AER LINGUS is no longer the friendly airline for thousands of American visitors who find themselves arriving too early in Dublin to claim their hotel bedrooms.
CIE Tours International director for North America, Mr Brian Stack, said the direct flights from New York to Dublin are ruining the early days of his clients' Irish holiday as they wait in hotel lobbies for their rooms to be vacated.
CIE Tours International brings more than 40,000 Americans to Ireland every year. Many of them are in their 50s and 60s, and the transatlantic crossing is a tiring experience for them, according to Mr Stack.
With a tail wind, Mr Stack says it is not uncommon for the Aer Lingus flight to arrive in Dublin as early as 5.30 a.m. Since there is little traffic at that hour, they can be in their hotels by 7 a.m. - a time when the previous night's occupants of their room are still in their beds.
"The hotels do their best but they cannot help our customers who are milling around the lobbies. The Aer Lingus direct service is not tourist friendly," said Mr Stack. CIE's chairman, Mr Michael McDonnell, raised the matter in New York last week with Mr Jack Foley, Aer Lingus executive vice president for North America, Mr Stack added.
This weekend, a spokesman for Aer Lingus said the direct New York Dublin service had received a positive reaction from its customers. Aer Lingus was attempting to persuade Americans to use its early morning services to British cities, the spokesman added. He added that for four months of the year, Aer Lingus has a second service out of New York which gets in later.
Mr Stack said he saw little evidence that Aer Lingus was getting Americans to use its UK services. CIE Tours International would continue to press Aer Lingus to get into Dublin later, Mr Stack promised.