Yesterday was a perfect day for travelling out of Dublin Airport - as long as you were not flying with Aer Lingus or British Midland.
Traffic sailed into the airport, the monitors advised that there were thousands of car parking spaces and that queues at the food bars were non-existent. "I wish it could be like this all the time," said one wistful restaurant employee.
"But don't mention the name. My boss wouldn't agree with me."
The normally busy Aer Lingus check-in area was deserted in the morning. "We've had no irate passengers," said Mr Declan Cullen at the Aer Lingus customer service desk.
"The strike was well publicised in the media so people made other arrangements."
The British Midland strike meant a delay of at least two hours for Ms Faye Kerr and her husband Jim, who were travelling to Toronto via London.
"We've been visiting our daughter and her baby here. The delay isn't too bad but it means that we are more rushed for our second flight. And it means we cannot check our baggage through," Ms Kerr said.
"I sympathise with the staff because I am quite concerned at the increasing corporatism around the world. People seem to be doing more and more work for less money."
Mr Kerr said he also sympathised with the Aer Lingus cabin crews, having heard about their pay rates.
For Enda and Roisin Kelly, the British Midland strike meant a five-hour wait with their active one-year-old son, Hugh.
"I feel for the staff but, for us, our one-year-old takes priority," said Mr Kelly. "We could be at home now, drinking coffee or having lunch instead of hanging around here."
However, the two strikes were good news for the Ryanair ticket desk, where business was brisk.
