Is Aer Lingus copying it’s IAG and Oneworld alliance partners with its new livery? You’d be forgiven for thinking so.
Aer Lingus’ existing livery has been around since the mid-90s so it’s perfectly understandable the company has opted for a brand refresh. But, in my view, it’s gone from having a distinctive livery that stands out among the swathes of corporate white taxiing around the world’s airport to joining that very same group.
Not only that. The style of the tail fin covering, the placing of the airline’s name and its choice of primary colour all mimic not only IAG sister airlines Iberia and Level, but also Oneworld partner Qantas. Is this deliberate or are airlines all going to the same brand designers?
To be fair to Aer Lingus, let us hear what they have to say themselves about their new scheme. Here’s some quotes from their press release: “Our new colour palette consists of two contrasting shades of green. The rich teal represents strength and confidence. The light green stripe modernises the design and reflects our value carrier proposition …the contrasting teal and light green of the shamrock combines our strength, confidence and modernity. The shamrock sits proudly as the hero of our livery, with a new tilt to add movement and heart-shaped leaves to reflect our warmth.”
Reader, I’m afraid I used to write that sort of guff for a living. Aer Lingus is an Irish company. Shamrocks and the colour green are internationally known symbols for Ireland. Aer Lingus is proud of its Irish roots and heritage and wants to give all its customers a warm Irish welcome. There. Better in plain English, isn’t it?
Aer Lingus could be forgiven for being confused. On short haul routes it markets itself as a low-cost carrier with extra fees for baggage, buy-on-board meal service and no business class. On long-haul routes it operates as a full-service carrier with full economy service and a business class cabin with lie-flat seats.
Where Aer Lingus can compete is with good prices for business class travel on Transatlantic routes. London to New York via Dublin in business class can be had for around GBP1800 if booked in advance.
Have you flown Aer Lingus recently? What did you think? Maybe you’re a regular “AerClub” traveller? Tell us what you think of the airline and its new livery in the comments below.
Meanwhile, there are no commercially available models in the new livery yet (though Aer Lingus had their own produced for the launch at Dublin airport). However, a range of models in the current and older liveries are available, including Skymarks 1:200 scale Airbus A330.
9 Responses
Hi, Rob.great article here. You’re writing really shows your passion for aviation.I also flicked over to your about me page and that confirms that you are an aviation tragic :))Yes you are correct in that the Irish airline does look a bit similar to the Qantas model and yes their press release could have been in a bit more plain english and people wouldve got the message just as well.
Thank you, Billy.
I have taken many planes during my life and flew in many different countries, unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure to try Airlingus yet. Reading your article made me curious to try it thou; I confess I really like to read what people think about a certain airline before I decide to purchase a ticket or not. Maybe it sounds silly but I like to have an idea where I am stepping my feet into before I fly, not just for service but of course for what security is a concern. Thank you for your article and please keep writing more about all the other airlines too.
It’s quite interesting news. Sometimes we need to take one step back to be able to gather strength to move forward with pace. Is there any discount for booking Aer Lingus flight ticket long before the actual day of boarding? What are the incentives for booking a business class ticket with Aer Lingus
Does Aer Lingus have route to Africa and Asia?
I think Aer Lingus is good to an extent and not good enough to a reasonable extent. They are not supposed to make customers pay extra money for laugages. People are not supposed to buy food with their own money for in the air plane they have already boarded. I don’t think such a thing brings high value to their business. I also wonder why they don’t have business class. I think they are not too good but the most important thing is this., do they maintain their airplane well to avoid crash??
Thank you, Kenechi. One thing I can assure you of is that Aer Lingus have an excellent safety record.
Nice article on Aer Lingus, Rob. Looking at the pictures of Iberia, Level, Qantas and that of Aer Lingus, there is no much difference in the design. You know, I wouldn’t blame you for asking if these airlines are using same brand designers.I love the idea of Aer Lingus using the heart-shaped leaves to reflect warmth which signifies warm Irish welcome to their customers.I have not used Aer Lingus recently, neither am I an Aerclub traveller, but I think that their new livery is in line with what is obtainable in other airlines (my opinion though).
Hi Rob, first let me get the obligatory “I really enjoyed this post” out of the way…moving on…Rob, I really enjoyed this post…seriously…it brought back a memory from long ago. In 1971, I was on a World Airways flight, chartered by the US Department of Defense to fly military personnel and dependents to Europe. We landed in Ireland to refuel, and were told we would not be going to a gate, since no passengers would be getting on or off. My seat was on the left side of the plane, and was curious when I saw a set of pickup truck-mounted stairs pull up to the door in the front of the plane. When the door opened, one of the Flight Attendants ran shrieking down the stairs and crouched down and kissed the pavement!!! The pilot then announced over the intercom, “It’s OK, ladies and gentlemen, she’s from Ireland, and hasn’t been home for a while.”. There followed an eruption of laughter, and then a huge cheer when she came back onboard. We then departed and flew to England, where I began my 21 year career in avionics maintenance the USAF.
I have never flown Aer Lingus, but not out of choice, just never had the opportunity. You raise a valid question about their new livery, and it is indeed curious. I wasn’t familiar with the previous livery, but when I scrolled down to the bottom of your article and saw the model, one thing jumped out at me. My experience in the ink manufacturing industry caused me to wonder if the answer could be related to the cost savings of reducing the amount of green/blue pigment in the new version versus the significant amount of two-tone green in the former version. This would not be a significant cost reduction in the overall cost of an aircraft, but these days it seems the airlines are looking to save and reduce costs wherever they can…on the other hand, it could be something as simple as just doing something different…what do you think?
I have bookmarked your site and look forward to reading more of your posts.
Best wishes,
Joe (joejr49)
Many thanks, Joe, and a great little story. World Airways, eh? That’s going back a bit. Where were you stationed with the USAF?