Changing face of the shamrock: Just as everybody is donning the green for St Patrick's Day celebrations, Aer Lingus has come up with its own version of drowning the shamrock. In fact, the airline has chosen the National Day holiday weekend to sink the shamrock altogether by dropping its famous symbol from the tailfins of four aircraft.
Last night, on the eve of St Patrick's Day, two of the four aircraft were back in service in Dublin having being repainted. However, they were without the shamrock logo, which has been the instantly recognisable symbol of the airline worldwide for decades.
Instead, in a salute to the 21st century, the Aer Lingus website address replaced the shamrock on the tailfin.
An Aer Lingus spokeswoman yesterday explained the decision and said the four Boeing 737 aircraft were due for repainting. It was decided to advertise the airline's website on the tail.
"It is not a rebranding of the aircraft or the fleet. The fleet will remain distinctive," she stressed.
The shamrock would not be on the tailfins of the four aircraft but would remain on their engines, she said.
Asked if the removal of such a recognisable national symbol would not backfire on the airline, the spokeswoman disagreed.
"On the contrary, we look upon this as a fantastic opportunity to advertise our very successful website. Now 40 per cent of all our bookings come through the website."
She emphasised that only the four aircraft would be changed. "There are no plans to repaint any others. We're not rebranding the fleet."
The two aircraft were taken from Shannon, where they were repainted, to Dublin yesterday and were back in service later in the evening. The remaining two will be ready next weekend, the spokeswoman said.
Aer Lingus has a fleet of 32 aircraft which comprises the Airbus, Boeing and British Aerospace BAe types.
In 1996, the Aer Lingus shamrock was redesigned as part of an £8 million corporate facelift.
The company described the shamrock then as "the foundation of its corporate identity" which had been revolutionised.
The sweet little, dear little shamrock, has often been the source of controversy, most notably in 1996 when Bord Fáilte attempted to drop the symbol as part of its marketing of Ireland abroad.
When the then minister for sport and tourism, Mr Jim McDaid, decided to restore the shamrock logo the following year, there were complaints from tourist groups, particularly in Northern Ireland, who opposed the move.
Ryanair, the budget airline, has a gold harp motif on a dark blue background on its tailfins.