Aer Lingus - Did they market correctly?

Aer Lingus, recently announced the winter suspension of flights between Washington DC and Dublin and San Francisco and Dublin with a vague reference to the "current conditions."

But is it really due to the current conditions? True, all airlines need to turn a profit, but to turn a profit you have to offer a good quality service, that markets to the right audience. I have an affection for Aer Lingus, from many flights to the "old-country" as a child. As a kid they were the only game in town to get from NY to Dublin directly, and they were basically the sanctioned monopoly of the Irish government. It seems they have never gotten past this monopoly mentality.

It seems though, that they were rather short sighted with the DC to Dublin market. The cost of flights were exceptionally high. In most instances, I was able to connect through London for a much cheaper rate. They could have adopted a more aggressive marketing approach by competing head to head with the other airlines as the gateway to Europe. It seems there was a will to do it but there was never a sound plan. Being a frequent European traveller, I tried in vain every time to use Aer Lingus as my carrier, but they just couldn't compete. They would have been wise to offer service that brought passengers to London or other European capitals via Dublin but instead they settled and priced out Dublin as if it were the ultimate "Shangri Lah" destination. For most Americans, its not.

But aside from the European market entry proposition, Aer Lingus is an absoute fiasco at Washington's Dulles airport. The check-in process was just mess with no sense of customer ownership. At every turn you were dealing with a bureacracy, with agents who were more well versed at apologizing to customers than they were with "wow"ing the customers. It's fair to say, that its not the agents fault. Its a systemic problem with Aer Lingus. They typically adopt an egalitarian attitude, as if you are "lucky" to fly with them. In-flight services are minimal, and staff typically condescend to the passengers. Yes you will come across a warm hearted cabin attendant who fits the stereotype associated with Irish warmth and caring, but it seems that Aer Lingus rarely puts these gems in leadership roles to set the standard for others.

I hope Aer Lingus gets a wake up call and stops blaming the economy. If they had creative business strategist, they could really take over the transatlantic market. Even their adverstising missed the boat in the DC metro market. They glorified an Ireland of old with its mysticism and landscapes. They missed the boat (no pun intended) on simply announcing that they were the ONLY airline to fly directly to Dublin and they missed the boat on connecting passengers to other European locations. Again, I hope they break out their mind trap and sieze the market when they resume service in the Spring