Atlantic Joint Venture members, Air Canada, Lufthansa Group, and United Airlines held a trade event at The Mayson Hotel, North Wall Quay, to update members of the travel trade on updates from each airline, including new connections, simplified itineraries, sustainability plans, and other benefits and services.
Speaking on behalf of United Airlines, Aoife Gregg, Leisure Sales Manager for Ireland, N. Ireland & Scotland discussed the Ireland schedule for Spring 2024, mentioning that United has been serving Irish people with one-stop connections across the USA for 26 years.
Connectivity
Aoife highlighted routes like Dublin-Newark, Dublin-Washington, and Dublin-Chicago, and introduced United’s travel app, providing support from pre-travel arrangements to boarding, with features like notifications and customer service vouchers. She shared the incredible figure of 713,000 + connections saved in 2023!
She went on to discuss United Economy Class which holds the distinct feature of serving complimentary alcohol on all flights, in all cabins- something Irish travellers tend to appreciate!
Bláithín O’Donnell, Sales manager for Ireland, Air Canada spoke about connectivity to Canada from Ireland, detailing year-round service from Dublin to Toronto and seasonal summer services to Vancouver and Montreal.
She also discussed family-friendly policies such as complimentary advanced family seating and the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower programme. Bláithín also mentioned Air Canada’s streamlined pre-clearance process for US travel, something Air Canada as a group worked hard to achieve.
New Service
Additionally, she explained about Air Canada’s free inflight texting service for Aeroplan members. Supported by almost all platforms, Bláithín joked that it’s the perfect way to send that pre holiday selfie to envious friends or colleagues!
The Lufthansa Group
Discussing the Lufthansa Group’s impressive sustainability policies, including the group being the largest purchaser of SAF in Europe, Helen Fyfe, Key Account Manager Ireland and Iceland for the Lufthansa Group, shared news of the group’s connectivity, including weekly flights from Dublin to France, Munich, and Zurich.
She introduced Lufthansa Allegris, the airline’s new long-haul product featuring First Class on Airbus A350s. Helen also discussed the group’s sustainability policies, aiming to reduce net CO2 emissions and achieve a neutral CO2 balance by 2050 through fleet modernisation and the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels.
Helen told the crowd that North America continues to be a very strong market for the group. A new destination is opening this year in Raileigh, North Carolina.
The evening concluded with a fun kahoot quiz at The Mayson Hotel, along with a delicious buffet-style dinner and drinks.
