Ireland’s Aer Lingus Will Fight Ryanair
Aug 26th, 2004 | By Jared BlankIreland’s flag carrier Aer Lingus will fight Ryanair on its own terms: by becoming a full-fledged (mostly) lowfare carrier. The airline said that it will eliminate business class from its European flights and pull itself out of the Oneworld alliance. Transatlantic flights will continue to offer business class. Delta has recently floated a similar idea of offering one type of service for shorter flights and more premium service for longer flights. I believe this is the beginning of a major change in the airline industry, where flights under 4 hours will look much, much different than long-haul flights. United has also hinted at a similar move, offering TED on leisure-heavy short-to-mid haul routes and announcing an upgraded economy cabin for transcon flights.