Aer Lingus in early 2019 will roll out a refreshed brand and begin a three-year process of repainting its fleet, changes that align with the carrier's acquisition of new Airbus narrowbodies, says Aer Lingus chief executive Stephen Kavanagh.
As part of the rebranding, the airline will also outfit crew with new uniforms, Kavanagh says on 24 September.
"Our current livery and uniform have been in service for close to 25 years. Our business has changed and we have to take the opportunity to modernise our brand," Kavanagh says during the Airline Passenger Experience Association's annual expo in Boston.
The company plans to roll out the new brand in January. Within the first quarter of 2019 Aer Lingus also intends to begin offering coach passengers with free alcoholic beverages and limited free access to wireless internet.
Free wi-fi will be available to coach customers who did not purchase the company's cheapest "saver fares". Aer Lingus will limit free wi-fi to 20Mb of total download – enough for social messaging, the airline says.
Panasonic Avionics provides Aer Lingus's inflight wireless internet.
The rebranding comes ahead of Aer Lingus' acquisition of long-range Airbus A321LRs. The company has orders for eight of those aircraft, with deliveries scheduled to begin in April 2019, according to FlightGlobal's Fleets Analyzer database.
"The range capability of this aircraft is uniquely suited to Air Lingus, with much of the market opportunity in North America capable of being served," Kavanagh says.
Aer Lingus will equip its A321LRs with fully lie-flat seats in business class and economy seats with 31in pitch, he adds.
Kavanagh declines to disclose additional details about its rebranding.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
