Aer Lingus, ClickandGo.com and the Travel Department launch new partnership

Aer Lingus is a new partner to ClickandGo.com and the Travel Department, helping them in providing an extensive range of holidays from Ireland on aerlingus.com.

In major news for the Irish travel industry and Irish consumers, "Holidays with Aer Lingus" will combine the flexibility of scheduled flights with quality assured accommodation and transfers, giving holidaymakers the complete holiday package solution.

There is a wide range of sun holidays, city breaks, escorted holidays and cruise holidays to most Aer Lingus destinations and this convenient one stop shop solution will give the consumer total flexibility, choice, value and protection.

"Holidays with Aer Lingus" are fully bonded and protected against ash cloud, snow and other unforeseen circumstances, a huge plus for the consumer.

The prices are very competitive and offer excellent value for money. There is an innovative holiday price comparison tool to show the consumer where they can get the same holiday for less by moving their planned departure date by a few days.

"Holidays with Aer Lingus" is a joint partnership between Aer Lingus and ClickandGo.com and The Travel Department, two Irish owned travel firms with extensive experience in a wide range of holidays.

Stephen Kavanagh, Chief Commercial Officer at Aer Lingus said: "Aer Lingus is delighted to enter into this partnership with ClickandGo.com and The Travel Department. The partnership will provide customers with the option to book a complete package holiday on aerlingus.com."

"Our partnership with Aer Lingus provides the travelling public with more flexibility, convenience and a secure and protected holiday," added Paul Hackett of ClickandGo.com and The Travel Department.

"There is a definite move from charter to scheduled flights over the years and although people like the idea of a 'DIY' holiday, to have the complete holiday solution with total flexibility all on one site, is a major advantage. By partnering with Aer Lingus we can offer an extensive range of holidays to almost every destination offered by the airline," Paul concluded.

FACTFILE:
ClickandGo.com was launched in May 2010 and is Ireland’s fastest growing online travel company. ClickandGo.com provides a range of holidays using Aer Lingus scheduled flights at savings of up to 25% compared to charter tour operators.


The Irish owned company currently offer holidays to Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Turkey, Morocco and Croatia. They also have an extensive city breaks programme. Holidays to Florida and flight offers from USA cities will be online from October with Ski holidays planned for next year.

Established in 1996, and the market leader in quality escorted holidays from Ireland, The Travel Department, cover many destinations served by Aer Lingus in Europe and the USA. The Travel Department specialises in sightseeing and cultural holidays, cruises and special interest tours such as wine, garden, opera, theatre and motor sport holidays.

Aer Lingus was founded by the Irish Government in April 1936 to provide air services to/from Ireland. The first flight, from Dublin to Bristol, took place on May 27th 1936. On October 2nd 2006, Aer Lingus entered a new phase in its history with the airline's floatation on the Irish and London Stock Exchanges, becoming a publicly quoted company and realising €400 million in equity for the airline's future growth.

Aer Lingus offers a number of cheap flights to and from Ireland and flight offers from Ireland including travel vouchers.

Aer Lingus' low-cost, low fares model is centred on maintaining low unit cost, offering one way fares, maintaining effective fleet utilisation and developing the Aer Lingus brand. Consistent with this low-cost model, Aer Lingus' primary distribution channel is its website aerlingus.com. In 2007, approximately 75% of total passenger revenue was generated through aerlingus.com.

Stena Line delighted with new routes clearance

Stena Line has expressed its delight at the announcement that its acquisition of the DFDS routes from Belfast to Liverpool (Birkenhead) and Belfast to Heysham has been fully approved by the UK Competition Commission.

The acquisition, which amounts to an investment of some £40M, will allow Stena Line to boost its service on the Irish Sea crossings by offering several different alternatives for transportation between Northern Ireland and the rest of Great Britain and will improve service and frequency for passengers and freight.

Irish Sea Area Director Michael McGrath said: "We are naturally delighted to have been given the green light by the UK Competition Commission and will now engage in a process of evaluation and integration in terms of the wider Stena Line business.

“We have always believed that the DFDS acquisition would make a perfect fit for our business and our customers and we are looking forward to implementing our extended route network on the Irish Sea. We believe that the acquisition also strengthens Belfast as a key transport hub within our route network for both freight and tourism traffic."

As part of the deal Stena Line also acquires four ships from DFDS which will include the chartered Lagan Seaways and Mersey Seaways on the Belfast-Liverpool route and the freight carriers Scotia Seaways and Hibernia Seaways. This will bring the number of Stena Line routes on the Irish Sea to six, adding to the existing Stranraer-Belfast, Holyhead-Dublin, Holyhead-Dun Laoghaire and Fishguard-Rosslare ferry routes.

For details of this and other Stena Line services visit www.stenaline.co.uk