is the low call volume the airline experienced according to commercial director Enda Corneille, quoted in the Irish Independent as revealing that "the volume of calls was very light, but anyone who did phone was looked after."
The reactions were predictable. Dermot Jewell from the Consumers' Association called Aer Lingus decision not to go public "wrong and unfair". And representing travel agents, Simon Nugent was quoted as stating that Aer Lingus "had a lot of work to do" to rebuild credibility and that "consumers had been forgotten".
While budget airline Ryanair has long been the bogeyman of customer relations, Aer Lingus seems to catch up fast. Up to now many passengers preferred to fly Aer Lingus, despite higher prices, not for reasons of comfort (often irrelevant on a short-haul flight) or the availability of free coffee, but because the airline seemed to provide "better service".
But customer relations appear to have hit a real low with the revelation that Aer Lingus actually had a plan and offered customers a free change to flights - if the customers had called on the phone. With more and more business done on the web and the announcement of such a "change-for-free" policy being on the Aer Lingus website in past months, one cannot help but wonder why it was not done this time. What I cannot wonder about, on the other hand, is the low call volume the airline experienced according to commercial director Enda Corneille, quoted in the Irish Independent as revealing that "the volume of calls was very light, but anyone who did phone was looked after."
The reactions were predictable. Dermot Jewell from the Consumers' Association called Aer Lingus decision not to go public "wrong and unfair". And representing travel agents, Simon Nugent was quoted as stating that Aer Lingus "had a lot of work to do" to rebuild credibility and that "consumers had been forgotten".
While budget airline Ryanair has long been the bogeyman of customer relations, Aer Lingus seems to catch up fast. Up to now many passengers preferred to fly Aer Lingus, despite higher prices, not for reasons of comfort (often irrelevant on a short-haul flight) or the availability of free coffee, but because the airline seemed to provide "better service".
Comments
This is for anyone flying to Ireland. Do not fly Aer Lingus they are the worst air line flying out of the U.S.A. They constantly cancel flights and then they take you around the country, for a seven hour flight from Shannon to Chicago it took us seventeen hours, what a disgrace. They gave us meals but would not cover Tea or Coffee. Go figure that out.